Samsung WB500
Casio EX-Z1
Samsung WB550
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90
Pentax K-7
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7
Canon PowerShot SX200 IS
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20
Epson Artisan 800 and 700
The Artisan 800 and 700 are new flagship inkjet all-in-ones from Epson. The premium Epson Artisan 800 model features Wi-Fi Fax, an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), Ultra Hi-Definition photos, 4800 dpi resolution scanning, a 7.8-inch smart touch panel and 3.5-inch LCD screen. The Epson Artisan 700 lacks the fax capability of its big brother and has a smaller 2.5-inch LCD and 2400 dpi resolution scanning. Both models offer Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking and use six-color Ultra Hi-Definition Claria ink. The Epson Artisan 800 costs $299.99 and the Artisan 700 $199.99.
Epson America Press Release
Epson America Introduces “Artisan” - New Flagship Line of Premium Ink Jet All-in-Ones that Combine Power and performance with Sleek and Chic Styling
The Artisan 800 and Artisan 700 are Advanced Yet Easy to Use All-in-Ones That Enable Users to Express Their Creativity in Virtually all of Their Printing Tasks
LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 27, 2008 – Epson America Inc. today introduced the Artisan™ 800 and Artisan 700, two new all-in-ones that are likely to become the envy of the industry based on their superb performance, highly sought-after features and stylish piano black finish. The Artisan series is perfect for the modern household where many users can share a single product and fits well in a living room or home office environment.
“The Artisan series basically gives users everything but the kitchen sink in terms of features and performance,” said Steve Semos, product manager, consumer ink jets, Epson America Inc. “More importantly, these benefits enable users to express their creative side in ways never before imagined. At Epson we’ve built our reputation on giving our customers the industry’s best image quality, and this flagship line is a key milestone in that tradition.”
Beyond its creative applications, the premium Artisan 800 features Wi-Fi® Fax, an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), and Ultra Hi-Definition photos. Its elegant 7.8” smart touch panel and 3.5” LCD lights up only the buttons necessary that brings essential controls to users’ fingertips for easy selecting, copying, enlarging, rotating, cropping, and printing photos all without a computer. The Artisan 800 also has the exclusive ability to turn photos or drawings into personalized coloring book pages and make personal notepaper with a photo as a background.
Epson provides additional value to Artisan customers with its new Epson Preferred SM program, which includes a two-year limited warranty, toll-free telephone support, access to the exclusive MyEpson.com Web site that features a series of online tutorial videos, and more1. Registered Artisan owners also receive, free lifetime phone support with no additional charges, even beyond the warranty.
Both the Artisan 800 and 700 feature six-color Ultra Hi-Definition Claria ink to create vivid, true-to-life photos with smudge, scratch and water resistance2, as well as fade resistance up to four times longer than photo lab prints3. Working in tandem with Claria ink, the “smart nozzles” in Epson’s exclusive MicroPiezo® print head with DX5™ technology deliver up to five ink droplet sizes, as small as 1.5 picoliters, producing smooth gradations, accurate skin tones and sharp, grain-free prints.
Both models feature Epson’s auto photo correction technology. This intuitive feature allows users to preview corrections on the built-in LCD to ensure the very best prints, rescuing photos that they might have otherwise passed over or discarded. Users can also remove red eye from their photos automatically.
Other useful features on the Artisan 800 and 700 include turning plain paper into college-ruled, wide-ruled and graph school paper, and creating photo layouts with various size photos on a single sheet of paper. Users can even print and copy images directly onto ink jet printable CDs and DVDs.
Both Artisan models complete printing tasks faster than competitive printers in their class, producing prints and copies in black and color in up to 38 pages per minute (ppm), 4” x 6” photos in as fast as 10 seconds, and an 8” x 10” in as fast as 50 seconds4. The Artisan 800 adds full-featured, high-speed fax with a 30-page Automatic Document Feeder for copying, scanning and faxing stacks of documents effortlessly.
Standing a mere 5.9” tall in a sleek, compact design with an easy-to-view tilt 2.5” LCD, the Artisan 700 offers outstanding features and functionality inherent in the series for everyday printing, copying and scanning, making it the ideal solution for a range of personal and creative needs that don’t require faxing. Additional features and performance in the Artisan series include:
* Full-Featured Scanning and Copying: The Artisan 800 features 4800 dpi resolution (48-bit color) and the Artisan 700 features 2400 dpi resolution (48-bit color), for high quality scanning of images and documents with brilliant clarity and accuracy. Both all-in-ones also offer standalone, one-touch color and black and white copying with a wide range of easy-to-use options such as the ability to scan to a computer, memory card or USB flash drive, easy photo reprints and enlargements up to 400 percent, and a convenient fit-to-page printing feature. They even offer background removal for crisp, clean copies of text documents. Both models include OCR software for converting documents into text users can edit.
