New Technology Reviews!.: Epson

Review: Canon Pixma Pro9500 Mark II

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The Canon PIXMA Pro9500 MkII has the same full range of coloured inks as the Pro9000, but adds grey and matte black cartridges.</div>
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As with Epson printers, the matte black and photo black inks aren't used simultaneously, as the printer switches between the two to suit matte or glossy photo media. The grey cartridge is used in both cases and, while it has the potential to add smoothness to areas of graduated colour, its main use is for black-and white printing.</div>
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This cartridge reduces the risk of unwanted colour casts in black-and-white prints because there's less reliance on coloured inks.</div>
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However, when switching to the greyscale printing option in our tests, to ensure that only black and grey inks were used, we experienced a drop in contrast and bite similar to that of the Pro9000, which has no grey ink at all. At least regular printing speeds were maintained in greyscale mode – unlike on the Pro9000, but in keeping with all the other printers in the group.</div>
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Canon printers are usually very quick, but the Pro9500 proved the slowest in the group, at least in high-quality print mode. A3+ borderless prints took 8m 22s to produce, but at maximum quality settings, speed proved similar to the Epson A3+ printers on test, at 11m 15s.</div>
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That's still less than half as fast as the Pro9000. Colour accuracy and contrast are very convincing on matte photo media, with good results for landscapes and portraits.</div>
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Our tests using Canon's glossy papers, including Photo Paper Pro Platinum and Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, were comparatively disappointing. Colours took on a faded appearance and contrast was poor, giving a slightly insipid look to prints. It's nowhere near a match for Canon's Pro9000 Mark II for glossy output.</div>
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Review: Canon Pixma Pro9500 Mark II

The Canon PIXMA Pro9500 MkII has the same full range of coloured inks as the Pro9000, but adds grey and matte black cartridges. As wi...

Problems With Epson Status Monitor 3

<P>The Epson Status Monitor 3 program displays printer status information. the monitor shows printer ink levels and pending print <a href="">jobs</A>. Additional printer supplies can also be ordered through the status monitor program. Some users have experienced problems while attempting to use the Epson Status Monitor 3 program. The Epson Status Monitor 3 program runs on bidirectional support.</P><br /><P> </P><br /><P>Information is passed from the printer to the status monitor. Information is also passed from the status monitor to the <a href="">computer</A>. If both lines of communication are not open, it creates a problem. Users can print, but the status monitor is not activated to display printer information.</P><br /><P> </P><br /><P>Not all wireless printer setups provide the bidirectional support required for the Epson Status Monitor 3 program. Users encounter problems during document printing. A "Communications Error" message is displayed when the computer hard drive attempts to display the status monitor window.</P><br /><P> </P><br /><P>To receive status monitor information, the computer must be attached to the printer using a compatible cable. Some users have experienced problems while printing directly from the IE browser.</P><br /><P> </P><br /><P>An error message appears in Epson Status Monitor 3 stating that no printer was found. The problem was alleviated for some people when the computer cache and/or cookies were cleared. </P>

Problems With Epson Status Monitor 3

The Epson Status Monitor 3 program displays printer status information. the monitor shows printer ink levels and pending print jobs . Additi...

Epson Releases Four Multimedia Projectors

<P><img alt="Epson Releases Four Multimedia Projectors" border="0" height="150" src="/113584matter.jpg" width="200"></P><br /><P>Epson has introduced four new multimedia projectors, featuring LCD technology. The EB-S9, EB-X9, EB-X10 and EB-W10 feature 3LCD technology that employs three discrete LCD panels assigned to the red, green and blue channels to produce an image.<BR><BR>In addition to the regular connectivity options, the Epson's LCD range also features USB direct connectivity, which simplifies cabling by allowing display using USB cable, which is found across all modern computers. This makes it extremely convenient for presentations, where you don't have to carry different kinds of video cables for compatibility. This feature also allows the projectors to display JPEG images right off the USB drive connected to it.<BR><img align="baseline" border="0" hspace="0" src="/11358426epson600.jpg"></P><BR><BR>These projectors ship with a lamp starting at 2,500 ANSI lumens, and employ what Epson calls the E-TORL technology that promises to extend lamp life to 5,000 hours at the cost of image luminosity in the eco mode. Epson EB-S9 has a resolution of 800x600p (SVGA) with a lens that's capable of subtending image across a minimum of 0.87m to 10.5m (diagonal). This projector costs Rs. 34,000.<BR><BR>The EB-X9, EB-X10 (both 1024x768p) and EB-W10 (1280x800p) can display an image spanning 0.9m to 9.0m large. The EB-X9 and EB-S9 have a brightness of 2,500 ANSI lumens, while EB-X10 and EB-W10 are rated at 2,600 lumens, in addition to an HDMi port. The EB-X9 costs Rs. 40,400, EB-X10 costs Rs. 43,200 and EB-W10 costs Rs. 57,000.

Epson Releases Four Multimedia Projectors

Epson has introduced four new multimedia projectors, featuring LCD technology. The EB-S9, EB-X9, EB-X10 and EB-W10 feature 3LCD technology t...

Epson Stylus R200 Refill Ink Instructions

Epson Stylus R200 Refill Ink Instructions

Lay down a couple paper towels over your intended work surface. Remove the empty ink cartridge from the Epson Stylus and insert it into the...

