CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 05/26/2006
Where the CX4800 relies on a strip of buttons for its all-in-one functions, the CX7800 has the aforementioned LCD, plus a series of buttons arranged in clusters according to function. There's a three-way cluster that toggles through copy features (fit to page, 100 percent), memory card features (print select photos, print all/PictBridge, print index sheet, print from index sheet), and film/photo features (where you can specify what type of material you're scanning). Other buttons on the top panel include a Setup/Utilities button that runs through basic functions such as cleaning and aligning the print head, and borderless printing. But it also offers task-specific functions such as number of copies (1-99) when you're in copy mode, and the ability to select what type of film or negative you're scanning when you're in film/photo mode. There are arrow buttons for things such as increasing quantities and scrolling through photos on a media card, plus buttons for toggling between paper types and sizes (say, plain, photo, 4x6, letter), and a big old start button for launching your selected task. The whole interface is intuitively designed and everything is clearly labeled so that one turn through the menu for each function should be enough to learn how to use the CX7800.
Below the instrument panel is a bank of slots for CompactFlash Type I and II, MultiMedia Card, IBM Microdrive, xD-Picture Card, Sony Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, MagicGate Memory Stick, SmartMedia, and Secure Digital media cards, and a PictBridge port for printing directly from a PictBridge-compatible digital camera. The media card slots will show up as a drive on your computer, so you can move files to and from the cards.Because the Epson CX7800 has a 1.5-inch color LCD, it has slightly more functionality than the LCD-less CX4800. With the CX7800, you can print selected photos directly from a media card; the CX4800 lets you print only the whole contents of a card or select individual photos to print from an index sheet. The CX7800 also lets you enhance photos on the LCD before printing, but the options are extremely limited. Epson's options include only a color restore function that brightens up faded old photos, slides, and negatives, and three preset autocorrect modes: PIM (print image matching, an Epson communication protocol helps ensure colors and details translate correctly to the printer from a PIM-enabled camera), PhotoEnhance (an auto-enhance effect that you can also select through the CX7800's print drivers), and EXIF (whereby data is stored on the image about things such as exposure and shutter speed, then translated to the printed image). The ArcSoft PhotoImpression 5 software that's included on the installation CD does offer more enhancement options, such as cropping; resizing; red-eye removal; wacky effects such as honeycombing and bas relief; and the option to add text, frames, or create calendars and scrapbook pages, but all this must be done through your computer.
We were a little disappointed that the CX7800's LCD does not have a print preview function, a feature that's useful for photo printing, which can sometimes get tricky. To be fair, the CX7800 takes pretty much all the guesswork out of photo printing, so there's not much danger of wasting expensive paper with ill-fitting photos (see our Tech Nightmares: Printer terrors feature for more on this). Still, it's nice to know what you're getting yourself into before you hit the start button. We also wish the CX7800 offered an easy way to fit multiple smaller photos on a big piece of photo paper, and it's too bad you can't scan from the printer to your computer. Instead, you have to launch a scan from the Epson Scan software on your computer.
The Epson Scan software is easy to use and has three modes for beginners, intermediates, and more advanced users. The print drivers are much the same: beginners can simply tell the printer to make a Best-quality photo; advanced users can set the individual color, brightness, and contrast levels.
We appreciate that the Epson CX7800 uses separate ink tanks for each color and black. This way, you can replace a color as it runs out, rather than replacing everything when one color runs dry. There's also no special photo ink to buy for the CX7800; the four pigment-based inks that come with the printer are all you need no matter what type of printing you're doing.The Epson CX7800's performance was about as uneven as that of its less-expensive sibling, the CX4800. We thought it did a good job scanning color and black-and-white documents. Both documents, scanned at 150 dots per inch (dpi) (the maximum interpolated scan resolution is 10,200x14,040dpi; the highest optical scan resolution is 1,200x2,400), had a slightly soft-focus appearance as if the documents had been scanned through silk, and the color document had a somewhat somber cast to it. However, the scanner picked up fine details quite well and there were no errors or artifacts in either test document. Continue reading
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