* Standalone Photo Capabilities: Both Artisan models have card slots that are compatible with all popular memory card types5 for printing photos without a computer or transferring files to or from a computer. Plus, users can print directly from a digital camera or mobile phone with the PictBridge® connection. Additional photo printing options include print-by-date, custom picture packages, photo index sheets, and passport and photo IDs.
* Restore Faded Photos: Both Artisan all-in-ones can easily restore color to old, faded photos with or without using a computer.
* Creativity Made Simple: Included software allows users to create and print personalized CDs/DVDs, greeting cards, elegant invitations, beautiful photo calendars, photo books, and more.
* Shared Use at Home: Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking are built in for sharing with all users in the home. An optional Bluetooth® photo print adapter is also available for printing from cell phones and other mobile devices.
* Flexible Paper Handling: Both models print borderless photos in popular sizes, including
4” x 6”, 5” x 7”, 8” x 10”, and letter. They also feature a paper cassette with two paper trays that eliminate the need to switch between plain and photo paper. In addition, two-sided printing is built-in and can be automated with an optional duplexer6.
* Smart Ink System: The Artisan series feature convenient individual ink cartridges that can be changed in as little as five seconds and replace only the color needed. In addition, innovative technology conveniently combines color inks to produce black when black ink is low to extend printing. Cartridges are available in two sizes to match users’ printing needs.
Artisan Series Pricing and Availability
With an estimated street price of $299.99 (Artisan 800) and $199.99 (Artisan 700), these products offer an array of features, benefits and services that consumers have never before experienced. The Artisan 800 and 700 are currently available for “pre-order” for a limited time online through Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and OfficeMax.com. In addition, both all-in-ones will be available in September 2008 through major computer, office and electronic superstores, a variety of retail stores nationwide, mail order, PC manufacturers, the Internet, and Epson’s own retail site, http://www.epsonstore.com.
About Epson America Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.
1One-year limited warranty to all purchasers; toll-free support and second-year warranty require registration within 60 days of purchase. With registration, Epson provides phone support without charge for the life of the product. Telephone toll charges may apply. Offer valid only in the United States.
2Water resistance on Epson Glossy Papers, Epson Matte Papers and plain papers, when using genuine Epson inks.
3Ink fade resistance ratings based on accelerated testing of unframed color prints on plain paper in indoor display conditions; claim that documents resist fading up to four times longer is based on accelerated testing of unframed color prints on plain paper in indoor display conditions. Actual print stability will vary according to light intensity, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Epson does not guarantee the longevity of prints. See http://www.wilhelm-research.com.
4PPM/CPM speeds measured after first page, based on black and color text patterns in Draft Mode on plain paper. Color photo in Draft Mode on Premium Photo Paper Glossy measured from start of paper feed. Additional print time will vary based on system configuration, software application and page complexity. See http://www.epson.com/printspeedfor more information about print speeds.
5Adapter required for MiniSD™, MicroSD™, Mini DHC™, MicroSDHC™, Memory Stick Duo™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™, Memory Stick Micro (M2) ™, MMCmobile™, and MMCmicro™.
6Two-sided printing available on the Macintosh® only with the optional duplexer.
Samsung WB500 Review
Casio EX-Z1 Review
Samsung WB550 Review
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90 Review
Pentax K-7 Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7
Canon PowerShot SX200 IS
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20
#1 Adeptus
Epson Artisan 800 Installation Gotchas
I bought my printer Dec 31st, 2008, after having spent nearly 6 hours reading & comparing other AIO's on the Internet. For me, price was not a hurdle, because around Boxing week sales, some other AIOs were selling for a small fraction of the price (several under $100 CAD). My requirements were a printer that could scan and print double sided with accuracy, and if the print quality was great, then bonus! To make a long story short, all the other competitors (Lexmark, HP, Brother, etc) had too many bad reviews for my taste.
What follows below is mostly negative commentary, but they are negative 'issues' I can live with. The basic quality & functionality of the AIO printer I am thus far satisfied with.
Any way, here's the installation gotchas I ran into, in hopes it saves others the frustrations I had to go through. All in all it took me over 4 hours to complete the installation (in part because my PC's DVD drive broke down half way through - not related to the printer, but slowed me down).
WIRELESS ISSUES:
(Disclaimer, I'm a network engineer with 10+ years of expeirence and know my stuff, I feel sorry for non-techies trying to get this to work).
