Printer Reviews

Setup was painless (in the physical sense too, as long as you have a helper. DON'T try to lift or move this printer by yourself unless you want a hernia). Inserting the imaging kit and transfer belt was straightforward, and inserting the toner cartridges was about as simple as putting a pie in the oven. It took longer to unwrap all the pieces than it did to insert them.

Print quality is ok, and the machine definitely lives up to the quieter-than-most claims, in fact it's not much louder than my old monochrome laser printer. As far as I know, it is the ONLY color laser printer under $1,000 to offer duplex (double-sided printing) standard rather than as an expensive add-on. It also has more memory than some comparably priced models.

Power consumption is more of an issue for home office or small business owners, but worth noting. The Minoltas draw about 1,000 watts of power while operating, while the HP and the Samsung only draw about 400. Size and weight: The Samsung weighs almost as much as the Minolta. The HP weighs almost half, at 47 pounds, but is nearly as big as the Samsung.

Controls: the Minolta and Samsung both have LCD displays and menus for controlling options. The HP Laserjet 1500 has lights that only indicate power and toner levels.

The fact that the main paper tray is entirely internal is nice -- this would not seem strange, except that with many of the lower price-point color lasers (most notably, the Konica-Minoltas and the HP 1500), the paper sticks out the side or sits on a fold-out tray, which is ugly and unless you're printing high volumes, will allow dust to collect and more easily enter the printer. (The Samsung also has a foldout tray for use with legal paper, etc.)

I have two complaints: One is that the included toners ("consumables") are less than half full. Inkjet manufactures also use this evil trick with their printers in an effort to keep the printer's purchase price down... but if you have to add $300 worth of new toner within the first 6 months of moderate use, the price of this printer isn't so attractive.

My second complaint won't mean anything to Windows users, but to me it's huge enough to contemplate a class-action lawsuit: Samsung touts Macintosh compatibility on the printer's box and on their web site. All of the retailers who sell it state that it is Mac compatible. Yet, you find out ONLY after paying $6-700, lugging the beast home, unpacking it and inserting the CD-ROM to get to the user guide, that the duplexing feature is not available to the Macintosh version of the driver. False advertising, that's what that is. It's bad business to state that a product is compatible, only to hide a major incompatibility in the documentation so that you only discover it AFTER purchase. It may be that an updated version of the driver will solve this issue, and I wrote to Samsung expressing my disappointment at this "oversight." All is not lost when it comes to double-sided printing with a Mac, however: the printer's LCD menu system/control panel allows you to turn duplexing on and off manually. This is a workaround, not a solution.

The networking options are VERY expensive ($189 for 10/100 Ethernet and $250 for wireless), you'd be better off buying your own print server and attaching it.

The Samsung CLP500N has served as a great tool for me to understand color laser printing and how the industry in general has not changed to accomodate newer technology or pricing pressures. The Samsung offers a new concept whereby the paper is routed by the toner cartridges, rather than the toner cartridges being moved around the paper path. This serves for a quieter and more stable machine. In addition, the built-in duplexer is the next step in the evolution of printers, the technological change makes sense. On top of that, the cost for the toner when printing with the Samsung is from 1/3 to 1/2 that of comparable Minolta and HP color lasers, according to the NSTL report (A 3rd party reviewer). All of these points make the Samsung the clear choice, were it not for the low price as well. True, the half-filled toner cartridges are disappointing, but after the absorption of the cost of full refills, you are still spending less money for printing than with the competitor's machine - still making the case for the Samsung.

I have the PS version of this LCD panel (without the stand & speakers). It looks stunning, because it is so light, thin, and stylish. It takes up the least space on the desktop of ANY 15" monitor (CRT or LCD). The analog to digital conversion is rock-solid.

My unit has one pixel that is stuck on. This is common with LCD panels, and is only noticeable with very dark images.

