Epson Stylus Photo RX500 All-in-One

The flatbed scanner offers 2,400 dpi optical (9,600 dpi interpolated) resolution and 48-bit color to bring your scanned images rich detail and crisply defined color separation. Archive your family photos, save your favorite articles on your hard drive, or assemble a slide show. You can also save your scans directly to a compatible memory card, even without a PC.

Instant copies can be created in four different resolutions--top speed for black copies is 10 copies per minute. When printing from your system, the RX500 produces black documents in draft mode up to 17 ppm, 16 ppm for color. Take your time and seek perfection with the optimized 5,760 x 1,440 dpi mode, for beautifully sharp photos. In a faster mode, borderless 4-by-6-inch prints appear in as little as 37 seconds. Insert your digital camera's compatible memory card and print your evening's shots while bypassing your system. Just use the photo proof sheet mode to select only images you need.

Consumable costs are low, thanks to six separate high-yield ink tanks--you can expect up to 630 pages from the black cartridge and 430 pages from the color cartridges, based on 5% page coverage. The modern silver and black casing adds a sleek touch to your office space, while the included USB cable couldn't be more convenient. Epson provides a one-year warranty covering parts and service; Epson Exchange service is included.

What's in the Box
Epson Stylus Photo RX500, one cyan ink cartridge (T048220), one light cyan ink cartridge (T048520), one magenta ink cartridge (T048320), one light magenta ink cartridge (T048620), one yellow ink cartridge (T048420), one black ink cartridge (T048120), one USB cable, all-in-one documentation, CD-ROM containing all-in-one drivers and software (Windows and Macintosh), transparency unit, film holder, document mat, paper tray, paper guide

The machine has been flawless. It's one of the best experiences I've ever had with an electronics device, and I am a gadget freak. I've printed approx. 30 greeting cards and 200 photos, from 4x6 through 8x10. Photos copy extremely well with the flatbed scanner, and I use it to make accurate copies of originals. For even better results, tweak your original photo on the computer and print it using your favorite image editing software.

You may rarely use the negative-adapter, but if you only have a negative and need a print, it is a godsend. High quality scans, for sure.

One ink cartridge just fell under 20% full (light Cyan), so the ink lasts a long time. You can find great deals on original Epson ink on the web (try Amazon first). I bought a whole set of refills on the cheap.

I mainly use it to print digital photos (4x6 mostly) from my Canon S400 Digital Elph, and to print greeting cards. I make remarkable cards for pennies compared to $2 - $5 at the greeting card racks.

Paper: Extremely high quality prints on Epson, HP, Kodak and Ilford Galerie photo papers. I love Ilford paper. You can find great deals online for photo paper. 200 sheets of high gloss for under $20. Don't penalize yourself on quality - get the high gloss.

I have a minolta 11x17 b/w laser printer, so I don't use the RX500 for most document printing. Toner is cheaper than ink, and laser is faster than inkjet, especially for long documents.

The Epson RX600 recently came out. Same as RX500, but has an LCD preview window. Handy if you print right from the digital card reader. You can get an external Epson LCD for as low as $18, so the extra $100 for the RX600 is a bit tough to swallow. Deals are popping up on the RX500. It's still the best value of any multi-function device.

*** Original Review ***

I was looking for a color printer, as I only had a b/w laser printer. Since I have owned digital cameras since 1999, it was time to get a photo quality printer. I Decided I wanted it to scan and copy as well. The multi-function device (MFD) was much better than in previous-generation products. It had to have separate ink cartridges (better value on ink), which ruled out HP, and almost everything but Canon and Epson devices.

After exhaustive research and showroom testing at a local retailer, I bought the Epson CX6400. Great value. It was a 4-ink system (not 6), but the DuraBright inks were getting pretty good reviews. I stayed up until 1am playing with my new toy. On premium glossy paper, the prints were very good. However, they had a matte, or maybe a semi-gloss cast to them, even on the best glossy paper. Other photo printers (Epson R300) delivered a glossier, crisper photo-processing feel to them. I could live with that for the price and features the CX6400 had. The 6-ink system was not in the cards for me if I wanted a MFD flatbed device.

The next morning, while reading the Sunday paper, I saw an ad for a brand new MFD by Epson. Just came out. It was the RX500. Here's the bottom line. It has the same 6-ink system and print engine as the beautiful-printing R300/M, and it is a flatbed MFD. Nirvana!

I exchanged the unit the next morning. Wow! The printouts are just like a photo lab with my 4 megapixel shots. Even my older 2 megapixel shots looked great.

You can do almost everything on the device without a computer, as it has card slots for almost every media type. When you print from the computer, the software lets you tweak the quality even higher.

Liked the Epson CX6400. Love the RX500. The RX500 is the best of both worlds...

The 4x6 prints look incredible on premium glossy paper, and very nice on plain, bright paper. 8x10 and 8.5x11 also look great - just like a photo lab. And you can print borderless prints, without perforated paper. Ideal!

Speed is pretty good. Larger prints, and highest quality obviously take longer to print, but it's well worth it. Surf the web while you are waiting.

The bundled imaging software (PhotoImpression) is easy to use and does a great job. You can go from a digital photo to a beautiful print in minutes. The amount of control is overwhelming, but fortunately the standard setting doa great job. Go with the default settings unless you have a special need. Just set the paper type and size, and you are off to the races.

It's faster start-to-finish when you plug your memory card directly into the device. If you have a few minutes to boot up your computer, you'll have more control and you can bump the quality up a bit. Honestly, it was hard to tell the difference, though. Tech specs say there is a difference in resolution, but if I'm in a hurry, I print without the computer.

