Epson Stylus Photo R380 Inkjet Printer (30 PPM, 5760x1440 DPI, Color, PC/Mac)

Epson Stylus Photo R380

Stylus Photo R380 Inkjet Printer (30 PPM, 5760x1440 DPI, Color, PC/Mac) Review, by Melissa Riofrio January 22, 2007

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• Latest User Reviews 1 review
• Reviewed by: dlauber

  Duration of ownership: 3 Months

  Strengths: Brilliant colors, faster color printing than previous Epson units, prints directly on CDs/DVDs, networkable including via print server, uses long-lasting ink

  Weaknesses: It's an inkjet, so it swallows ridiculously expensive ink. When printing on CDs or DVDs, you must allow 24 hours for the ink to dry before playing the disc (not 30 minutes as the PC World review suggests).

  Overall: After years of using the Epson Color Stylus C80, the R380 was like a revelation. Now, I'm no fan of inkjet printing -- our primary printer is a Ricoh Aficio CL4000DN, a color laser with extremely low cost of ownership compared to the color lasers that HP, Xerox, and the other big names produce -- but the R380 is as good as it gets for a low-cost inkjet printer. While I use our color laser for business and all text printing, the R380 serves its purpose well for printing photographs and CDs/DVDs. One of its best features is the R380's ability to easily print on inkjet printable CDs and DVDs so you don't need to apply labels anymore (saving 50 cents or more per CD). The process was far easier than I expected and the results very professional looking -- in fact my wife can't tell the difference; my homegrown compilation CDs look like they were produced professionally. I've been pleasantly surprised by how much faster the R380 prints than my previous Epson inkjets and by the much high quality of color printing. While it is disappointing how Epson gouges consumers with its excessive prices on ink cartridges, the pricing is no worse than the rest of the industry. Better yet, the ink will last long beyond our lifetimes. All in all, if you need an inkjet printer for photos and/or CD/DVD labeling, the Epson R380 does the job extremely well and easily. And it works on networks, even via a print server. Now if Epson and everybody could just stop gouging us on ink.... but that's a dreamworld, isn't it?

• Reviewed by: cbentcb

  Strengths: prints very well on cd/ dvd

  Weaknesses: Quality on photos are not as good as some other s

  Overall: Overall, a great printer for all roun printing. For printing on dvd this printer excels, however photo quality can be a little better. Great option in the photo print without a computer.

• Reviewed by: why_whq

  Strengths: excellent photo quality. accept memory cards, LCD display. print on DVD

  Weaknesses: expensive ink. heavy.

  Overall: This is the best photo printer I have had. Produce very sharp and accurate colors. also print on CD and DVDs, my first photo printers having this feature. However, the ink seems going down very quickly and I am afraid it will cost a lot to buy ink.

• Reviewed by: mmngt

  Strengths: Great CD printing, great color saturation

  Weaknesses: Very high ink usage, bulky

  Overall: This is the second one I've owned. The first one went back to the factory right away. Both had the same problem. High Ink Usage!Let me elaborate. On both printers, when I put in fresh cartridges, the printer made the typical ink charging sound for about 5 minutes. Then, mysteriously, all the ink cartridges showed a sudden drop of 1/4 in the Status Monitor. This is totally unacceptable.Epson did not give me an argument about this, but sent me a new set. Well, the same thing happened. so now, I will get third party cartridges and keep my fingers crossed. I've owned at least 6 Epson printers. They are wonderful, but this one is irritating at best.

• Reviewed by: FG

  Strengths: Easy setup, Flesh tones look natural, when used with Epson Ultra Premium paper, you get outstanding results

  Weaknesses: cannot use "off-brand" photo paper

  Overall: This is one great photo printer, I love this printer for its great color and speed. You can't beat this quality for the price, anywhere, from any other printer.

• Reviewed by: Bhagwan

  Strengths: Great printer

  Weaknesses: Ink is expensive

  Overall: It prints very good quality picture can print directly on CD and DVD, the quality is very good. It is easy to setup. Has a good LCD screen to see preview and print. Has memory slot so can read directly from card.