Dan Knight
- 2001.06.08
The Epson Stylus Photo 870 is my third color inkjet printer. The
first was an HP DeskWriter that used either a black ink cartridge
or a three-color one - you had to switch cartridges when you
switched modes. Color accuracy was nothing to write home about, but
it was fine for graphs & charts.
The second was an Apple StyleWriter 4500 (built by HP), which
held both cartridges at once. This reduced the use of color ink in
dark areas and meant you didn't have to switch cartridges. Color
quality was better than the DeskWriter, but still not good enough
for photos. And the miserable thing kept going in for service. In
disgust, I just put it in the basement and ignored it once I got a
laser printer about a year ago.
I rarely need to print in color, but decided that my next color
printer would do a good job with photos. That summarizes my
experience with the 870 - it does a great job with photos.
Instead of the traditional four-color model (cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black), Epson does six-color printing, adding light
cyan and light magenta inks to the mix. That combined with up to
1440 dot-per-inch printing means fine tonal gradations even in
light areas.
For business graphics, the 870 does a fine job on normal paper,
but where it really shows its stuff is on photo grade paper. Epson
includes some sheets with the printer; the first picture I printed
blew me away.
Background
I've been a photographer since junior high and bought my first
35mm camera around 1973-4. I have had a long string of SLR cameras,
usually with a few lenses, a nice flash, and other accessories. I
love the ability to view through the lens, crop in the viewfinder,
and get sharp prints back from the processor. (When the prints
stopped being sharp, I sold everything to buy an autofocus camera -
the sharpness came back.)
I've also worked in camera shops, one in high school and another
about 12-15 years ago. I know good prints from bad, poor color from
good, and quality from mediocrity.
I also got my first digital camera for Christmas in 1999, a
compact Canon PowerShot A50. It's a great little camera that really
goes through batteries, sometimes pauses overly long when the
shutter is pressed, and generally does a very nice job taking
pictures.
Digital to Paper
Of course, the whole point of the Stylus Photo 870 is printing
those photos. After months of neglecting the printer, it was time
to do that. Our second son is on his way to Tampico, Mexico, on a
mission trip, and all the kids were told to bring some family
photos. Time to go through the PowerShot's JPEGs, pick some out,
and print them.
We were all struck at how quick and how quiet the 870 is - much
nicer than the old HP & Apple inkjet printers.
The Epson Stylus 870 allowed me to print some of my digital
pictures on paper for the first time. I was stunned by the detail.
A 1.3 megapixel camera isn't supposed to make a good 8x10, but it
certainly did! Just imagine how nicely shots from 2-4 megapixel
cameras will look.
So far I've printed three nearly full page images and about
10-12 4x6 prints. I've hardly touched the black ink, but each of
the five colors is down by about one-third. That points to about
15-20 full page pictures or 50-75 4x6 prints per color cartridge.
With a color cartridge selling for about $18, ink comes to about
$1.00 for an 8.5x11, 30-35¢ per 4x6.
Nor is the paper inexpensive. We picked up a pack of 20 4x6
single sheets at the local
Office Depot for about $8, or 40¢
per sheet. Mail order it goes for $1-2 less, but then you have to
add shipping. Cost per 4x6 works out to somewhere in the vicinity
of 60-80¢.
A pack of 20 sheets of 8.5x11 photo paper sells for about $11
mail order, or 55¢ per sheet. That brings the cost of a large
print to roughly $1.50 - just twice the cost of a 4x6. (Epson's 100
sheet pack sells for about $40, saving you about 15¢ per
print.)
The 870 supports roll paper, which lets you print one snapshot
after another, then trim them to size later. I don't find that as
convenient as single 4x6 sheets, nor is it less expensive. A 4"
wide, 26' long roll of photo paper sells for $15-20. Because the
printer leaves some space between images, you should get about 50
4x5 prints or 40 4x6 prints from a roll, for an approximate cost of
35-40¢ per print.
In short, it's cheaper to shoot film and have snapshots
developed if all you're after is 4x6 prints, but if you're
interested in 8x10 photos, the cost per print is very
attractive.
Matte paper is less costly than glossy, and there are several
other brands of paper available, including high quality, high cost
art paper. You'll probably want to do some research before settling
on a paper, since there are many brands and types to choose
from.
Summary
The Stylus Photo 870 is a reasonably priced (about US$180) high
quality printer. If you don't have a spare USB cable, you will need
to buy one - Epson doesn't include one in the box.
If you're interested in making large prints (8x10, 8.5x11,
etc.), your cost is competitive with commercial photofinishers. But
if you're just interested in printing snapshots, you may be better
of sticking with a film camera.
Regardless of cost, you won't be disappointed with output
quality from this excellent printer.
