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More…Epson's Artisan 800 color inkjet multifunction printer has many tempting photo features. It's expensive--and not quite perfect--but it's still worth considering, especially for serious shutterbugs.
Epson Artisan 800
Pricing
$129.99 - $285.00 From 3 Vendors Get Best Prices »
- Spec Navigator
- Media Handling
- Display
- Network
- Connectivity
- Platform Support
- Dimensions
- General Features
- Green
- Included Software
- Resolutions
- Scanning
- Faxing
Media Handling
| Manual Feed Slot | No |
| Maximum Number of Input Trays | 2 |
| Maximum paper size, height | 14.0 inches |
| Maximum Sheets With All Paper Trays | 120 |
| Output Tray Capacity | 50 |
| Standard Number of Input Trays | 2 |
| Maximum paper size, width | 8.5 inches |
| Standard input sheet capacity | 120 |
| Duplex printing | No |
Connectivity
| Other Interfaces |
|
| Parallel Port | No |
| Serial Port | No |
| USB 1.1 | Yes |
| USB 2.0 | Yes |
General Features
| Printer Emulation Type | host based |
| Media slots |
|
| PictBridge compatible | Yes |
Included Software
| Included Software |
|
3.5
3 User Reviews Add your own »
$129.99 - $285.00
From 3 Vendors
Get Best Prices »
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Printers »
Pros
Very fast; easy touchscreen controls
Prints on CD/DVD media; inks are cheap
Cons
Expensive; mediocre plain-paper quality
Documentation could be more helpful
Bottom Line
You get plenty of features and capabilities, but it needs special paper for the best results.
Epson Artisan 800 Inkjet Multifunction Printer
Artisan 800 Review, by Melissa Riofrio, PC World November 15, 2008
The Artisan 800 boasts a large (7.8-inch), tiltable touch-screen control panel, with a 3.5-inch color LCD. I found navigating the menus easy, but the sheer number of options made me wish for a comprehensive overview (Epson doesn't provide one). Two media slots take CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SD Card, and XD Picture Card; the unit has a PictBridge port too.
This model's star feature is its integrated CD/DVD printing mechanism. The caddy lowers itself automatically from its lair in the open front bay. I like this self-contained design even better than what HP offers on models such as the Photosmart C5280.
The Artisan 800 has speed to spare. In the PC World Test Center's speed tests, it churned out plain-text pages at an impressive rate of 9.8 pages per minute. Its 5.4-ppm graphics speed topped the charts.
Given this model's photography slant, I probably shouldn't have been surprised that the Artisan 800 performed better on photo paper than on plain. But given that its six separate inks offer a wider color palette, I was disappointed in its results, as all the samples we printed on plain paper looked dull, feathery, or grainy. On Epson's own photo paper, colors occasionally erred on the pinkish side but otherwise looked natural. The ink is reasonably priced: Based on the industry-standard ISO test pages for ink yields, each color costs 1.8 to 2.2 cents per page, while black costs 3.3 cents. Scans were good; copies seemed a bit fuzzy.
The Artisan 800's paper handling wants to be versatile but is sometimes annoying. A 30-sheet photo tray piggybacks atop the 120-sheet, letter/legal main tray. The 50-sheet output tray--a series of telescoping panels--pulls out from the photo-tray area. Loading the main tray is an involved process: You must retract the clumsy output extensions, slide and lift the photo tray, fish for the width adjustment underneath said tray, and then put everything back the way it was before. At least the 30-sheet automatic document feeder ADF is simple.
Most of the manuals are good, but I'll never understand why Epson buries the parts diagram in the troubleshooting section of the HTML-based user guide. A few of the Artisan 800's features aren't covered anywhere. And although automatic duplexing requires a $30 optional accessory, you can choose the feature in the printer driver regardless, which is confusing.
The Artisan 800 offers so much that one might forget its less-friendly aspects. Business-minded users looking in this price range might find a better fit in the Canon Pixma MX7600, or one of Epson's new Workforce multifunctions (which we have yet to test).
