Epson Stylus Photo 1270
Inkjet Printer

Media Options

There are plenty of media options already defined or you can define your own. One of the most exciting new media types is the 4-inch roll photo paper that can be used for wide panoramas or for continuous 4x6-inch borderless prints.

If the 11x17-inch or 13x19-inch media isn't big enough for what you have in mind you can always use the Poster option to create an even BIGGER print.

Other printing options include the multi-page function where you can specify the print order or add a watermark. There are many standard watermarks already in the driver or you can create and use your own.

The Utility menu gives you access to the Status Monitor that we showed you back on the first page with the ink levels and pages remaining counter plus all the usual option for checking the nozzles, cleaning and aligning the heads,

New is the Print Preview option that will show you graphically how your picture will look when printed on the selected media with the currently set options. You know exactly where the printed area and margins will be on the finished print.  It can also be a real paper and time saver if you've forgotten to change the orientation of the paper to match your image.

If you're low on memory it might be better to skip the Print Preview option as it is quite the memory hog but if you've got 128MB of RAM or more it's not much of a problem.

Rack & Roll Paper Holder

Tired of waiting for that roll paper holder from Epson that nobody ever seems to have in stock?  You're not alone... Reader Clarence Jones from across the Bay decided to take matters in his own hands so to speak and built his own.

Check out the Rack & Roll kit over at his web site. Besides doing what the Epson holder does, his (using the supplied adapters) can handle roll paper:

• Up to 13 inches wide on one-inch cores
• Up to 17 inches wide on two- and three-inch cores

He sent me one of these kits and it assembles easily and works as described, pictured here behind my Epson Stylus 1270 but will work with literally any printer that can handle roll paper. He sells the complete kit for $30 (plus $7.50 USPS Priority) or for the do-it-yourselfers out there he will sell the plans for $7.50.

This is a really nice paper stand and the only thing that I would do differently is to either use PVC glue or some self-tapping screws to complete the construction. Put it together first to make sure you got it right before applying the glue -- and don't glue the end caps on the spindle roll or you'll have a hard time getting them off :-)

A message from Clarence points out that if you do glue it you won't be able to modify it later for another printer (width) so use the glue at your own risk. Screws would not stop you from changing it later though.

Steve's Conclusion

Let me just say that as of 9/9/00 I have not personally experienced any of the dreaded "orange shift" or print fading with any of my 1270 prints. But there are too many other people that ARE experiencing these problems to think that it is an isolated problem. Please go back and read the 9/9/00 update at the top of the first page of this review for important information.

Do I really need any conclusions?   Let the whole review serve as my conclusion text.  If you want the best inkjet printer for photo-quality images plus all your other daily printing needs -- the new Epsons are the way to go.   The only decision is which one to get ... do you need to print larger than 8x10-inches or do you want a printer that's also a card reader?   They all feature the same unbelievable print quality and speed.

I will add that one of the most pleasant surprises of using the 1270 came when I printed out a monochrome image. Don't make the mistake of selecting black ink only when printing monochrome images, the little bit of color ink that is used makes all the difference in the world. They really look great on that Heavyweight Matte paper.

The printer reviewed here was purchased, it was not a loaner as is usually the case with the products that I review. Excuse me now while I go and post my 4x6-inch dye sub printer on eBay, I won't be needing it any longer.