1. The Front Panel Scan To features only works if the printer is connected via USB. It does not work AT ALL if the printer is connected to your network either hard-wired or wireless. Epson, this is NOT a technical or hardware hurdle, (Epson) if you are reading this, I expect updated firmware/drivers in the future that make this work.
2. The wireless installation process was convoluted than it needed to be. The process & instructions need to be re-written and simplified. Why do we need to connect an Ethernet cable first to a router to setup a wireless connection? This makes no sense what so ever, still it won't work otherwise.
3. If you enable the wireless connection of the printer, and then decide to connect the printer via USB (because 1/2 the LCD panel features don't work!!), then be ready to spend 30 minutes uninstalling all the software and re-installing, because unless you do that, *EVEN VIA USB, the SCANNING LCD FEATURES WILL STILL NOT WORK!* They will work after you uninstall and re-install.
I should mention that Epson did provide a 1/2 decent instructional video on their website on how to connect the printer wirelessly to your network. If I recall correctly, There was a link in their FAQ to the video. This is better than reading their somewhat confusing instructions.
LCD SCREEN:
4. I was disappointed to find out that in fact the LCD touch screen is really only 1/3 of the size that they show. By this I mean that yes the physical screen is the size shown on the box, but you have to pay attention to details and see that only the middle section of the LCD screen can actually display photos. Menu items in the left 1/3 and the right 1/3rd are reserved for a dozen or so touch screen buttons and that section of the screen does NOT display anything else (i.e. not your photos).
5. That being said, I must say that the touchscreen is one of the best I've used (though I haven't used too many). It is very sensitive to the touch (a good thing) and the buttons are adequately sized such that accuracy of use makes the touchscreen very functional and easy to use. Good job on that part Epson!
6. When I was viewing this printer in the Store, the floor demo was already trashed and I'm pretty sure it had only been there for a couple of months. Specifically the LCD screen angled rotation functionality was practically broken. The plastic is a little cheap and not meant for people to go there every day and rotate the LCD screen up and down forcefully. Be sure to use the button to the left of the LCD screen to bring it back down gently.
6:01 am - Friday, January 2, 2009
#2 Adeptus2
OTHER MISC INSTALLATION GOTCHAS:
7. You can only use the memory card reader on the printer if it is connected via USB. Again, this feature does not work if the printer is connected to your network. Tsk.Tsk.. Epson!
8. Per Epson support, you cannot use both the USB and Ethernet connections together. It's one or the other. I'm going to try it anyway since it took Epson support an hour to tell me that the Scan To and Memory Card Readers only work using a USB connection.
9. On a Mac (I also used it on a Windows XP SP3 PC) you should uninstall any Epson Scan software for any other Epson AIO's that were connected to your computer before installing the Artisan 800 software. Also, be sure to run the Epson Scanner Utility and select the appropriate connection type. It defaults to LOCAL even if you set it up as a Network printer. That was a pain in the butt since nowhere in the documentation does it tell you about this.
5. For a $300.00 printer, it should have included the Duplexer, which is a $29.00 option direct from Epson, even more so since most of the major stores that sell this printer can't or won't order this part (i.e. FutureShop). The Duplexer is backordered at NCIX.COM in Vancouver as of Dec 31, 2008. I'm going to have to deal with that one later :(.
6. Don't be fooled into buying extra print cartridges when you buy the printer because the sales person tells you that the cartridges are only half full . Epson actually included full print cartridges with this printer, and further included an extra full black ink cartridge!
8. What's with having to install the software first and only after connecting the USB cable? Epson this smells of lame software authorship. Or maybe we can just blame it on Microsoft?
9. The sheet tray in the bottom centre of the printer is a little too thin as far as the plastic material is concerned. In fact, I dare say it feels cheap. Any wrong moves and it will easily break like a toothpick, so keep toddlers away from the printer and slide the paper tray inside the printer when not in use. Epson, I know you're trying to fit a zillion paper features in a small space, but please double the thickness of your paper trays in your next printer.
10. I was impressed with the speed of the printing in black and white on plain paper. It zoomed along FAST! As for quality if you stare at the printing close up on plain paper you can see minor bleeding, but for home or even casual business use, it is absolutely fine. I haven't yet printed on fancy paper, but I hear that's where this printer really shines.
11. The Scanning to PDF worked pretty good, but I was not impressed at all by the scanning software that Epson provides. The three levels of use (Home, Office and Professional) don't make a whole lot of sense. Somebody needs to take some GUI classes at Epson software development. The software does a basic job, but the GUI and feature set is rather lacking. It took me about 1 hour to figure out all the fueatures I needed to use in that software. Basically, certain features were not located where one might expect. That said, the scanner is supposedly TWAIN compatible so in theory you can use more professional scanning software, though I haven't yet tried.