You pay a price for style, however. Sony prices this model higher than most other LCD panels. ... :)

A great LCD monitor, but kind of pricey! For those of you who have a limited desk space, I would highly recommend this monitor cause you can adjust the angle and height, which hardly any other monitor manufacture has this adjustment. You will be questioned by many and few who will ask why anyone would pay [price]for this type of monitor and elsewhere you can get a Samsung 15" 570V TFT LCD Monitor and others!

Just say to them that the Sony monitor is able to be placed in a very tight, small desktop area, where space is extremely limited.

Also, this monitor comes built with stereo speakers to hook up to your sound board. Has bass boost, stereo wide settings, etc.

Would I highly recommend this to you, yes, if your needs are like mine where your desktop space is extremely limited and you want an LCD type of monitor!

I'm slowly transitioning from a Win98 laptop (with which I used my HP LaserJet 4L for year) to a new XP laptop (which has no parallel port). I wanted to continue using the same printer, and this adpater works great on the XP laptop. The only confusing thing was that the instructions didn't say how to install for XP, but all I had to do was plug it in and XP figured it all out.

But since this adapter comes with a Centronics connector rather than a DB25 connector, I had to plug it in directly to printer, replacing the cable that I would hook up to the parallel port on my Win98 laptop. So to avoid having to unplug at the back of the printer in cases where I want to print from the old laptop, I wanted to install this adapter on my Win98 laptop. It installed, but it is completely unreliable printing (on the test page the Win98 logo prints ok but the big font is all messed up, or on other tries it reports the printer is out of paper when it isn't). But I know the USB port on my Win98 laptop works bidirectionally with no problems with a ZIP drive, so I don't think it can be blamed on my older USB port completely.

Also, the drivers are only supplied on floppy (and aren't available at the manufacturer's online site!). So if you are using a computer that doesn't have a floppy drive (but is using an older Windows version where you need to load the drivers), be forewarned!

This cable enables you to connect an older, parallel printer to a USB port on your computer at nearly half the price of other cables in this category. If you have a parallel printer, a spare USB port and use Windows XP or 2000, you need this cable. Why? Windows XP and 2000 do not allocate a processor interrupt (IRQ) for the parallel port. This means that Windows must do this on demand and allocate more memory and processing power to the task of printing, which can bring your computer to a screeching halt at least for a few seconds. It will not be like having a new computer, but this small investment may save you time and frustration when you print.

I've been using these for a while now and was delighted to find them here at a cheaper price than I've been paying at the retail stores. When I first got them I was a bit disappointed because the decals are really more transparent than the package let on. Maybe it's just my printer. I know that it's hard to make something on clear paper turn out anything less than see-through so I forgive them. Anyway, I found that I could back the transparent decals with opaque white adhesive shelf paper and make beautiful vivid decals. These decals print out very nice and clear. These are great for putting store hours in a window or making decals for your car. These have a mild adhesive so that they come off easily but make sure that you clean the glass well before applying otherwise they won't stick well.

Though perhaps marketed as a "home hobby" kit, these nifty sheets have business applications as well. They can obviously be used on store windows, but they have another, somewhat unexpected utility: they stick to stainless steel. This can make them invaluable in kitchens, hospitals, or any other work area that uses a lot of stainless steel. It's worth pointing out that they also seem to stick on refrigerated stainless steel for long periods of time.

As for the complaint that they're more transparent than translucent, this can be remedied by setting up your design so that it has a translucent background itself. While I think it's certainly possible for Xerox to have made translucent film made of this material, the transparent film actually has broader application.

I had the Minolta 1350W, but decided to go with the HP 1012, because the former's fan noise for 15 minutes after printing was putting me off printing stuff...

The HP 1012 is quick, and because it's fanless, it's *quiet* when it's not printing. I've heard that it slows way down when it gets hot after ~50 pages, but I rarely print that many pages, so this is a tradeoff I'm happy with.

