Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One for $179

If you're in the market for a quality printer or All-in-One (AIO), you might want to consider the Epson Artisan 800. It retails for $299, but Microcenter and the Staples website have it on sale for $229. Staples still has it priced at $299 in their stores, but they told me that they will price match their website and sold it to me for $229.

Staples also currently has a promotion where if you turn in a printer for recycling, and buy a new one for $179 or more, then you will get an additional $50 rebate. That brings the total cost for this $299 printer down to $179.

Here's a trick to save even more money! If you already have a halfway decent printer that you are upgrading from, go on Craigslist and find an old beat up printer for $5 or $10, even better yet find someone who is giving one away (free is best!) and turn that one in. It doesn't even matter if it works. Then you can sell your existing printer, or give it to a family member or friend.

I did my research before purchasing Epson Artisan 800. It was between this and the HP C8180 Photosmart All-in-One Printer, but after seeing the Epson and reading customer reviews I went with the Epson.

I've been using it for a few days and have been impressed with the photo print quality. I've been printing on Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy and they come out as good or better than photo lab prints. Scans have also turned out great! The Epson software that comes with the printer is easy to use. I have also effortlessly printed some photos from Picasa. I haven't tried printing from Lightroom yet, but I'll try that this weekend when I have some free time.

I decided to set up this printer as a wireless printer. Setup was a breeze (as opposed to my HP wireless printer that this replaced) and I was up and running in minutes. The instructions are very clear and walk you through each step. You also have the option to connect the printer via USB or network cable.