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
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80
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78
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90
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Printers
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74
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82
Performance
| 300dpi Line Art Image (secs) | 11.22 |
| 4 by 6 Color Photo (secs) | 10.24 |
| 4 by 6 Grayscale Photo (secs) | 9.56 |
| Color Output Quality | Fair |
| Color Photo Quality | Good |
| Copy Output Quality | Good |
| Copy Quality | Good |
| Final Scan Time, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi | 10.53 |
| Final Scan Time, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi | 7.01 |
| Final Scan Time, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | 6.18 |
| Grayscale Glossy Output Quality | n/a |
| Grayscale Output Quality | Poor |
| Line Art Output Quality | Very Good |
| One-Page Copy | 14.9 |
| One-Page Copy (secs) | 14.9 |
| One-Page Line Art, Maximum Resolution | Good |
| One-Page Webpage (secs) | 13.89 |
| One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | Good |
| Overall Scan Quality | Good |
| Preview Scan, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi | 11.42 |
| Preview Scan, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi | 11.15 |
| Preview Scan, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | 11.27 |
| Sports Action Shot (secs) | 30.7 |
| Ten-Page Word Document | 79.96 |
| Ten-Page Word Document (secs) | 79.96 |
| Tested Color Speed (ppm) | 5.4 |
| Tested Glossy Photo Speed (ppm) | 2 |
| Tested Grayscale Speed (ppm) | 6.3 |
| Tested Lineart Speed (ppm) | 5.3 |
| Tested Text Speed (ppm) | 9.8 |
| Text Output Quality | Fair |
| Three-Page Word Document | 24.34 |
| Three-Page Word Document (secs) | 24.34 |
| Total Scan Time, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi | 10.53 |
| Total Scan Time, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi | 7.01 |
| Total Scan Time, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | 6.18 |
| Two-Page Excel Document | 20.25 |
| Two-Page Excel Document (secs) | 20.25 |
Scanning
| Preview scan, 2-by-2-inch document, 600 dpi | 11.42 |
| Preview scan, 4-by-5-inch document, 100 dpi | 11.15 |
| Preview scan, one-page Word document, 300 dpi | 11.27 |
| Preview scan, one-page Word document, 300 dpi | 11.27 |
Text Printing
| Text output quality | Fair |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: mumpkin
Strengths: touch pad, fast print
Weaknesses: Very heavy, printing is faded, noisy and slow to warm-up
Overall: I've already moved on to a new printer, I have a love affair with printers and who could resist one with a touch pad. I found the flip-out touch pad easy to use and yes, fun! Wireless connection was a snap but the machine is heavy and it takes up a lot depth on my counter, the lower profile is nice though. Lately my printer has been taking in 3-5 pieces of paper, possibly due to my paper but it was enough to cause me to move on to another printer. Shocking is the noise this machine makes when first turned on, it takes forever to warm-up as well. Color printing is fairly quick, however, both black and color are a bit faded, and coping was worse, this is not acceptable for this price range. Ink is expensive as it takes 6 cartridges but a combo pack is available. Obviously, the big sell point is the touch pad and sleek black styling, it's unfortunate the machine doesn't live up to it's looks!
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Reviewed by:
Strengths: Looks great, two-level paper tray, multi-page feeder, excellent photos printed on Epson premium glossy photo paper.
Weaknesses: Paper tray is flimsy plastic, printer cannot feed Avery labels sheets (and there's no manual feed capability).
Overall: After two months, I am still thrilled with this AIO inkjet printer. It produces terrific photos using Epson photo papers. I like the multi-page feeder for both scanning and copying. Unfortunately, I r
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Reviewed by:
Strengths: So far a good printer.
Weaknesses: Auto-duplexing is not built in
Overall: The product description page reads:"Save paper - built-in two-sided printing"This is not true. The auto-duplexer is an additional add-on that needs to be purchased separately. This misleading product description is the only glaring flaw in this otherwise solid printer.
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