My only complaint is with manual duplexing, which I have turned on by default.
- An instruction screen comes up every time I print, followed by a second dialog. I don't need these dialogs, and they're a pain!
- Manual duplexing is needlessly confusing. The second side of duplex jobs is fed into the printer foot-first. But when printing on the back of something (i.e. the printer thinks it's a blank piece of paper), such as when photocopying stuff, paper is fed in head-first. This inconsistency makes it easy to feed paper the wrong way...
- Worst of all, it prints even sides before odd sides, which means whenever printing single-page jobs, it prints a blank page, then asks for it to be fed back in again to print page 1, which is all you're interested in in the first place. Yuck! With the Minolta, it prints page 1 first, then you can hit cancel, and aren't forced to reload paper... Of course, it would be better still if it ignored duplexing when it knew a job was only one page...

Overall, it's a very nice printer. It's a pity that duplexing is so poorly thought out...

I've had a rough time with printers and finally decided on forgoing multifunction printers and opted for the HP 1012 Laser.
If you're looking for an efficient black and white, high quality, fast printer without all the extra BS - this printer is the one for you. It does not come with a written manual which is a bit annoying but it's so simple that you really don't need it anyway. Someone gave it only 1 star because it couldn't handle mass printing quickly, Come On! Look at the price. If it could run mass functions like that it would cost another 300 bucks. It's a great bargin if you want a printer that will handle small to moderate output for home use or small business jobs like letters, proposals, etc. I'm running XP and it installed easy and works great, and is very fast with crisp print. Just follow the directions and load the software before plugging in. Couldn't be more easy unless someone installed it for you. Amazon had it to me in two days even with Super Saver Shipping.

I got this printer on sale for about $150 delivered to replace an aging HP 5L. The print quality is excellent and significanly better than the old 5L. This printer is also exceptionally compact and fits nicely on the shelf of my computer desk. Overall, the printer is extremely fast and appears to print at the stated rate. I printed a 35 page document and had no problems with the printer slowing down. Setup is a breeze and took lest than 5 minutes. Feeding envelopes or indvidual sheets is simple as well; there's a small icon stamped on the plastic paper tray to guide your way. Alas the only downside is you'll have to buy a USB cable since one isn't included -- this is probably a non-issue since most free USB cables are usually too short. Bottom line, this printer works great for home and small office use. This is a wonderful monochorme printer for a college or high school student as well. HP quality at a rock bottom price, I don't see how you can go wrong. I highly recommend this printer.

Installation:
Installation was a snap. Remove the unit from the box and the packaging tape that protects the unit's vital parts. Install the two inkjet cartridges provided, then install the power cord. Power up the unit and install the driver provided on a cd. The whole operation took around 5-10 minutes. REMEMBER that you will need to purchase a USB cable if you don't have one already. Next, I aligned the printer heads, which was fairly easy to do with the provided illustrations. Now, you're ready to print.

Performance:
The unit is no speed demon , however it's quick enough to get the job done and looks good doing it. It's amazing how good this printer is for such a low price. My first printer was a laser unit, because I couldn't stand the print quality of inkjets. The text print quality and image print quality really demonstrates how much better inkjets are today. The print quality is just as good or even better than my 600 dpi laser printer.

Pros:
Cheap price

Looks nice sitting on the desk
Good print quality
Compact size

Cons:
No USB cable provided
Not super fast

Conclusion:
Great inkjet printer for those on a really tight budget

Canon has really made a name for itself in the last five years, with its low-cost, well-designed, high quality home computer products. This printer is no exception.

As is noted in many other reviews, you'll need to buy a USB cable to connect this printer to your computer. Make sure you get the A/B type, with the long flat connector on one end, and the square-ish connector on the other.

Once you get the printer connected, Canon's made setup easy; USB installation is made easy with the included software and drivers. All you'll need to do is click "Yes" and "OK" a few times, and you're done.

The print quality is above average, and astonishingly good for this price. If you're trying to find a printer for high-end reproductions of digital photos, you may want to look elsewhere. But the resolution, clarity, and color reproduction of the i320 is better than average, and more than adequate for most personal/home needs.

One of the best parts of this printer for me is that Canon has made the ink cartridges inexpensive to replace. A replacement black cartridge costs under $10, and the color cartridge is under $20--much cheaper than many other manufacturers. It was less expensive to purchase this printer than to replace the ink cartridges on my old printer. Additionally, the ink lasts for a long time before it needs to be replaced, making printing economical.

