Under-$100 Roundup: Epson Stylus C84

This low-cost printer saves your money on paper as well: Reviewers agreed that it produced its best work on regular paper rather than the more-pricey photo paper. So while this may not be what you want for high-quality photo prints, it is an excellent all-around inkjet.

Price: $78.69 - $110.00
Type: Color inkjet
Max. Print Speed: 22ppm black, 12ppm color
Max. Print Resolution: 5760 x 1440 dpi (optimized)
Special Feature(s): Uses DURABrite ink, which the company says will extend photo life

CNET Review

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Liked: Extremely inexpensive; very good photo and graphics quality; fairly fast printing; drivers allow for precise adjustments.

Disliked: Text could be crisper.

In Short: Good output quality, fast print speeds, and low ink costs make this sub-$100 inkjet a great bargain for home users.

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Computer Power User Review

Rating: N/A

Liked: Stylus C84 is an inkjet refined to produce its best output on regular copier paper. Clip art was clear and colorful. This printer whisked out text at a rate of 10ppm, which is a respectable speed for a product that costs less than $100.

Disliked: Glossy photo printing was consistently inconsistent.

In Short: If you’re a plain-paper aficionado, this is the budget-priced printer for you. But if you need good glossy photos, stick with a Stylus Photo or a low-priced unit from Canon or Hewlett-Packard.

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IT Reviews Review

Rating: N/A

Liked: The Stylus C84 is a commendably quick machine, producing five pages of black text in exactly one minute and printing a 5 x 3-inch photo at top quality in just two minutes nine seconds. Image quality is good for black and colour graphics.

Disliked: Photo reproduction is subjectively not quite as good as from earlier Stylus Color printers.

In Short: Epson's Stylus C84 is a fast, solid, general-purpose colour inkjet printer. It handles most print jobs with little fuss and is particularly strong on text and mixed text and graphics prints. Although not quite as good as its predecessors at printing photos, the long fade and water-resistance of DURAbrite is good compensation.

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