Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Inkjet Printer

Pros

• High-quality images
• Networkable via wired / wireless network
• Includes copier, scanner, fax

Cons

• Duplexer is optional
• Some features don't work across the network
• Long warm-up times

Description

• All-in-one color inkjet printer (includes fax, scanner, copier)
• Works with wireless/wired network
• Prints CDs / DVDs
• Large, tiltable LCD and touchscreen
• Can print personalized note paper, notebook paper, and graph paper

Guide Review - Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Inkjet Printer

Warm-up time was at least 30 seconds, and once it was warmed up pages came out fast. A 10-page PDF took four minutes total, or around 23 seconds per page. Black-and-white print quality was excellent, with sharp blacks and little bleed.

Colors on graphics pages were warm and rich, and somehow the Claria inks used by the Artisan didn't overwhelm the cheap paper I tried (some inkjet inks saturate the page and make it limp). A 4x6 photo, printed on a sample of Epson's Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy, looked fantastic; the colors were vivid and nuanced, and the image was perfectly sharp.

The wired and wireless set-up were quick and easy, though they're done via the software rather than on the machine itself, as with some of the Brother wireless printers. This isn't necessarily an inconvenience but you'll have to set up the function on every computer on your network. I wish the duplexer were built in rather than an option; the manual duplexing didn't work well (a warning message notes that it doesn't always function over a network) and left me with a mess of out-of-order pages.

Included is an array of photo-imaging software including one utility that converts photos into line drawings, so images can be turned into coloring-book images. The printer also allows printing directly onto a CD or DVD. This utility was easy to use and images looked great.