Overall, this printer is one of the best purchases I've made for my computer. Low price, easy setup, and good print quality make it a perfect choice for the home.

It has been a week since I bought this little printer. After already going through 100 pages, I'm ready to give a review. First I want to thank the reviewers at Amazon for telling me that there is NO USB cord included in this purchase.

Since I am a graduate student in science/engineering, my printouts are sometimes color graphs but mostly text. In that respect, this printer suits me well. I do not need photo-quality capability and the price fits my student budget. I also see that the refills are around ... for black ink, which is nice. Setup has been easy and the noise isn't much of an issue. The printer makes some noise before, during, and after the print job, but I don't hear the printer cranking all of a sudden at night (and I leave it on). So the noise is loud, but short.

Quality wise, the black could be a little sharper and darker, but overall acceptable for the price. Color is fairly consistent and accurate (purple is purple and not blue). For fun, I downloaded a high quality scan and printed it out in photo-quality mode with the free glossy papers included with the printer. The result is surprisingly good when looking from a distance, but at closer inspection one can see some roughness and pixelation. Not too bad for a [low priced ]printer. Speed-wise, I clocked 7 ppm on text. For some reason, the printer can have problems printing (Latex) dvi pages loaded with mathematical equations.

Lastly, one neat feature that I haven't seen before is the duplex mode, which means I can print pages on both sides of the paper. Of course it's not completely automated, but it only requires you to flip the pages once. It will help me save papers on printing 200-page thesis. In summary, I haven't had any problems with this printer yet. No crash, no paper jams or feeding problems. Print quality is acceptable and the price is affordable. [For the price], what more can you expect?

I purchased this printer as a 'step up' from my HP895 CXi... I wish I still had my previous printer! The 5550 is marketed as the top of the line... it uses MUCH more ink, the ink cartridges are much smaller and cost more than the 895's cartridges, and HP now has added a third cartridge, just for photo quality prints. There are only two cartridge holders in the printer, so to use the photo cartridge, you must change out the black cartridge with the photo cartridge, triggering a 'test' page to print. I've contacted HP and there is NO 'fix', NO WAY TO PREVENT THE PRINTING OF THE TEST PAGE - even if you try to cancel (by hitting the cancel print button on the printer), it will still force the test page. I've wasted a lot of ... photo paper and lots of ... ink. It is horrible. Then, if that's not bad enough, the quality is bad. The bottoms of some my prints become purple (especially on HP's 'best' photo paper). HP has no explanation for this. I would not buy this machine again, and would probably think twice about another HP printer (even though this was my fouth HP).

Originally I was set to buy a Canon S750. I read very good reviews on the Canon S750 but have always owned a HP inkjet (694C for 7 years). When the 5550 hit the market at 149.00 (20.00 less then the Canon) I actually purchased both the hp 5550 and the canon S750 to make my own side by side comparisons. I could not resist comparing the two. The ease of set up on both was comparable, extremely easy. Both offer a USB and a parallel connection. The HP offers a add-on duplexer for front and back printing (at an additional cost). Print speeds I would have to give the edge to the Canon. The Canon is also remarkably economical due to the separate ink cartridges which really impressed me. Now to the real test. Text is remarkably sharp and dark on the HP, almost laser like, while the Canon was okay, text was not as dark and appeared to be a little soft. On graphics the canon does not do a good job, especially on plain paper when compared the HP 5550 which is outstanding. On photos there is no comparison. The HP (which offers 4800 x 1200 color dpi and 1200x1200 dpi black text compared to 2400 x 1200 color and 600x600 black text on the S750) is by far the winner here. The HP photos came out considerably brighter and truer to color than the S750. Colors were smoother and pictures were sharper. The S750 does an okay job if you do not regularly print photos (especially on their 4x6 completely borderless paper, which I also liked) but pictures came out dull and cloudy compared the HP 5550 (which also does borderless prints on their 4x6 paper with a bottom tear off tab). The Canon S750 has a quiet mode which is very nice. The HP is a bit noisy in comparison. Both have an auto on and off features that initializes when you call up a print job. The Canon can be set to auto off after as little as 10 mins. of no use where the HP will shut off after 30 mins.
After all is said and done, I returned the Canon S750 and am happily keeping the HP 5550. The quality out ways by far any ink savings and all other features are very close.
I also found out through the HP Rep at a local retail store, that the new HP 7150 photo is no different in photo quality than the 5550 and the only difference is the 7150 offers a dedicated feed on the paper tray for 4x6 photo paper and on the 5550 you have to remove the out tray to slide the 4x6 paper all the way to the back of the feeder tray (no big deal though) The 7150 also offers a USB connection on the front of the printer to connect your digital camera to and print your pictures directly from your camera however it is a proprietary port (only excepts HP cameras). Print speeds are a little slower than the 5550 and the price is 30.00 higher. 7150 does not offer a parallel connection, only USB.
I would recommend the HP 5550 to anyone who wants a reasonalby priced fast, excellent text and photo quality printer that is very easy to use. The out the door cost is very reasonable and is very sleek looking. HP has done an good job with this one.

