Epson Stylus Photo 925 Printer

I bought this printer in approximately 2004. At the time I was simply a college student looking for a reliable printer to churn out papers, homework assignments, and maybe a few photos of my friends and I relaxing on the weekends. I'd had Epsons before and liked them. I also needed a printer that would work with Linux with few hassles. I ended up purchasing this printer.

Since then, this printer has been non-functional more than it has been functional. The quality is fine, the speed is fine, but it is the most temperamental piece of equipment I own. Nearly every time I've tried to print a document, there's been jam. After jam. After JAM. I have never had a printer that I have disliked more heartily. If you have the skills, the time, and the patience to continually take this printer apart to remove tiny, torn scraps of paper from the inner workings, then this is the machine for you! I'm starting to think I should be fined by some environmental group for the amount of paper I've been wasting on this machine.

The printer roll is superfluous, as I never got that to work correctly. I believe it is the cutting feature, meant to be used with the roll paper, that is causing most of the paper jams, so this printer would probably work better without that extra. Also, the card readers are useless, as all of my digital cameras now use SD cards.

Other than that, it's a pretty good printer. The photo quality is very good, the text quality is just fine, and as long as I'm not in any hurry for my documents, then I have no problem. All the same, I'll be upgrading to a less problematic printer in the near future.

This printer is now discontinued. I note that it still shows up for sale (both new and used), so I decided it's still worth mentioning (and warning). I bought this at a show where the dealer was printing a continuous photo-paper roll of on-the-spot shapshots of customers. What a great demo!

The problem is, that's about ALL you can do. If you happen to print nothing for a couple of days, one or more printhead colors clog up and require multiple "cleaning cycles" to restore. It is no exaggeration to say that I've expended far more ink in getting ready to print than in actual printing! Given the cost of the color cartridge, it is a really expensive printer to operate.

If you print both B&W and color EVERY DAY, it might(?) be okay; but it's definitely not a purchase I would repeat.

I've owned this printer for about 3 years. I was so impressed with the quality of the photo prints that I had to have it! I always clean and align the heads before I use it. You really can only use Epson photo paper with it. I tried an off brand and what a mess! The ink just laid on top of the paper! I only print photos with it so it may be months between uses. The ink is too expensive to print documents and it really does a pretty crappy job on them. You definitely have to replace the black ink cartridge when it gets low or you get ugly black images in the dark areas of your photos. Luckily, Epson shows you where the ink levels are. I am currently looking at 12" wide printers and Epson will be my printer of choice. We use our Epson C80 for our document printing and love it as well. We've had that one forever! We never have to clean the heads on it!

I stuck with Epson because I really liked my old reliable Stylus Color 400....but I have some issues with this printer!

Yes - this printer can print a remarkable photo!

But - as many have pointed out here - it requires consistent cleaning of the print heads.

What does this mean? Well - two main issues:

1 - You never know exactly when during the printing of pictures that your prints will suck.

2 - Cleaning the print heads wastes ink - so you will be constantly buying more.

Yes - there is a print pattern you can run to check to see if the heads need cleaning - but even if this checks out - you can still run into quality issues during an 8x10 print or the printing of many 4x6s.

I wish I could recommend this printer - but due to this issue - I cannot. At the first sign of any major trouble - I am burying it and I guess will try another major manufacturer like HP.

I've put this printer through the paces for almost three years now. I do landscape paintings in oil and reference photos are
a must as well as color accuracey. This baby is a workhorse.
From wedding photos to graphic art on t-shirt transfers this printer has been flawless. There is an 8x10 photo on my fridge
from my youngest daughters anemic 1MP el cheapo camera printed on TYPING paper! It's framable and perfect. (Her choice of subject matter is silly,however) I use this printer to make copies of my artwork to show to galleries...it's that accurate.

Yes, all the negative reviews.....here's some advice...
Ever forget to clean a paint brush or roller and left it out over night? May as well paint with a rock, right???
Regardless of the brand or model you purchase the nozzles will
begin to dry out the instant they stop spraying. I clean them
before each use. Very simple...page 83...clean the head and then the nozzles. Use typing paper to run your check pattern. Save the paper for future checks. And look at it!!!! If it's been a week or more since you did any printing you may have to clean it twice. Takes minutes and assures things are ready to go before you put a sheet of the expensive glossy photo paper in.

I'm getting a second 925 for my oldest daughter as a birthday gift. That says it all.