Epson Stylus Photo R300: Great Printer, but Ink is Expensive

Printers are still important in today's digital world. Whether it be printing out brochures or essay papers, printers are needed in our modern lives. But which printer should you pick? In this article, I will review the Epson Stylus Photo R300 printer.

What It Can Print -

The R300 printer can print out various types of media. You can print on CDs and normal, glossy, or smaller photo paper(4X6). The maximum size paper that this printer supports is 8.5 inches by X11 inches. So you're still going to have to go to Kinko's or some other print shop if you want a poster sized image.

Complex -

The R300 printer is fairly complicated. The printer itself has eleven buttons on top of it that do various tasks when pressed. Some examples are stop, print, power, replace ink; etc. There is also a basic and advanced button, so if you're a beginner then you'll probably want to start off with basic mode.

Other Slots -

The R300 printer also comes with several external slots for your memory cards and an extra USB slot. The memory cards slots are for CF cards, SD/MS Pro cards, and XD/SM cards. So whatever type of memory card your camera uses, you can simply take the card and place it in the printer.

Then you will use the small LCD screen on the printer to decide which pictures you would like to print. There is also another slot at the top of the printer for a larger type of LCD screen that you can purchase separately.

The Ink -

The ink is by far the most annoying and costliest aspect of this printer. Basically, there are six different colors of ink that you have to buy. Whenever one of these colors runs out, the printer will stop working. That's right, so if you're out of one color and you want to print in black ink then you can just forget about it. You will have to purchase a replacement ink cartridge.

And it's a little pricey. For the color ink, each cartridge will cost between twelve and fifteen dollars. The black ink will cost you even more. Expect to pay between seventeen and twenty one dollars for the black ink cartridge.

Quality -

The quality of the prints that come out of this printer are quite good. You can select the quality that you want your printer to print at as well, which will save you some ink. And it will save you some money. If you want high quality images then you should use high quality paper. Something with a glossy sheen to it should do the trick.

As you can see, the Epson Stylus R300 printer is a fairly good printer. But it does come with its drawbacks, just like anything. So if you want a printer that produces high-quality images, then buy the R300. But just remember about the ink.