After having used an HP laser printer at home for so many years, I was skeptical about buying an ink jet. They're slow, they gobble up ink, and if you get the printouts wet, the ink will run. Well, when I heard about the 5550 I knew it was time to "get color". And I was totally blown away by the performance of this affordable little printer.

Text and color graphics are great, of course. Color photos come out perfect, limited only by the quality of the source image. I even borrowed a good digital camera from work, and was amazed by the quality of photos produced by the 5550, far better than what we ever got from our regular 35mm camera. It's kind of a hassle to switch the ink cartridge and paper when printing photos, but if you only do this once in a great while, it's not a big deal. Takes just a few seconds.

So far I've printed a ton of pages, many with lots of color, and still haven't replaced any ink cartridges, so they seem to last quite a while. Plus, it's faster than my old laser printer. So I highly recommend this as a great HOME printer, especially if you'd like to print photos once in a while. For an office environment, I'd recommend sticking with laser (I've worked as a lan administrator, and have purchased a lot of printers over the years).

The only downside is that the ink on the printouts can run if you get them wet. But that's not likely to happen often, and the high quality color printouts are worth it. I believe that this is the best overall home printer available.

I needed a new inkjet printer and wanted something high-quality but also below $200. So I surfed the web and looked over many websites and reviews. I gathered that the Canon S series is the best for the money. The Canon S520 features four separate ink tanks so you can replace individual colors as they run out, which will save you money in the long run. It's also a fast printer, but I'm not usually in much of a hurry to print something. If you print a picture in high-quality resolution it can take a little longer (still quite speedy), but the results are fabulous. I've only used cheap plain paper so far, but photos and graphics still look really great. I'm sure it would look even better on higher quality paper. Also, plain text was printed very crisply as well, no complaints in that department. The printer is even really quiet, it makes very little noise. Overall I was really happy with this Canon S520 printer; it prints great looking color graphics/photos and it's pretty cheap, quiet and fast. I really can't find any fault with this printer, it's performed beyond expectations. Top-quality color inkjet printer - 5 STARS!

After doing a lot of web research, I finally chose the Canon S520 color printer to replace my Epson 740, which was beginning to give me problems and use a lot of ink. So far I love it! Installing the Canon printer software went smoothly, and the USB connection works well (there were problems with my PC recognizing the Epson printer using the USB port).

After using the Canon S520 for a few months now, I am extremely happy with my choice. It's much quieter and faster than my Epson, and appears to use less ink (it isn't constantly going through the noisy, time consuming and wasteful cleaning cycles that my Epson did). Black and white documents printed in Draft mode look just fine and are very fast to print. Although it's not billed as a "photo" printer, photos come out great too. In addition, the ink cartridges are cheaper than the Epson or HP cartridges, and you can replace one color at a time.