The Rx500 also scans and prints existing photos very well, as well as a magazine cover I used as a test. New on this device (and an exclusive) is a transparency and slide scanner. I scanned and printed from a 35mm positive, and a film negative. The quality is outstanding. Now I can zip out a print from any old negative or slide I have stored away in boxes. Way cool.

The only "negative" or tradeoff, is that the ink will smudge if it gets wet. That's the price you pay for the 6-ink system. As long as you get your prints into a photo album, or under glass in a frame, it is a non-issue. I'll take the tradeoff rather than settle for lesser quality in a smudge-resistant ink.

Buy the RX500. You truly get the best of all worlds. A superior photo printer, with the convenience and ultimate flexibility of a an excellent scanner/copier...


Great specs but buyer beware   December 4, 2003
E. Duralia (South Carolina)
75 out of 118 found this review helpful

This all-in-one has some pretty impressive specs and for the advanced-amateur photographer looking for a way to print AND scan photos in a space saving unit, it's almost the way to go. Almost? This printer does not utilize Epson's Durabright inks but instead uses dye inks. Why is that an issue? Longetivty! I emailed Epson about this issue and this is what they said:
"The reason the RX500 does not use Durabrite inks is because it is a photo
printer. Durabrite printers are units that are assumed to be primarily
used for document printing. The ink used in the RX500 is Epson Photo Dye
based ink which provides a wider color gamut than Durabrite inks which are
pigment based.
While pigment based inks are very durable and provide lightfastness up to
80 years on selected paper types, Epson Photo dye inks provide a much
better advantage for those printing photographs. Epson Photo dye inks
provide light fastness up to 30 years on selected paper types as well as
six color printing for "unvisible" dots in photographs providing for
smoother gradations and a wider color gamut."
Hmmm... wider color gamut is a good thing but I want my prints to last a long time too. And is it just me or does anybody else out think that longevity in your typical office documents is overkill? I don't frame my memos for display and I doubt anybody else does either. It just doesn't make any sense!
Why am I ranting about this? Because if we consumers band together, maybe Epson will produce what we want. I would encourage you to write, call, and email Epson - maybe they will produce inks with better light fastness ratings for this multifunction printer. If that were the case, I would buy this unit in a heartbeat!


Excellent photos, great machine so far   December 29, 2003
73 out of 75 found this review helpful

I bought the printer at CompUSA at a good price[]. I wanted a photo quality printer with decent speed, and the multi functions of copying and scanning on a flat bed. We needed the latter functions around the house for work and personal paperwork, kids' homework, etc.

I narrowed my selection down the Epson CX6400 or the RX500. Both met my needs and got excellent reviews from consumers and experts, except that some consumers felt the 6400 gave sub-standard, non-glossy photo output on prem glossy paper. I researched this best i could and found that Epson seemed to address this with a new Durabrite-specific prem glossy paper, however i couldn't find anyone saying that this delivered as good prints as the RX500 or the R300 Epson. I liked the durability of the Durabrite inks of the 6400, but in the end went for the certainty of highest quality prints using the RX500 (which uses traditional dye based inks). My logic was that while the dye-based prints of the RX500 would be susceptible to light and water damage over time, they were no worse than any other photo printer using dye-based inks (95% of those which i researched and which received 5-star consumer reviews).

Am i sure i made the right decision?? Well part of me still thinks the durability of the 6400 prints might be nice to have. but the output and performance of the RX500 has been excellent, meeting all of my expectations. Easy to learn to use and setup. I was able to use it for printing photos at a family Christmas party, from multiple cameras using different memory card types (SD and XD), and was able to select specific photos for printing, from a range or single photos.

I'm a happy customer so far.

Tom


Don't be Fooled by Epson's Good Reviews...   September 27, 2004
S. Tomlinson (Portland, OR)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful

Like the other customer who wrote of Epson's greed, I'm here to tell everyone about how this printer is designed to rip off customers. The ink cartridges each contain a "smart" chip which is actually not smart at all. It simply counts how many times you print, and subtracts a certain amount of ink which was POTENTIALLY used, not ACTUALLY used. From other customer feedback, I have seen that Epson will tell customers a number of things: one, that even black printing uses a little bit of color from each cartridge (a blatant lie) or that the ink "monitoring" is necessary due to the delicate nature of the print head, which will be damaged if ink runs out or gets too low. As the other reviewer on this site noted, the printer will simply quit printing if even ONE cartridge chip says that the ink is too low. This happened to me, and I couldn't even print in black only. The kicker is that I had only printed about 10 color photos at most. There was no way my color tanks were empty. To prove it, I bought an aftermarket "chip resetter" and used it, and the printer was fooled into thinking the tanks were full again and went right back to work. I don't know about you, but I'll go with the Canon printers, who are just about the only major manufacturer to still use unchipped cartridges (for now) WATCH OUT for THIS WITH EPSON. There has already been litigation filed against them for engineering this "non-functionality" into their product. Don't let this company force you into playing their ink game.


Great overall all-in-one   December 22, 2003
E. Kanner
24 out of 26 found this review helpful

First one I received was a lemon, grinding, screeching and didn't print 2 of the 6 colors. This machine could have been damaged during shipping (from Staples, Amazon didn't have it yet) as it sat in a truck for a weekend in NH when temps were in the 20s (supposed to be delivered on a Friday, was delivered on Monday). The new one I exchanged the lemon for at Staples works fantastic with my Powerbook G3 266 mhz Mac, I'm thrilled (older machine running OS 9.2), where I had continuous conflicts with my old HP 660C and where I continuously reveled in the idea of chucking it out the window (I'm donating it to charity instead). Prints are AMAZING from digital files. I was floored by the quality!! Scanning is great, but don't try to scan a digital print and reprint it out. It scans graphics better than photos. Copier works very well. An overall great product. I give it 4 stars because the first one was a lemon and I'm not sure if that is an Epson issue.