Epson Stylus Photo 900 Printer (Epson-C11C501061)
| Overall rating | 84 |
| Print quality: Text/graphics | Good/Good |
| Print quality: Photos | Outstanding |
| Overall speed | Fair |
| Rated maximum print speed (normal mode) | 9 pages per minute monochrome, 1.2 ppm color |
| Tested speeds (normal mode) | 2.3 ppm text; 1.4 ppm graphics |
| Tested 5-by-7-inch photo print speed | 0.3 ppm |
| Ease of use | Very good |
| Number of ink cartidges | One black cartridge and one color cartridge |
| Cost/page yield per color cartridge: Estimate given by vendor | $28/330 |
| Features | Very good |
| Maximum color resolution | 5760 by 720 dpi |
| Maximum monochrome resolution | 5760 by 720 dpi |
| Maximum paper size: Letter-size paper measures 8.5 by 11 inches; legal-size paper measures 8.5 by 14 inches; banner-size paper is 8.5 inches wide and comes in variable lengths; tabloid-size paper measures 11 by 17 inches; super B paper measures 13 by 19 inches. | Banner |
| Input capacity | 100 pages |
| Interfaces | USB 1.1 and parallel ports |
| Size (width/depth/height) and weight | 19.4 by 12 by 7.2 inches; 15.2 pounds |
| Warranty | One year |
| Policies | 14-hour weekday toll-call support |
| Other features | Roll-paper holder standard; prints onto coated CD/DVDs; optional Bluetooth adapter ($129). |

Epson Stylus Photo 900
Stylus Photo 900 Printer (Epson-C11C501061) Review, by Dan Littman August 1, 2003

WHAT'S HOT: The Photo 900 is the first ink jet printer we've tested that can print onto CD-Rs and DVD-Rs--and it sells for only $199. In addition to the input tray that feeds a printable disc into the printer, the Photo 900 also comes with an attachment for feeding 4-inch-wide or 8-inch-wide rolls of photo paper. It wowed us with high-resolution photos on glossy paper, which had very sharp detail, smooth textures, and lively color; glossy gray-scale photos also looked impressively realistic. Plus, you don't have to switch ink cartridges to print text, unlike the Lexmark P707. Epson has combined standard colors and photo colors in one cartridge, and has given black its own cartridge. The black cartridge is always installed, so you can print text without worrying that you'll wipe out the tiny black ink supply that most photo cartridges have. Epson provides an excellent setup poster, a detailed printed manual, and on-screen animations that demonstrate how to perform common tasks such as loading paper rolls.
WHAT'S NOT: The Photo 900 runs near the slower end of the scale on both text and graphics: PC World Test Center clocked it printing text at a pokey 2.3 ppm, and photos at 0.3 ppm. In general, it's not a good match for everyday print jobs: On plain paper, its text looked solid black but somewhat rough around the edges; it turned narrow parallel lines into wide, messy stripes; and color and gray-scale images showed slight but distracting bands of unwanted color. (Coated ink jet paper improves its text and photos a great deal, but doesn't do much for narrow parallel lines.) Also, as with most specialty media, setting up the printer to handle CDs and paper rolls can get inconvenient. Before printing onto a disc, you have to lower a lever that makes the back of the printer yawn open, load a CD into a plastic tray, and slide the tray in from the back until it lines up with the rollers inside. To print on rolls, you first have to detach the paper support and clip the roll-holders onto the back while suspending the roll of paper between them.
WHAT ELSE: Epson's CD design software is functional but not elaborate; you'll probably find that most graphic design packages offer more interesting capabilities. Ink-jet-compatible CD-Rs and DVD-Rs are fairly new but seem widely available. For example, Memorex sells a 30-pack of 700MB 48X ink jet CD-R discs for about $14; Imation, Maxell, and TDK sell similar products. However, a single Verbatim printable DVD-R will cost you $20, and printable CD-RW and DVD-RW discs weren't available when we checked. Keep in mind that the capability to resist color bleeding if the CD gets wet will not match a commercially stamped and labeled disc.