13. The printer does look cool and sexy, I'll give them that much, and I'm hoping the print quality lives up to all the hype, and just as much I'm hoping the life cycle reaches the 5 year mark (my expectations, not Epson advertising).
6:04 am - Friday, January 2, 2009
#3 mike
I totally agree, this is a nice printer but it does have serious issues. dont forget to mention the five minuite wait if you decide to cancel a print. and I have yet to print a complete page wirelessly (the wirelless feature was a main reason for geting this printer) i also agree with the setup process, it is a joke. Hooking it up to my network, give me a break, this is supposed to be a WiFi printer..... Hardly!!!
6:36 am - Wednesday, January 7, 2009
#4 Stan Martin
I bought this printer (800) from Fry's a week ago. I had a gift certificate for Fry's. My daughter is an actress & I wanted to get a printer that could produce a great head shot. At Fry's, I encountered an Epson rep who was pleased to show me around.
The 800 puts out wonderful photos!! Although I had some bleeding issues on a couple of photos.
My problems come with the all in one features. I also have an HP Officejet 7200 series AIO printer. I can fax from my computer (not from my Epson Artisan 800) I can download pics from the memory card slots (not from my Epson Artisan 800). I can scan to my computer (not from my Epson Artisan 800)at least not in wireless mode.
It does print some great photos, but wow, they need to get it a lot better when it comes to producing an ALL IN ONE product. Epson is far behind in producing an effective AL IN ONE product!!!!!!!
8:46 am - Saturday, January 17, 2009
#5 Craig
I'm looking at picking one of these up today although I've heard that the paper jams up?
Craig
http://www.lusterstudios.com
-
5:10 pm - Saturday, January 31, 2009
#6 Mike
Craig,
If you are not careful when loading paper into the paper tray it can easily jam up. The paper tray is kinda cheap, the plastic needs to be thicker, and the adjusters that align the paper are a bit difficult. The first time I loaded the paper it was a little too far forward and it sucked about 10 sheets, made an awful noise and stopped.
As long as you are aware of it and load the paper carefully it is fine, I havent had the problem since.
On another note, it does print black and white text quite fast!
8:22 pm - Saturday, January 31, 2009
#7 kathy McDevitt
Attempting to print to a matte transparency but it kicks it out blank and prints on the next plain white paper. Any suggestions?
2:49 am - Sunday, February 15, 2009
#8 Deb Rosenfeld
A couple corrections to previous posts...
(disclaimer: I am a desktop pc support specialist with 20 years experience)
The wireless can be setup without an ethernet connection to the router. It works best when assigning a fixed ip in the range where nothing else will interfere so it won't change.
The memory card reader works great wireless. I use the AIO all the time as a stand-alone to scan to the card and grab the scans off the card from another room. You cannot scan to the card if you have it open on the computer and it is available read-only.
I don't remember if I uninstalled my RX600 printer software before installing this or not, BUT I did have my Epson 4490 scanner software installed when I installed the new Artisan 800 and they work fine together.
I have the duplexor, but have only tested it, not used it regularly.
I have not tried printable disks or faxing
Praises...
Photo quality is very good but is does empty the cartridges pretty fast and they are more expensive than my previous RX600.
The scanner color is very good.
Complaints...
I do wish it had the 'scan to' wirelessly to the computer.
The sheet feeder is awful. I used it for a batch of pages. One got stuck, but not badly. Now it will complain of a SF paper jam on startup. I have to open the door and close it and then it will continue. The SF is now almost useless.
It will not print to transparencies because it does not 'see' them. I have not tried to fool it by taping a transparency to a piece of paper, but then I wonder if the ink amount could be regulated appropriately.
This is a complaint for all scanners I have seen. Why when you align the corner of the document to be scanned with the little icon and have it against the sides of the scanning bed is there an area that doesn't get scanned? Some manufacturer ought to fix this.
12:52 am - Thursday, April 9, 2009
#9 Susie
Has anyone had problems with the scan shortcut ? I have been unable to use the scanner icon to open the scanner. I have another Epson than opens the scanner with the icon. I have installed and uninstalled it so many times if I did not love the print quality it would be in the box and out of here. I would like to use the scanner via the desk top. Any ideas?
4:38 am - Sunday, April 26, 2009
#10 Diana
Paper Jam, Paper Jam, Paper Jam. Trying to print on 5x7 paper from the photo tray and the other tray. Got 3 sheets to go through. Rest all jammed. Even tried curling up the ends as someone suggested--no go. I will be sending this back.
7:33 pm - Thursday, April 30, 2009