Having never owned a Canon product previously, I was slightly hesitant, but the S-series printers garner great reviews all over the Net. Besides, my HP DeskJet cartridges cost nearly as much by themselves (black and color).

Having once seen a S600 demo print in Office Max, I was quite impressed...that's how I first happened onto the Canon brand. Well, I have to say that the S520 does not disappoint. To start with, the printer is very easy to set up. Definitely plug and play (at least with Windows XP, may need driver included on CD on older systems). Yes, you will need to get a seperate USB cable, but they're cheap, so it's a non-issue. One of the GREAT features of this printer is that the ink cartridges (4 in total) are all seperate! What does this mean? You don't have to replace ALL of them if one color runs out! Now why can't more manufacturers do this? In addition, the cartridges are cheap, so your overall cost of printing is very low.

But aside from features and stuff, the Canon S520 is just an excellent printer in terms of quality and speed. Extremely fast with full page text and even color prints! Fast AND quiet! I think anyone who picks up this printer will be pleasantly surprised by the quality and speed at which this printer is capable of printing.

UPDATE: So far I've purchased 3 of these printers. One for a system I built for a family friend, one for my girlfriend, and one for my girlfriend's sister. Definitely a great value.

I purchased the Canon G2 camera, and my Epson 600 gave out about the very same time. Fix or replace, that was the question. I decided to replace.

The Epson 600 was a fine printer for its day. But I decided it was time to look at chewing up 3 or 4 years of technical development. I read a lot about the printers, and decided to go with the S900. Big brother to the S820 and same basic printer as the S9000 less giant print capability. It took a little soul searching, but decided that the S900 had the qualities and print sizes I would more than likely use on a regular basis. In fact, when working with film, I don't remember doing anything with a 16x20 print. So, decided to go with the printer that I would really use.

The S900 did not dissapoint me. It has beautiful, vivid color prints on the Canon white glossy print paper. Quite frankly, I have yet to understand why people knock the text quality. There does not seem to be any problems that I can see.

The only down side I have read is the waste ink tank that fills and you have to take the printer in for service. If that is the most I have to put up with, it will be a small price to pay indeed.

I only wish they included that on the feedback panel so you can plan for it. The idea that you are surprised by the event is what I am sure that most disturbing to most people. I hope someone from Canon reads this review.

It is the perfect companion to my digital camera and reproduces my printed pages faithfully. An oversized blank ink well would also be a nice enhancement. Again, there is no problem I see, I just figure that black will have the greatest demands placed on the printer, so that ink tank, if any should be oversized.

As I did with the camera, I rated this printer 4 stars. The only reason it did not make 5 stars is just in case I run across the perfect printer and I did not make room for it in my ratings.

The perfect printer would have ink wells that save replacements and reduce costs. It would have print heads that never clog and it would practically perform without maintenance. If anyone finds that printer, let me know. In the mean time I will use the S900 and enjoy photo printing along with great looking text pages.

I did a lot of research on printers and decided to wait for the Canon S900 to come out. It was definitely worth it...compared to other ink-jet printers, you are gaining in speed and quality, which is really what it all comes down to with a printer.

The printer comes nicely packed with a quick-start guide and CD right inside the top of the box. The 6 ink cartridges are also tucked in, three on each side. I ordered backup ink cartridges as well. Ordering the ink cartridges without actually having seen the printer or what cartridges it takes was a bit of a risk, especially when the cartridges were shipped ahead of the printer and were labeled for the Canon S800. But they are fine. Look for the BCI-6xx model numbers and you will be fine.

Also, be sure to order a USB A-B type cable as the printer does not come with one. These are very cheap, but if you get the printer and don't have a cable, it will make for a disappointing evening when you can't set it up.

Setup was a breeze. The print quality is outstanding, and the printer is very quiet. I do a lot of graphics and text printing and it is amazingly fast and the the text is clear. I would recommend getting some good paper, though, as regular xerox machine type paper will not do this printer justice. I could notice a clear difference in text output.

The six different ink cartridges could be viewed by some to be a downfall, but I would rather replace one $10 color when needed than have to replace all of the colors at once like in other brands.

