Epson Stylus R200 Photo Printer

I love this little printer, it is the second one of it's type I have purchased. It prints bright vibrant colors which is important since I design greeting cards. Super simple to use. Can print on all types of paper.

I am totally fed up with this printer. It is very picky about feeding paper, installing ink cartridges, and pretty much only prints when it feels like printing. I am sick of having to turn it off/on to clear some bogus error that it thinks it is having to get it to print. This printer is a waste of my time, and I will not be replacing it with another Epson.

I bought this printer in early 2005. I loved the fact that it had 6 different ink tanks and that it printed dvd/cd's. I am a homeschooling mom who prints a LOT so it is easily used 5 days a week. I will say some are correct with the fact that the ink sensor has issues, but I buy generic tanks now and I save a lot of money that way. I noticed some reviews about not being able to buy the ink in packages and that is untrue. Even if you buy Epson ink's from a retail store, they usually come in 2 different forms ... individual for black and all together for colors. But who would want to buy retail Epson ink (at about $70 per combo pack) when you can buy generic inks from Amazon for a lot less? They last just as long (I actually think a little bit longer) as the Epson brand for a fraction of the cost?

Pros: Ease of use ... don't even need to install the software with Vista! Paper jams rarely occur and if they do they are easily corrected. Software for checking, cleaning & calibrating the nozzles works like a charm! Has no issues with non-Epson ink tanks, which saves our family a fortune!

Cons: The ink sensor doesn't do a very good job (fails to recognize a new tank/seems to "run out of" ink way too soon).

Printers last about 2 years, due to failures with their weakest link, the print heads. Once they clog, you can throw the printer away. If you have spare ink cartridges for the unit, you can throw that away as well, because the replacement unit will require different ink cartridges. If you think you're clever buying the same model printer used, think again. It may be advertised as in "Very Good" condition, but when you receive it, it may be just as clogged as the unit you are trying to replace. Then you will be stuck returning it, at your expense. And the person who sold it to you through amazon.com may refuse to refund the cost of shipping to you as well. I wasted over $40.00 in shipping charges (to and from) with nothing to show for it. A real waste of time and money.

When I use an inkjet printer, I almost always turn to my Epson R200 printer. I also have an HP 1220C Deskjet. I have had the R200 printer for probably close to three years. I bought it at a Sam's Club store for around $[...] (not believing the price) because of the capability of printing CD-R printable discs. These days, and after much use, I sometimes have to "help" the CD tray along but once it catches, the results are phenomenal. Many users have noted that the printer "eats ink." That it does. But I found an online source ([...]) and use these remanufactured cartridges at considerable savings and always with outstanding results. The quality of printing is so good on photographs, I no longer use the HP 1220C except for 11" x 17" documents. HP's quality is also outstanding when used at the highest dpi of 2400, but it is slow. On gloss photo paper, with the Epson R200, you will not believe the results you will get! Yes, I go through cartridges, but if you want top-quality, professional results, you shan't be disappointed. I rarely have any kind of hang-up with the Epson R200. I wish it printed the CD-Rs with more speed, but the surface of the disc requires, apparently, several passes if you want good quality images on the discs. You also have the ability to darken or lighten the images on the discs. I note, too, that if ONE of the cartridges drops to empty, the printer stops functioning. However, the level indicator always shows which one needs to be replaced. This indicator, too, has worked flawlessly even if Epson cartridges are not used. For the price of the machine itself, if you can still get them for around $[...]/USD, it's an outstanding buy. Save yourself tons of money by going to [...] for your cartridges. I also have a Konica Minolta 2300DL 2400dpi laser printer. Talk about costs of replacing cartridges ... you will be floored! I now only use that on occasion. The results with the Epson R200 (on quality paper) remains outstanding.