Mixed Bag--The Epson C88 Plus Printer

The Epson C-88+ Stylus printer is a handsome, if somewhat large, printer, cleverly outfitted with smoked black panels, and a very cool smoked-black transluscent paper guide that makes it look smaller than it really is. It has 3 rubbery, firm buttons on the top, which are a little hard to push, but seem durable, and is connected via USB or parallel cables (not included), and there is a "network" option during setup, though I don't see any ethernet port. It's definitely a LOT better-looking than my last Epson, the recently-disposed Photo 820-- http://www.epinions.com/pr-Printers_Epson_Stylus_Photo_820_Desktop_Personal_C11C417011_L.

Setup was the easiest of any contemporary printer I can think of, with no multiple run-throughs of setup, or more than one representation in the control panel. You just remove the tape, turn it on, flip up the top cover, and snap in each of the 4 ink cartridges, finalizing the transaction by closing the cover and pressing the ink button. It's quieter than my last Epson, as well. After that, you just run the software, click through a handful of screens, reboot and, VOILA!

Epson must optimize its printers for the latest cameras, leaving the older cameras not as optimally-supported. I mean, the 2 megapixel prints from my old Canon S330 ( http://www.epinions.com/content_286983753348 )come out looking flat and grainy, while the 8 megapixel prints from my new, flashy Canon A630 come out looking as good as the best I've seen from Costco's print service (my photo printer of choice when printing from my old S330 at 2 megapixels); I haven't yet tried a Costco print from the 8 MP A630. And they definitely look better than the user-serviced machines at Walmart (horrible), which I printed from the A630's secure digital card, at 8 megapixels.

Those initial comparisons were made using Epson's glossy photo paper, as well as their premium glossy photo paper, both at 4X6" size. Eight-megapixel photos printed on NCR's Photo-a-Peel Repositionable Premium High-Gloss paper looked flatter, but gradients were smooth and photorealistic, with no graininess evident. The borderless result looked like a 39-cent postcard from the bargain bin at the airport, and stiff enough to be mailed as such--clearly photographic, but with limited color depth. And they look great adhered to my refrigerator, reminding my wife and I of a poignant moment in front of Las Vegas' Bellagio with our toddler--the thickness is still evident with the back peeled off. I also printed an 8-megapixel shot (taken by someone else, with the excellent Canon A630 camera, which may've contributed to a bit of lack of focus), at 8X10, onto thick, plain paper, which came out uninspiring--the detail was there, but it lacked warmth and "soul." It did print in under 2 minutes, however, and every print came out dry and "unsmudgable." The printer is also capable of double-sided printing, ostensibly due to its "instant dry" feature, but I have not tried this.

In retrospect, my last Epson was a "photo" printer, with an expensive set of ink cartridges (black + 5-color), which it gulped down as if they were exotic shots of Tequila, and eventually clogged up with ink (and jammed on paper) as if it'd been inebriated with them--this printer seems more general-purpose oriented. It did last quite a long time, though, particularly for a refurbished $50 model. And the first photo printed-an 8X10 from our honeymoon in Europe-elicited involuntary gasps. Simply gorgeous!

The printer's control panel looks identical to the last one I used in the 820. The only difference I saw was an option for "ultra-premium glossy photo paper," which I'm certain is available for use with the other printer via an update. You can choose from 5 different paper types, which then allows you to choose the associated options, such as "borderless" printing, and you could always choose from the 3-color management settings supermenu--color controls, photo enhance (which especially enhances "low resolution" photos (how's that for 'relative?')), or ICM, enabling you to load preset color profiles. The borderless setting can be adjusted to mid, minimum, or max, and the "Epson Vivid" setting allows you to change the brightness, contrast, saturation, gamma, or individual levels of cyan, magenta, and yellow. There are also options for high-speed, edge smoothing, and a print preview--very helpful when trying to ensure that that 4X6 will actually print lengthwise, and not waste paper, necessitating a lengthy cleanup. You can save your settings, and there is a button for "online support" (not tried). For those wanting to keep it simple, this menu is toggable between "simple" and "advanced."

I only printed a few web pages, and a handful of documents from Wordpad, but the plain paper text, printed at "fine" seemed adequate, but not even close to laser quality, or even comparable to my last 2 Epson printers--I wouldn't even put it up there with the average Hewlett-Packard, going back 5+ years. I was disappointed. They did print speedily, however, though not as shockingly so as other reviewers have suggested. Though it hasn't jammed, I noticed a handful of papers loading slightly crookedly, but feeding through fine--I'm unsure what this portends for the future, though.

A quick search for ink cartridge replacements proved economical. Amazon is selling a 4-pack (not genuine Epson, but three star-rated), for $16.99, seven dollars off, while a set of 3 ultra-brite color cartridges from Epson costs $37.10 (with 50 4X10 photo sheets), with black costing about $18. The same color package costs $40.10 from Best Buy, with individual ink cartridges costing $12.99. That works out to about the same as the $56 for a color and black cartridge for my old Epson photo printer, but expect to save more with these individual cartridges. I still long for the quality of the older printer, however. In contrast, the single-cartridge replacement for my Lexmark X3470 photo all-in-one costs $20 from Best Buy, and will print, surprisingly well, to the last drop (though with increasingly inaccurate colors).

My summary experience with the Epson C88+ is a solid "B," as a general-purpose printer. It seems economical, durable, is fast enough, prints photo quality, and has a fast, easy setup. In addition, it is average for noise. If, however, you are accustomed to a "photo" printer (especially an "Epson" photo printer), then you will be left with a bit much to be desired. I am already looking for a photo model for more serious work.