PhotographyBLOG Review: Epson Stylus Photo R800

The Stylus Photo R800 is a 7 colour, 5760 x 1440 optimised dpi inkjet printer that offers borderless printing at print sizes up to A4 and is aimed at the professional and amateur photographer. It uses UltraChrome Hi-Gloss pigment inks, which have previously only been used in the Epson 2100/2200 A3 printer. These pigment inks are archival quality, offering print life of over 80 years on certain papers. As if that wasn’t enough, Epson have also introduced Red and Blue inks, which create a colour gamut rivalling that of silver halide photos, and they have reduced the ink droplet size to just 1.5 picolitres. So is the Stylus Photo R800 the ultimate A4 photo printer? Read my review to find out.

Website: Epson Stylus Photo R800 Review

Published: Thursday, July 22, 2004

Reader Comments

1. I've moved this comment by Jay_y, as it was made for the wrong printer (my fault!):
   
   Since I have used a 2000P and still use a 2200 on a daily basis now, and recently purchased a R800. The R800 is the best image quality of the bunch. With a preference for Epson Luster, the clear coat is wonderful. For the savings over a 2200, I also have better prints. Print size limit is something I'll gladly live with. I've printed a number of B&W;images for some friends, they're impressed with the neutral tone, in any light.
   Might even print a few CD/DVD's as well.
   Jay

   Mark Goldstein at 10:38am on Wednesday, July 28, 2004

2. Dear Sir,
   I just purchased the r800 and noticed it doesn't work well with the programs for Mac users (like i-photo). It seems it's drivers don't line up with Macs programs and never produce a borderless print. Is there a special photo program I can use that works well with epson and Macs? I was thinking of returning the printer and getting into cannon or H.P., am I making a mistake? Thank you.
   Sam

   Samuel Nodal at 04:01pm on Thursday, August 05, 2004

3. good but not complete.
   inks prices, A4 print price, approx.
   what the guarranty covers and in which way.
   It is good for 1000/10000/100000... prints.
   Good work
   Dino
   Italy

   Dino at 02:37pm on Thursday, September 02, 2004

4. Mark,
   Very interesting review - thank you.
   A question - In your view, is it worth replacing a 2yr old 950 with which I am reasonably happy for the extra quality of the R800?
   Cheers,
   
   Roland

   Roland at 09:51pm on Tuesday, November 02, 2004

5. Good question Roland!
   
   I would only upgrade from the 950 if you think you need the archival qualities of the R800.

   Mark Goldstein at 12:18pm on Wednesday, November 03, 2004

6. I am new to Digital Photography and am getting a little confused about things. From what I have read about preparing files for printing they should have a resolution of somewhere between 150 - 300 dpi as anything above this is not noticable. In your article on the Epson R800 printer you mention 720 dpi and then improvement in quality at higher resolutions.
   Am I getting conflicting information or are the two not related.
   I would appreciate your comments

   Martin Robson at 02:17am on Monday, November 08, 2004

7. You just need to ensure that your images are set to a resolution of 300dpi if possible (or as near as you can get), and that you choose 1440dpi or higher in the printer settings box.

   Mark Goldstein at 10:32am on Wednesday, November 10, 2004

8. Thanks for the info....we couldn't decide between a couple of printers, even tried out a couple that produced awful quality prints...we'd been looking at the Epson R800 and your review helped make the final decision to go for it.

   Anna and John at 05:59pm on Saturday, November 20, 2004

9. Have just bought an R800 to compliment my Canon S900 & S9000 which I use for speed. A bit disappointed with the gloss finish using Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss paper. In fact the paper is almost matt after coming out of the printer and looks like it has banded. Nowhere near as glossy as the Canon.
   Perhaps it only works with Epson's gloss paper?

   Graham Gott at 08:48pm on Thursday, January 06, 2005

10. Have had several Epson printers, Stylus Colour 850, Photo 890, 2000P and now an R800 (bought to replace the Photo 890). Biggest difference is with the R800 what you see on the screen is pretty much what comes out - with the 890 and 2000P the printout is generally a few shades lighter than the on-screen view.
    
    Graham - always use Epson paper in Epson printers, they don't work terribly well with other makes. Stick to the Epson Premium Semigloss and you'll get results that make your jaw drop.

    Glenn Richards at 10:34pm on Sunday, January 30, 2005

11. The R800 is a great printer - just wish Epson wopuld hurry up and release an A3 version (outside of Japan that is).

    Mark at 03:11pm on Wednesday, February 02, 2005

12. A very helpful review. Thanks.
    
    One question: Does the R800 function well enough as a text printer? I've always had a laser printer, so going to an inkjet photo printer would be a significant switch.

    Judy at 02:38pm on Saturday, March 12, 2005

13. Judy - I'd keep a laser printer for printing text. At present I'm running 4 printers here, the R800, a Photo 2000P for the few occasions I want A3, an Okipage 14i monochrome postscript laser and a Samsung CLP-500 colour laser.
    
    For printing colour documents the CLP-500 blows away the Epson, but for photos the R800 makes mincemeat out of pretty much anything I've seen. And the Okipage is great for monochrome, it's postscript so it's really really fast.

    Glenn Richards at 02:59pm on Saturday, March 12, 2005

14. As Glenn has said, I wouldn't use a photo printer and its expensive ink set for anything other than very light office-type use.
    
    I recently bought a Canon MP360 multifuncation - £80 for a scanner and printer that delivers faster and crisper text documents than my A3 Epson 2100. Also doubles up as a photo-copier. I should really write a review!

    Mark Goldstein at 12:01pm on Sunday, March 13, 2005

15. After reading this review it has convinced me that this printer is what I am looking for, as I am interested in photography as an amateur, and whilst my current printer is good thus one seems ideal.

    Arthur Brown at 02:42pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2005

16. I've had TWO Epson Stylus Photo R800s go wrong in two years. I've used Epson printers for years, but I just can't trust them any longer. Both printers had the same problem - photos came out mostly blue/green, or mostly red/pink (and yes, I'd gone through all the cleaning regimes, not to mention wasting cartridges by changing them in case they were faulty. And I only ever used Epson cartridges). Oh, and the second printer also wouldn't feed the paper through in the end. What a waste of almost £400.

    Debbie Wakeford at 12:34pm on Wednesday, April 23, 2008