Epson Artisan 810 Wireless Touch Screen Color Inkjet All-In-One Printer (C11CA52201)
Friday, December 18th, 2009I bought my first printer back in 1994 (HP Deskjet 820), another one in 2000 (HP Deskjet 990cse) and I got a FREE HP PhotoSmart 145 when I purchased my digital camera in 2005, so in a sense you know where I'm coming from. All the HPs had served me well and prints with exceptional laser-like qualities, but the ink cartridges were too expensive! Recently my 990cse started printing weird colors, and by this point I grew tired of forking out the $$$ for their ridiculously expensive ink cartridges. So, long story short....this time, I wanted an A.I.O. unit with Wi-Fi capability and something that can print CD/DVD media. Although I was considering another HP but the Epson brand had came to mind when I was looking at a CD printer a few years back. I searched and reviewed and the 'Artisan 810' seemed like the perfect candidate.
What I like about the Epson Artisan 810:
Aside from the flimsy pullout paper support, its design aesthetics and ergonomics are by far the best, it is very easy to set up and I was up and running in very little time (connected via Wi-Fi from my Linksys router to all three computers; Desktop PC, 1st Laptop and 2nd Laptop). All my computers under the roof was receiving signal to Print, Scan, Copy and the unit scans/converts pdf files wirelessly to all of them - remotely, unbelievable! The color LCD touchscreen controls tasks on-the-fly without the aid of a computer, which means you can directly print photos from an attached USB Flash Drive, Flash Memory Card or straight from a PictBridge compatible Digital Camera. You can also easily make hard-copy documents, and FAX. The paper tray holds a good amount of standard A4/legal papers and there is a separate upper level that holds photo papers. There is also a slot where you can insert envelopes to print but you'll have to remove the regular sheets out of the way for it to work properly, not a big deal if you don't print too many envelopes. Some reviewers complained about how the unit does not like to handle thicker papers, I have no problems printing them as I did with a CD cover. You can set "Thick Paper" option from the touchscreen and it should handle the media properly.
The unit itself is heavy and stable (which I like) when opening the flap for scanning, copying or faxing, this is good compared to other lighter machines where it can easily slide out of position while doing the job.
The Prints (Documents): (3.5 Stars)
Although the 810 was hailed by many to have excellent print results, but I find the print quality to be a bit inferior compared to my older HP printers. Texts printed were not as sharp as the HPs and the blacks were not as deep and true. Upon close inspection, I can detect a plethora of slight feathery bleeds on smaller fonts and the overall tone was a bit off compared to the source. For instance; I printed an owners manual and the image of the black electronic device would render a bit of dark "bronze-like black" instead of the rich true-black from the downloaded pdf source. Also, the texts were more bland/lighter and almost grayish-like. Of course I can achieve the print results as close to the originals as possible if I were to set the print preference to 'Best' quality instead of 'Normal', but that's like offering an alcoholic with more champagne instead of beer. I was a bit disappointed in this area or maybe I should upgrade to higher quality papers compared to what I am utilizing now (regular everyday Staples-branded 20 lb), but the HPs have their settings at 'Normal' and the texts printed were laser-like sharp!
The Prints (Photos): (5 Stars)
I printed some 4X6 photos with the included [sample] Epson Glossy papers and the results were nothing short; the pictures came out more than astonishing in terms of quality and one might thought it'd came from a professional lab. The ink dries instantly, there were no smudges while handling the prints. I haven't tried the CD/DVD prints but I'm expecting the results to be just as good. The only downside to it was when I tried printing on some leftover HP Premium Photo papers, the results were horrible where the inks doesn't want to dry and the colors were way off; my prints came out looking like it was from 1980 - rendering yellowish-brownish tone with sort of a sepia effect. That means I'm only limited to Epson Photo papers -- not good.
Scans: (5 Stars)
Now that I can stash away (because I couldn't give it away) that slow and bulky Umax scanner (circa 1998), I was able to scan some documents from the unit itself and sent to one of the computers. I did some magazine scans, and again, the quality just blew me off my seat! The detailed contrasts were clear and sharp, the color and imaging retained true to its originals, there were no blurs and the overall results did not go darker compared to my old Umax scanner, now if it only prints this way and the overall rating would be a good 5 shining stars! The biggest plus to all this is having the option and ability to scan any document and convert them into pdf files - saves the hassle.
Note: you can also do all this easily from the computer with options to tweak them any way you pleased with the included softwares.
Copier: (5 Stars)
It does the job quick - in Color or B/W! The LCD control panel let's you adjust options compared to a regular professional copier from Kinkos or one from an office environment/employer. I can honestly say that this is a God-send since I needed to copy documents occasionally to have it sent off right away, whereas like before and opposed to having it manually scanned; convert the jpeg files; shrink the files and convert them into pdf and then print.
FAX:
Haven't tried it, but I suspect if one were to have a valid working phone line, it should work just fine.
Oh, let's not forget:
Read the manuals thoroughly and carefully so you'll know how to benefit the Artisan 810 to its fullest results, otherwise you'll just end up having a bad time with it -- and ultimately with the reviews.
Pros:
*Design (aesthetics, and loved the thin faint Blue LED status light on front)
*Ergonomics (everything falls easily into place when pulling up a task)
*Large 7.8" Touch Panel
*Large 3.5" LCD viewable monitor screen
*USB port can charge battery for compatible devices such as iPod, Cellphone, etc.
*Prints Inkjet Printable CD/DVD -- saves me a bundle from that CD Printer that I've always wanted.
*Photo prints (Professional and lab-like results)
*Ink dries instantly
*Very high quality Photo and Document scans
*Scan to PC or e-mail
*Print/Scan/Copy/Fax centrally w/o a computer
*Wi-Fi connection is steady and stable
*Decent Ink costs
Cons:
*Printed documents are a bit fuzzy (slight bleeding) and not as sharp as HP
*Texts printed in Black are not as rich and sharp (Black is not as true)
*Won't 'Power-ON' automatically if PC calls for print when unit is turned 'OFF' (but will if left 'ON' for Standby mode. My HP 990 can power itself ON when I hit print)
*Photo print results are excellent -- BUT -- only if used with Epson papers
*Retrieves two sheets of paper while printing (occasionally and very seldom, my HP does that too sometimes so I'm not really complaining)
*Ink can run out fast (so does my HP, and their Ink costs much more)
*The pullout paper support plate can be nice if it was built a bit more sturdier
EPSON Artisan 810, Print/Copy/Scan/Fax/Photo/Wi-Fi
- Brilliant 7.8-Inch touch panel
- WiFi & Ethernet networking built-in
- Unbeatable quality & speed
- Color fax and 30 page Auto Document Feeder
- Easily charge a cell phone or MP3 player without tying up an additional outlet.
List Price: USD 299.99
Lowest New Price: USD 179.90















