Epson Stylus Color 777

WHAT'S HOT: It wasn't long ago when $100 bought the kind of printer that holds only one ink cartridge at a time--either black or color--forcing the user to switch cartridges for different kinds of print jobs and producing mediocre color under the best of circumstances. Even today only a few dual-cartridge models drop below $100. The Epson Stylus Color 777 is the newest member of that select group. The 777 whips its closest competitor, Lexmark's Z32, on graphics speed, printing 1 page per minute to the Z32's 0.3 ppm, and the Epson prints text at 2.9 ppm, significantly faster. It also comes with Corel's vast photo-projects package, Print House 2000, and it features a paper support that clips on tight to the printer so it won't fall off when you bump it.

WHAT'S NOT: The Stylus Color 777 costs $29 more than the Lexmark Z32, so if you're shopping on a tight budget, you might prefer the savings. The 777 prints solid black text but with very rough edges; gray-scale images appear grainy, while color graphics have muddy, flat colors but acceptable detail. Because the 777 has only two status lights on the case, it uses combinations of flashes to indicate error conditions and maintenance requirements; you'll have to keep the manual at hand to interpret them. Also, the 777's ink costs rank very high: A page of black text costs about 9.9 cents, and a page of color graphics costs about 15.8 cents.

WHAT ELSE: Like the Epson Stylus Color 880, the 777 has an output tray that folds up flush to provide more elbow room when you're not printing. Also like the 880, the 777 has an extensive online manual.

BEST USE: The Stylus Color 777 might work as an inexpensive printer for the kids, but ink costs will run up quickly, and other printers are even less expensive.

SUMMARY

Epson Stylus Color 777 Rated 8.0 ppm monochrome/6.0 ppm color, 2880-by-720-dpi maximum resolution, 100 sheets input, 30 sheets output. $99 800/463-7766 www.epson.com