Review: Epson Stylus Photo PX720WD

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Epson%20PX720WD/Epson_PX720WD-2-200-200.jpg"/><p>A stickler for tradition, Epson's PX720WD resists the temptation of settling for five inks, as found in the likes of the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/peripherals/printers-and-scanners/multi-function-mfd-/canon-pixma-mg5150-901796/review">Canon PIXMA MG5150</a> and <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/peripherals/printers-and-scanners/multi-function-mfd-/hp-photosmart-premium-c309g-694335/review">HP Photosmart Premium C309G</a>. So instead of getting both dye-based and pigment-based black inks as a compromise between document and photo printing, the Epson goes for the full 6-ink monty. </p><p>Billed as an all-in-one for photo enthusiasts, it serves up the conventional mix of CMYK dye-based inks, along with additional light cyan and light magenta inks, boasting an enhanced colour range for truly photo-realistic output. At least, that's the theory.</p><p>Running on Epson's latest generation of Claria inks, each in individually replaceable cartridges, the PX720WD runs true to form with a 5760dpi resolution that's typical of Epson printers, joined at the hip to a high-resolution 4800dpi scanner that enables mono or colour photocopying as well as scanning. Indeed, these and most other specifications are identical to the<a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/peripherals/printers-and-scanners/multi-function-mfd-/epson-stylus-photo-px710w-694336/review"> PX710W</a> that we've reviewed previously. </p><p>For example, you get USB, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, along with a wide range of media card slots that include compatibility with CF, SD, SDHC, MMC, MS and xD formats. But there are a couple of notable differences too.</p><p>One of our criticisms of the PX710W was that it had a barrage of buttons cluttering the front panel, making standalone use a little counter-intuitive. That's now been replaced by a touch-sensitive panel in which individual icons are only illuminated as and when they're active, somewhat simplifying the process. </p><p>It's not as slick as the full-colour touch-screen LCDs of printers like the Lexmark Interact S605 or the HP Photosmart Premium C309G, but it's definitely a step in the right direction, and overall the menu system is quite intuitive.</p><p>The other new attraction compared with the older PX710W is that the PX720WD sprouts a bulbous auto duplex unit on its rear end, adding about 7cm to the overall depth of the printer</p><p>It's a little strange to find an auto duplex on a printer that's designed for photo output rather than document printing, but considering the PX720WD lacks a pigment-based black ink, mono text is reasonably crisp and solid-looking, at least compared with the feint grey that's often associated with photo printers. Other extras include a neat CD/DVD tray for direct printing onto white-faced discs.</p><p>Print speeds are very respectable in standard photo quality mode, with 6x4-inch prints taking about 20 seconds a piece. Top quality mode drags the speed down to about three minutes per borderless A4 print, but that's quicker than with some of Epson's photo printers, like the P50. </p><p>When it comes to image quality there's plenty of contrast, and colour rendition is good, although skin tones aren't particularly flattering. Photo prints tend to look very punchy, but sometimes at the expense of a slight loss of detail in highlights and lowlights. Running costs are slightly lower than average, which is a bonus considering there are six cartridges under the bonnet, rather than just four or five.</p><p>The PX720WD is a marked improvement over Epson's preceding PX710W in terms of intuitive ease of use, and the auto duplex unit is nice to have for double-sided printing if and when you need it. In all other respects, the two printers are virtually identical, so it's a case of evolution rather than revolution.</p><p><strong>We liked</strong></p><p>The touch-sensitive panel makes it easier to engage standalone printing and photocopying modes, and there's a wide range of media card slots. Built predominantly for photo output, the addition of a CompactFlash slot is an advantage to those with posh D-SLRs, as this is lacking on many of the latest all-in-one printers.</p><p>Photo print quality is particularly punchy and vibrant, and the addition of a secondary paper input tray for postcard prints of up to 7x5 inches reduces the need for continual swapping between plain paper and photo paper in the main tray.</p><p><strong>We disliked </strong></p><p>Photo print quality isn't noticeably better than from Canon's 5-ink printers like the MG5150, and the latter produces stronger mono text with its pigment-based black ink. Another plus point for the Canon is that the secondary input tray can accommodate full A4 photo paper. </p><p>Epson's touch-panel interface isn't quite on a par with full-colour touch-screen LCDs, as fitted to the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/peripherals/printers-and-scanners/printers/lexmark-interact-s605-646663/review">Lexmark Interact S605</a> or the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/peripherals/printers-and-scanners/multi-function-mfd-/hp-photosmart-premium-c309g-694335/review">HP Photosmart Premium C309G</a>.</p><p><strong>Verdict </strong></p><p>One of the most expensive A4 all-in-one printers on the market, the Epson PX720WD goes a long way to justify its price tag and running costs are pretty reasonable. Ultimately, however, the 6-ink system doesn't really deliver noticeably better photo quality than some of Canon's cheaper 5-ink printers.</p><strong>Related Links</strong><ul><li><a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/peripherals/printers-and-scanners">Read more printer reviews</a></li><li><a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/techradars-reviews-guarantee-622749">TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee</a></li></ul><img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/9809/s/f591848/mf.gif" width="1"/><div class='mf-related'><p>

Review: Epson Stylus Photo PX720WD

A stickler for tradition, Epson's PX720WD resists the temptation of settling for five inks, as found in the likes of the Canon PIXMA MG...