Epson Artisan 800

These design issues are especially unfortunate because the Artisan 800 actually has some impressive features. When it works properly, it can streamline your printing work by eliminating the need for a physical computer to act as the liaison. You can perform most functions directly through the printer. For example, you can plug your xD, Memory Stick, Compact Flash, or Secure Digital card directly into the front media reader and edit your photos on the large 7.8 inch touch screen. Granted, you can only crop, rotate, and enlarge, but amateur photographers will be thankful for the automated fix options.

Creative types can also take advantage of the robust personalization options, including custom coloring books, passport and ID photo sheets, photo index sheets, greeting cards, and still movie clips. All of these options are also easy to use with the ArcSoft Print Creations software included in the package. There's also a convenient option to print out blank college-ruled or wide-ruled lined paper.

Performance
In terms of output speed, the Epson Artisan 800 sits in direct competition with the Canon Pixma MX700. We also put it up against several other all-in-one printers in the same price range, but the Artisan 800's scores blow theirs out of the water. For example, while the Kodak ESP 5 took its time printing a sheet of color graphics at a blistering 2.21 pages per minute, the Artisan flew across the finish line, finishing our test at almost three times the speed at 6.06 pages per minute. And even though the MX700 puts up a good fight in the text and color scanning qualifiers, it's no match for Epson in the Photo speed test, who came in at more than double the pages per minute. The Artisan 800 is without question one of the speediest printers we've tested, when it's working. In our evaluation, the Epson ruined its early finish with a handful of mechanical failures that took more time to fix than the testing itself.

Performance test (in pages per minute)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Color scanning

Photo speed (1 sheet)

Color graphics speed

Presentation speed

Color text speed

Kodak ESP5

4.32

1.37

2.13

2.21

4.39

HP Officejet J6480

3.4

0.83

2.17

2.36

5.54

HP Photosmart C8180

3.73

0.66

2.12

2.47

4.37

Canon MX700

5.03

1.05

2.08

2.3

7.41

Epson Artisan 800

4.82

2.82

6.06

6.6

6.43

The Epson Artisan 800 has a six ink cartridge bay.

We're also very impressed with the Artisan 800's capability to produce solid images across a variety of media materials and sizes. We printed our stock image on 20 pound plain paper and Epson's own premium glossy photo paper at both 8.5 by 11 inches as well as 4 by 6 inches. Each time, the output quality displayed solid lines, clear pictures, and bright colors. The printer uses six separate ink cartridges that you can purchase individually on Epson's Web site. The embedded printing options in the driver software are more extensive than the competition, showing job progress, pagination, and preferences for fine and normal lines, customizable presettings, and a maximum resolution of 5,760x1,440dpi.

Service and support
Epson backs the Epson Stylus 800 with a limited two-year warranty that includes toll-free customer support weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. Further support is available online through a model-specific troubleshooting guide, FAQs, e-mail support, driver updates, and document downloads.

Find out more about how we test printers.