Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX
Inkjet Printer

The Printer Driver (cont.)

Page two of the driver is all about paper size options, orientations and the all-important "no margins" check box to enable the borderless printing. The 785 has two possible Paper Sources, the sheet feeder or roll paper.

Page three controls the Layout of your print jobs. You can reduce or enlarge by fitting to a gven paper size or scaling by percent. Multi-page jobs can be setup for odd/even or you can do posters that are composites of two or more printed pages.

You can also make use the Watermark option, the defaults are Confidential, Draft, Urgent and Priority but you can add or delete your own as well. Watermarks are mostly used on printed text pages but professional photographers can make up their own "Proof Only" watermark to go over the top of photos too.

Page four of the driver is the Utility menu and contains options to monitor the ink levels, check the nozzles, clean the heads, align the heads and more.

How many times have you output an image to the printer only to have it print in the wrong orientation or size? If you check the "Print Preview" box on the first page of the driver that will never be a problem again. The screen shown above will be displayed BEFORE the job is sent to the printer and you can visually see the results of the output in relation to the selected media.

If it isn't right just hit the Cancel button, correct the mistakes and then try it again -- no more wasted paper, especially the expensive glossy photo paper.

Included Software

If digital photography has you overwhelmed and under organized, you need Epson Software Film Factory. This ingenious software makes your PC or Mac into a perfectly organized photo library and processing center. With Film Factory, you can collect, arrange, store, edit, and print thousands of photos from any source - digital camera, picture CDs, photo files, Web sites, or your favorite scanned images. Fall in love with photography all over again.

Organize thousands of your photos using intuitive "Roll of Film" and "Film Case" storage tools.
To save disk space, catalog photos that are stored on CD-ROM or other removable media.
Add text comments to your images.
Find your photos in seconds by quickly browsing through your rolls, or use Film Factory's search tools to look for them by date, comments, or filename.
Imports and exports common file types.
Easily import photos from your TWAIN-compatible digital camera or scanner.
Attach sound files to your photos.*

Make your pictures look their best with Film Factory's image enhancement tools.

Automatically or manually adjust color and brightness

Rotate

Trim

Convert photos to Black and White

Convert photos to Sepia tone

Add soft focus

Correct for red-eye

Turn your computer into a 1-hour photo lab. Print photo quality pictures at your home or office.
Standard and Duplicate Prints. Print wallet size photos, 4x6's, 8x10's, or other sizes.
Index Prints. Catalog your pictures off-line.
Photo Album Pages. Print multiple pictures onto a single page, with captions.
Greeting Cards
Sticker Prints
Create HTML pages of your pictures.
Attach pictures to your e-mails from Film Factory.*
Turn your favorite picture into Windows wallpaper.*
Show off your favorite photos using Film Factory's screen saver.*

* Windows version only

ArcSoft PhotoImpression™ is an easy-to-use photo editing and creative design program that gives you the best of several ArcSoft offerings. Edit and retouch your photos, then add special effects or place them in cards, calendars, frames and fantasy templates. PhotoImpression also includes a wide variety of printing options.

Steve's Conclusion

Epson has put everything that today's digi-photographer needs to acquire and print pictures into one, reasonably priced inkjet printer. The Stylus Photo 785EPX has the latest 2880dpi print engine, uses Epson's fast drying 6-color photo inks, can print borderless prints in all standard photographic sizes, includes a PCMCIA slot that allows you to print without a computer or when connected to a computer it functions as an automatic download device and it interfaces via a high-speed USB port. And when you're not printing photo-quality pictures it serves as a regular color printer on plain paper with the capability of producing laser-sharp black text. So for about $249 (or less) you have a printer that can do it all.

My current printer is the Stylus Photo 1270 and I've had nothing but Epson photo printers for the last four years. I'm not saying that the Canon and HP photo printers aren't worthy competitors, they are. I'm just personally satisfied with the Epson printers and have always thought that they were just a bit (OK, a lot) ahead of the "other guys" when it came to overall print quality. Epson printers have permanent print heads which are a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand they are inherently better than inexpensive thermal heads that are part of the ink cartridge that you throw away when they run out of ink. On the other hand they are prone to clogging if not used frequently but this has never been a problem for me as I use my Epson photo printer as my "do it all" printer so it gets a daily workout. This is the main reason for the pump-up cycle that all Epson printers go through when first turned on. This makes sure that there is ink in the feed lines and that the print nozzles are clear.

The output from the Photo 785EPX is nothing short of stunning, it easily passes for real wet-processed photographs when you use glossy photo paper. I have always liked borderless prints and on the 1270 my options were to use the special Epson photo paper with the tear-off tabs or else get out my trusty roto-trimmer. With the 785EPX all I needed to do was load it up with 4x6" paper and select the "no margins" options and print away. You can also use the roll paper holder and the 4" wide roll paper to produce 4x6" glossy prints or panoramic prints up to 44" long.

As I pointed out on page one of this review, the borderless (no margin or full bleed) option effectively doubles the time it takes to print so if you're in a rush to crank out a bunch of prints it isn't exactly the most optimal way to print. Most of us usually have plenty of time so I don't see this as a major drawback, in fact I see the borderless option as one of the more compelling reasons to buy this printer.

Epson is pushing the 2880dpi output resolution as the big selling point of all of its new 2001 photo printers. If you already have an Epson 870, 875DCS or 1270 printer should you run out and buy one of the new ones with the 2880dpi output? In a word - NO, don't bother. Frankly I have been more impressed with photos printed at 1440dpi on Premium Glossy Photo Paper or Kodak's new Utlima Glossy and Satin paper. The 2880dpi prints take twice as long to print, use twice as much ink and when examined at hand's length I think the 1440dpi prints have better shadow detail.

If you're shopping for your first photo printer then by all means jump on the Stylus Photo 785EPX, 890 or 1280 printers -- they're all winners and which one you get depends on your needs. And don't forget that these printers don't just do photos -- they're perfect for text and mixed text and graphics too. I don't own a second printer, my Epson Photo does it all, and does it all in style !

ICC Profiles for ColorLife Paper

Epson has introduced a new line of heavy weight, glossy photo paper called Epson ColorLife Photo. Download the ICC profiles for ColorLife Photo paper to make sure that you get the best possible color match between your screen (if properly calibrated) and the printer.

Want a second opinion?

Imaging-Resource Epson 785EPX review

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Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX Inkjet Printer