UPSHOT: If you burn your own CDs and long to decorate them--or just want to print photos by the roll--the Photo 900 is the right printer for you.
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Reviewed by: tott888
Strengths: Very good color, Prints Printable CD & DVD's, Ink Water resistant
Weaknesses: Ink somewhat expensive
Overall: This printer is VERY good, it prints pictures well and has good coverage, and good color matching. It prints on roll paper with included adapter, and does border free picture printing as well. The biggest plus of this print is that it prints directly onto inkjet printable CDs and DVDs with EXCELLENT results. It includes the adapter and software to just send the disc through the printer. Outstanding!
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Reviewed by: dgriding
Strengths: Ability to print on ink-jet printable CDR's and DVD's
Weaknesses: Separate print tray design
Overall: Had this printer for over 6 mos, with no problems and is a good photo printer, and even better printer for printing directly on ink-jet printable media of which I use it 99.5% of time. Only real complaint is the tray that holds disks for printing. This is separate piece of plastic(don't lose this or have your 2 year old step on and break!), and tray only has capability of printing one disk at a time where they had room to put two.You also need to feed this tray from the back, so plan on having it down low and a minimum of 9" clearance in back of unit for proper access if you plan to print disks.You also need to work a manual lever to adjust from standard paper printing to disk printing when you go from one to the other. Print cartridges can be refilled but not for faint of heart... and if you decide to refill-you will also need an electronic ink cartridge "resetter"(~$20 online) for printer to work with and acurately read ink levels when you fill them.
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Reviewed by: fastphoto
Strengths: Exceptional color printing on both Printable DVDs and CDs. Main reason for purchasing.
Weaknesses: DVD printing method inserts from the rear of the printer.
Overall: The unit prints well and has great color. I have put quality high glossy DVD labels on DVDs and printed on them. None of the labels have come loose but then I do not leave a cd/dvd in the a drive or player and forget (yet) about them. I would buy it again for it fits my needs.
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Reviewed by: tonyk23
Strengths: DVD/CD Printing, Photo Printing, Ink Usage
Weaknesses: None
Overall: This is by far the best printer I have ever owned. I have been working with computers for over 20 years and have owned a lot of printers. For the last 4 or 5 years I have had a couple of HP and Xerox models. The last Epson I owned was a dot matrix and while it worked well I had not been impressed with the InkJets they came out with over the years. Back to this printer it works great. Seems fast to me compared to the $100 HP it replaced. Okay, now on to DVD/CD printing. This is the reason I bought this printer after all. Works great. The default DVD/CD printing software settings print a bit light and the software has a few other quirks that take some getting used to. All in all it makes excellent printed DVD's and CD's. Your results will vary depending on the media you use. Each new brand of Inkjet Printable's I get require slighly different settings. Also if you want to get very high quality prints on some media you may have to wait a while for the disk to dry. I have begun spraying my disk with a clear Krylon spray to give them a smoother surface and make them somewhat waterproof. Next Photo printing is very good. My wife likes the prints better than we can get from Walmart and the others. All in all a great purchace.
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Reviewed by: tubeamp
Strengths: Can print on cd-r's and DVD's. Quality photo prints
Weaknesses: cost of ink cartriges
Overall: I decided to purchase this after doing some research on the multitude of printers available. I liked the fact that you could print directly on cdr's. I have tried labels that you stick on to discs, and they suck bad! They wrinkle up and can cause problems with cd players when ejecting the disc. You do have to buy printable cdr's for this feature, but they cost about the same as any other QUALITY cdr. This printer also does a good job with photo quality prints. It does take some time to print larger photos, but any quality print takes time. Also, this pritner has the acapibility to make borderless pictures. The software included gives you many different printing options. The only real downside to this printer is the cost of ink. A five-color cartrige costs about $35.00 for a genuine epson. Generic cartigres go for about $20.00. If you are in the market for a photo printer, and you also burn cdr's or dvd's, I would recommend this printer! Don't listen to the guy who wrote the last review, anyone I know who has this printer has been very satisfied!
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