In summary, this is outstanding printer, and if you can afford it, you will not be disappointed. Coupled with a good digital camera, you will never need to get film developed again!

This printer is AMAZING! You cannot tell the difference between a real photograph and one from this printer. I used the 4x6 glossy paper that was included, and printed a photo taken from my digital camera. It was done in less than 20 seconds and I was stunned at the results. The picture quality and color are absolutely perfect. Everyone I have showed the photos to are shocked when I tell them I printed it and that it isn't a real photograph!

I had the printer set up and installed in less than 10 minutes. The software is very easy to use, and provides a great interface for printing photos.

Everything is included in the box to get started right away.. They give you all the ink tanks and some photo paper. The only thing NOT provided is a USB cable. I can't believe that they won't throw in a cheap USB cable for free!

The printer itself looks very sharp. It's silver and black and has a cool style and shape.

I used an Epson Stylus Color 800 for a few years, and that is a total piece of junk compared to this. The Epson takes 5 minutes to clean and prepare itself almost every time you want to print something. This printer starts up immediately and prints extremely fast.

I highly recommend this printer to anyone who uses a digital camera!

The Epson 2200 uses archival inks that supposedly will last for 80 years...but the inks sacrifice the overall quality of the glossy prints...creating a 'bronzing issue'...which is to say that the prints have annoying reflections depending upon how they are viewed. There is also a dull sheen over the premium glossy photos that are distinctly inferior to the prints of the Epson 1280 or 820.

There are other annoyances...like having to switch black ink cartridges when switching paper types from matte to glossy. Also, this printer cannot print borderless matte photos! Once the matte black cartridge is inserted, the software won't allow borderless. Using the glossy black will really sacrifice image quality.

The matte photo results are very impressive, the colors are accurate and vibrant,this is where the printer outshines the competition. However, amongst Epson's own printers, the matte prints are no better than what you will achieve using the Epson 1280 or 820. The extra resolution is absolutely meaningless. I have scanned Medium Format film...so there was plenty of detail to be distinguished when I ran a side by side comparison test of the 820 versus the 2200. Upon close inspection the lowly stylus 820 was as good and possibly even better in the resolution department. Absurd...but true! And those printers (1280 and 820) are far less expensive, more versatile and give incomparably better glossy photos. So what's the deal? If large matte is all you print, then the printer is excellent. If you want premiums glossy as well then don't make the same mistake I did. Get the 1280 instead.
I would also add that the 2200 is of course considerably faster than the others(1280,820) when set at 720dpi(all things being equal). And it does an excellent job with text as well. So it is a bit more professional in that sense.

I've had my Epson 2200 for about six weeks. With free shipping Amazon's price was best on the net. Looked at Canon's and Epson's lower end models. I thought the Epson outperformed the Canon tonally. Have done about 45 8x10 glossies with medium grade Epson paper. Not disappointed in the output. Two pics were banded and short colored. Did a basic head cleaning and that corrected the problem. The light toned inks are used at slightly more than twice the rate of the dark tones. Am just now looking for a replacement for light magenta cartridge. I figure amortized cost per pic is about 1.25 per print with ink paper and printer costs combined. If you demand quality output for your pics with a fairly low volumne output, this is a hard printer to beat right now. If you're not too concerned about darker toning and flatter colors you can probably get by with something half as pricey. I'm delighted with mine.

received this printer only to have two faulty ink cartilages (still being cleared by epson). bought a pair and started printing sample papers from all over (red river polar gloss has equal output quality verus epson's premium luster paper).
At around 1200 dpi the test images are excellent with great satutation and contrast (at default settings) baby skin came out near perfect to the monitor. metalics are not grainy and the the multi color thread spool are rich and detailed. gradients dare i say are comparable to traditional photo-prints.
Printing is on the slow side when compared to other ink-jet printers. other then the oddly relaxing whishing sound its makes very little noise. heavy foot print on the desk. heavy with nice rugged construction (metal bracings).
was reviewed by lou (industrial designer) and joy (photograper)