why didn't you print my review?

I wrote a lengthy review of this printer about 3 weeks ago -- and you didn't bothere to show it. Why not?

A Great Device

Trouble free set up, simple to use, very useful and easy to use photocopier, good quality text and pictures with no banding, although I haven't tried it for photographs. Does all that's needed in a setting with many users.

Rubbish printer

I am a freelance Graphic Designer in the Film and TV industry and the work has to be produced instantaneously and often with very little preperation - I normally use my Epson 1290 which has done me proud for years - but unforunately died on me at the beginning of this contract (mainly because I had to reinstall the driver software from the Epson website - which turned out to not work properly - as just a gimp driver- this doesn't seems to give as many options/ work as well as the old driver that used to be available) - so I had to quickly get my hands on a decent printer and at an average price of £350 pounds you would have thought this printer would be reliable and deliver what you need on demand - but unfortunatly it has disappointed on many levels - give me back my old 1290 any day. Basically my advice would be - don't touch this printer with a barge-pole. It is seriously bad - the driver software doesn't include an A3+ sheet feeder option on my version (whether that is accross the board or not - the Epson customer services won't help. The printer often prints badly with bands on the prints after printing a few pages. Also the alignment goes off centre by at least half an inch when doing lots of photographic quality prints at a time. It drinks ink and the cartridges are nigh on impossible to get hold of at a local level on an immediate basis (even Epson often don't have them in stock), just for the record I've always bought epson products i.e printers/scanners and have always used epson inks and papers in all my equipment. I will not buy another Epson product after this experience.

Ink cartridges last for 15 photos each

That's your lot. 15 photos per cartridge. Constantly replacing it (not easy to buy either) and being ripped off. Also, Epson printers are generally slow and noisy and this one's no different (wasn't me that bought this one!). It looks neat and tidy but that's its only virtue.

The worst HP printer I've ever bought

I tend to stick to HP because of their usually solid Mac support. This time it's a bit wonky, some of the features don't work. (Duplex for instance, you need to use a dodgy hack to get that working).

The worst thing is the ink, I have never come across such an expensive printer to refill. And the security chips built into the cartridges make things worse. The printer has told me now that 2 brand new cartridges have been empty when I've only just bought them from Staples!

I've had it for one month and have had to put in 7 cartridges! I'm cutting my losses on this one and giving it to a charity shop...

Can't agree that its a no-no.

Having agonised over several reviews and online forums concerning the Epson R800, I decided to mate it with my iMac. First prints were too dark. After brightening-up, they were acceptable and colour balance was almost spot-on. Tweaking the image in the advanced set-up in the driver was enough to produce a good print. However, first comparisons with my existing Epson R300 were that the R300 was better - had more punch. The R300 uses dye inks. The R800 uses pigment inks. After various test prints, I have decided that the R800 is offering more subtle shading and colour accuracy but not more detail. The prints from the R800 do however look like quality photochemical prints without a `digital' look.

I once showed some R300 prints to a colleague, who remarked that as good as they were they did not"look like the photos he was used to". I agree; they had that `digital look'. The Epson R800 does not. It crosses the barrier between the digital and photo look. It gives purer colours. I made a print of clouds in a blue sky and was amazed at how much more natural the sky was rendered by the R800. The R300 looked artificial in comparison.

Many uses have griped at the cost of the inks. I used to use Cibachrome Paper - expensive; and chemicals - expensive, run developing tanks at constant temperature - more expense. The point is; if you want quality then it is unrealistic to think that you can get it on the cheap. Technology costs money and the ink technology is quite specialised. People will spend £800+ on a digital SLR and balk at the £12 or so for an ink cartridge, even if multiplied by seven. There are cheaper printers available but if you are considering the R800 then you presumably appreciate quality. I'm afraid you will have to pay for it and not automatically assume that Epson are trying to put one over on you. My experience with compatible inks was not good; the price was right but the results were wrong - not a good trade-off. Epson Ultrachrome Inks have a predicted 75+ years resistance to fading. No compatible inks can touch this.

As to ink usage, I was quite suprised to see that ink levels did not decrease at the rate of galloping horses as some users report. I make 6x4 test prints and ensure they are right before ever printing to A4 (always using 'Best Photo' setting). On my first set of inks I printed about 30 6x4's, 4 5x7's and 10 A4's and the cyan, yellow, magenta and gloss optimiser inks are more than half full. The red, blue and Matt black seem little used at all, and the photo black about 25% used, despite using ink for the initial dosing of the system on set-up. I would say I am satisfied.

Could do a lot better

Although the print quality is OK as the other reviewer said, it can produce horizontal lines if the heads are not used regularly.
It is slow and noisy, and I agree it is expensive on ink. At least the cartridges don't cost £9.99 each!
It seems incapable of printing anything larger than A4; it struggles dreadfully with even"DL" envelopes.

I didn't buy it myself; having see it in use I most certainly wouldn't buy one myself.

There are other far better printers available for a similar price.

Biased feedback?

I've already submitted a review to Amazon to warn people that this product may not always"do what it says on the tin", but strangely that review never made it to the product page. To restate: the set I bought did nothing despite my following the instructions and - yes, thanks product helpline - it was turned on. Presumably Amazon will make sure this review never sees the light of day as well.

Does what it says on the box !

Wonderful piece of kit, scans film & slides very well indeed, you just need to read instuctions first, though I found it quite user friendly, I had it scanning slides within 30 min after getting it out of the box.
Auto film loader is spot on, a key feature, it does require the film to be undamaged, no kinks or damaged edges and fed in with care.
Sure its a bit on the slow side but the quality of result is very good indeed, software allows for all sorts of repair and enhancement.
It was able to scan repair/restore forty year old film a treat.
A bargain for the casual film/photo scanner who cannot justify the high cost of a dedicated 35mm film scanner.
And of course its a brilliant flat bed scanner when you've finished with film.

Poor performer

I purchased one of these a while ago. Printing quality is fantastic. However, there appears to be a design fault in the supply of the paper to the printing head once loaded. It rarely takes the paper via the feeding mechanism. I have even held it close to it but it takes it in half way and or spits it out all smudged.

Best printer Ive owned

This printer is the best printer Ive ever had. It prints fast, Never jams and holds soo much paper which is nicely tucked away, so keeps fresh and clean and is easy to set it up to print on envelopes and different sizes of paper.
The options are so simple and even someone which zero computer experience could operate this printer.
To scan you simply lift the lid and put your picture in and press what type file it is and scan - that simple
Photocopy is simple to use to... The ink carts go in the front and are easy to change, In three months my inks have hardly moved from full.
I work from home and use this alot. Not once have i had a problem in three months..
It keeps so clean as well and never traps dust because of the layout, paper is keep fresh and the lid to scan/copy shuts down tight.
The tiny screen on the front is easy to read to and lifts up for a better view. The buttons are layed out well and no problems if you have big fingers.. A clear description next to each button to so you dont have to spend ages reading instructions either.
Have not tested the fax so can't comment on that.
Software is great to and user friendly..
Takes about ten mins to set up and install drivers. Instructions are simple to read with step by step clear diagrams how to put ink in and change paper and where the usb cable goes.

Anyone who buys this printer will be very impressed and its hard to believe it only costs 60pounds (check Argos) .. If it cost me 120pounds i would still say its worth every penny.