Bundled Software

Artisan 810 Windows Driver and Bundled Software

Here you can see the install screen that pops up when you insert the included software CD-ROM in your PC. I have to note here that the drivers needed to run on Windows 7 had to be downloaded from the Epson website.

Once instillation begins you will have to choose which driver you are going to use. The choice is between connecting directly from the computer to the printer or using a network connection. Again, in our case, due to running Windows 7, we had to download the version shown above from the Epson website.

We had quite a time getting past this point. The printer was easy enough to configure for the router, but the three computers in the room could not locate the printer. In the end it was due to WEP settings. We had to change from WEP to WPA security in order for everything to finally communicate. At this time all computers are communicating well with the printer. I only mention this so that others may save some time in their setting up of the wireless feature on a secured network. If you have an open network, you can disregard this.

Selecting Printer Settings brought up the 810's Printer Properties. As you can see you have many options to select from. A nice feature on the main page is being able to keep an eye on the ink tank levels. In addition, for those who may not have the desire or programs to edit their photos, there are "touch-up" selections that will do things like fix red-eye, etc. The Advanced tab leads to more options in the color management section. Epson does offer a variety of specialized papers for both documents and photographs. The paper options lists several of them as a way to set the printer up for specific media. The 810 can also print to ink-jet printable CDs and DVDs.

 
The maintenance tab allows you to perform various tasks to adjust or clean your print head as well as give status reports. 

As far as the bundled software goes, I was able to use the enclosed software disk to install those. We will briefly break down each of them next. Depicted above are the short-cut icons that are placed on the desktop as the software is installed.

Airsoft Print Creations will allow you to create cool things like greeting cards, photo books and calendars. It is an online service that gives you access to a multitude of templates for free as well as some that will have a fee to use.

Also bundled in the software is a link to MyEpson, this is a website that is basically the Epson website that serves as a store where you can purchase supplies for your printer, register your new printer purchase and a nice feature (and why I am mentioning it) a series of tutorials for things like printing on CDs, photo restoration and other craft projects.