Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX
Inkjet Printer

Stylus Photo 785EPX Main Features:

• 2880 x 720 dpi, 6-color Photo Reproductive Quality
• Virtually continuous tone quality
• Print speeds: 4x6" in 54 seconds, 8x10" 1:51 (Fine mode)
• Printing without computer via flash card and control panel
• BorderFree^TM prints on 4x6", 5x7", 8x10" and 8.5x11" media
• Panoramic printing with cut sheets up to 8.5 x 44" long
• PCMCIA Type II card slot (includes CompactFlash Type I adapter), supports Sony Memory Stick, SmartMedia, Type II CompactFlash, IBM Microdrive, and Secure Digital with optional adapters.
• Filters for brightness, sharpness, vivid, sepia, monochrome and contrast
• Optional 1.6-inch color LCD for preview ($99 MSRP)
• Supports Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) from memory cards.
• Epson PRINT Image Matching Technology
• EPSON Ultra Micro Dot™ 4pl with Variable Sized Droplet Technology
• Separate black and color ink cartridges
• USB connectivity for Windows® and Macintosh®
• EPSON Film Factory™ and Arcsoft™ PhotoImpression™ 3.0 software included

Using the latest Photo Reproduction Quality technology incorporating the EPSON Perfect Picture Imaging System, true Photo-Quality performance comes as standard without the need for additional upgrades, while printing on plain paper has been improved even further.

Epson has upgraded software to fully support the Print Image Matching (PIM) technology found on many of the new digicams. Visit the Epson Print Image Matching web site for more details.

How to Get the PRINT Image Matching Upgrade

The first PRINT Image Matching-compatible printer, the EPSON Stylus Photo 785EPX, offered PRINT Image Matching support when used without the computer. With a simple software upgrade to Epson Software Film Factory, this printer can now support PRINT Image Matching through the computer.

Customers who own the EPSON Stylus Photo 780, 890 and 1280 printers can also easily upgrade their printer with an updated driver and a new version of Epson Software Film Factory with PRINT Image Matching support. These upgrades can be obtained by calling Epson's PRINT Image Matching customer support line at (562) 276-7296 to speak to a representative Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. PST, and on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST. A CD-ROM containing the PRINT Image Matching upgrade will be shipped to each customer, free of charge.

The Stylus Photo 785EPX is entry-level priced but has everything the home or small office would need in a modern, high-resolution photo printer. It has a carriage width of 8.5 inches and can handle paper lengths up to 44 inches. Also included with the printer is a roll paper holder, more about this below.

In addition to the Photo Reproduction Quality technology, the Stylus 785EPX is Epson's first printer to include PRINT Image Matching, a breakthrough technology that ensures digital cameras and printers work perfectly together to produce the best possible prints. Many new cameras made in 2001 will feature PRINT Image Matching compatibility. Camera manufacturers can set critical image specific parameters for printing such as gamma level, color space, contrast, sharpness, brightness, saturation, shadow point, highlight point and color balance to ensure optimum results for each camera.

There are specific driver settings for all types of media; plain paper, photo paper, Premium Glossy Photo paper, glossy film, transparency, double-weight matte, photo stickers and roll glossy photo paper.

I really like the ability to print borderless pictures without having to use the old Epson 4x6" photo paper with the tear-off margins. It's a hassle to bend and tear off four tabs per print and the micro-perf'd edges were not all that smooth. Epson's new borderless glossy photo paper is available in the 4x6", 5x7" and 8x10" standard photographic sizes. No more cutting prints to make them fit in photo frames. The Stylus 785EPX can also print BorderFree prints on standard 8.5 x 11" letter size media as well.

Looking down inside the new Stylus Photo printers you will see how they are able to handle the ink that is over-sprayed during full bleed (borderless) printing. There is absorbant foam that soaks up the excess ink and it's located along the leading edge as well as at the 0", 4", 5", 8" and 8.5" width points.

The built in PCMCIA Type II card slot supports all existing memory cards when used with the appropriate adapter. Epson includes a CompactFlash Type I adapter and there's a mailin coupon in the box to exchange the CF adapter for either a SmartMedia or MemoryStick adapter (offer good thru 9/01/01).

You can read your memory cards and print pictures without the use of a computer or the PCMCIA slot can be used as a card reader to transfer images to the host computer when connected via USB. Utility programs are included that detect when a card has been inserted and then automatically copies the images to the hard drive.

The 785EPX comes with a roll paper holder. Using the 4" wide glossy photo paper rolls you can crank out an endless stream of borderless 4x6" prints just like a photo lab. You can also print up to 4 x 44" panormamas with the roll paper.

I would advise you to get a good rotary trimmer to cut roll paper prints as most paper cutters leave the edges rough.

Equipped with a high-speed USB port, the 785EPX is compatible with PCs running Windows 98, 2000, Me or later; USB equipped Macintosh with System 8.5.1 - 9.X

Optional 1.6" Preview Monitor

Photo by Medianord, www.digitalkamera.de

There is an optional 1.6" color LCD preview monitor available for $99. This monitor allows you to "see" and select pictures on the memory card for printing. This eliminates the need to print index sheets. The color preview monitor has a screen saver function, brightness adjustment knob and a tilt mechanism for changing the viewing angle.

US visitors $

UK visitors £

Mechanics & Performance

The first thing you notice, especially if you're a new Epson printer user, is the rather lengthy "pump up and nozzle clean" cycle that all Epsons are famous for. Yes it does require a little time when the printer is first turned on and yes, it does waste a certain amount of ink. But, it is necessary for the piezo printing technology that Epson uses. It properly primes the feed lines and ensures that all of the nozzles are clear. Believe me, the printed results are well worth it.

The new printers are quite fast unless using the 2880dpi mode, it greatly extends print times and doubles the ink useage. The 2880dpi mode can only be selected with the Photo Paper, Premium Glossy Paper or Glossy Film media settings and cannot be used with the no margins (borderless) mode. Unless you're creating prints to be examined by an 8x loupe, the 1440dpi and 720dpi modes will more than meet your needs.

As you can see by the print times above, using the borderless (aka no margins or full bleed) option more than doubles the print time. You'll know why if you lift the cover and watch the process it uses to produce a borderless print. The printer micro-steps and begins printing before the leading edge of the paper gets in range and then slows down when the trailing edge of the paper is being printed. I was very impressed at how it handled the paper during borderless printing and didn't see any smearing or blurring of the trailing edge at all.