The Epson Stylus CX6400 is your all in one solution for printing, copying, and scanning. This unit delivers up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi for Photo Quality printing and features scan to media card capabilities. Exclusive Epson Durabrite ink ensure each photo offers vivid color that will last for years to come. For added flexibility, the all-in-one includes built-in card slots and a convenient photo proof sheet function for a quick, easy way to select and print special photos directly from popular memory cards. With full-featured scanning, this versatile unit scans photos and documents directly to e-mail or for use in business or creative applications. Epson Easy Photo Fix technology makes it possible to restore faded color photos to their original brilliance. And, Epson's innovative scan-to-memory card technology provides a way to take those images on the road.
The Epson Stylus CX6400 is an all-in-one color printer, color copier, and color scanner. This versatile machine is perfect for the home office or small business where space is at a premium. Print resolutions are as high as 5,760 x 1,440 optimized dpi, while the CMYK drop-on-demand Micro Piezo inkjet technology and Epson DURABrite inks provide bright, vivid, and true-to-life images. Print speeds clock in at 22 ppm for black text and 11 ppm for color text (maximum, in draft mode), while a 4-by-6-inch photo takes approximately 72 seconds.
The CX6400 has a standard input capacity of 150 sheets and accepts up to 15 envelopes. It accepts a wide variety of originals, including paper (plain; bond; Epson premium bright white paper, Epson matte paper heavyweight, Epson glossy photo paper), cards, transparencies, and banner paper. Supported sizes include letter, legal, half-letter, executive, and user definable from 3.5 by 3.5 to 8.5 by 44 inches.
You can print photo directly from your digital camera's memory card. The CX6400 supports CompactFlash type I and II, MultiMedia Card, IBM Microdrive, xD-Picture Card, Sony Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, MagicGate Memory Stick, SmartMedia, and Secure Digital. Scan-to-memory card technology lets you easily store images for future use.
The flatbed scanner provides up to 1,200 x 2,400 dpi hardware resolution and 48-bit color, with a maximum interpolated resolution of 9,600 x 9,600 dpi. Copy speeds are as fast as 16 cpm, while up to 99 copies can be made at once, freeing up your time for other tasks. The included software bundle helps you get the most out of your scans with a variety of image editing tools. Epson's Easy Photo Fix technology helps restore old, faded photos into bright, high-quality reprints.
The CX6400 connects via a high-speed USB 2.0 port. The AC 100-120 V, 50 - 60 Hz, 0.5A (max) power supply consumes around 23 W during normal operation and around 6 W during standby. Compatible with both Mac and PC, the CX6400 also comes backed by a one-year limited warranty.
What's in the Box
Epson Stylus CX6400 All-In-One, one cyan ink cartridge (T044220), one magenta ink cartridge (T044320), one yellow ink cartridge (T044420), one black ink cartridge (T043120), one USB cable, all-in-one documentation, CD-ROM containing all-in-one drivers and software (Windows and Macintosh)
1 It's the INK stupid...
I really liked this all-in-one BUT it's costing me a fortune in ink. I've owned two other printers before and both were "lesser models" that gave me more for my money - this eats up ink like it's the hungry tree in Little Shop of Horrors, and each cartridge (there are four) is between $25 and $33 and to choose only "black ink" requires two extra steps every single print job. I can't believe the issue isn't the hardware - that it's the INK that makes this purchase a major regret!!!
2 don't buy it
I owned this printer for only 5 months before it stopped printing clearly. Now I have to clean the printer heads several times before even printing one page or it is smudged or too faint to read. Cleaning the heads sucks the printer cartridges dry, so I have to buy a new one every week almost. I will give up on this printer and buy a laser printer. It is such a piece of junk that I wanted to write this review to warn others. I've never written a review of any product before this. I would give it no stars if they offered that option.
3 Ink issues will eat you alive
Some things which WILL happen with this printer:
Your print heads will clog. Each time you clean the nozzles you'll use about *1/8th* to *1/4th* of all your ink. Seriously.
Cleaning the print heads eventually won't work, and you'll have horrible banding which won't go away.
The ink goes SO fast it will make your head spin. Oh, BTW, that cleaning above (which will only work when the printer is brand new) costs you about $10 in ink EACH TIME you do it.
Even though the inks are seperate, if you run out of even one color you won't be able to print in black. Period.
When it tells you your ink is out and you go to replace it, you're horrified to find that there is still a decent amount of ink in the cartridge, but the cartridge has a computer chip which won't let you refill or re-use it no matter how much ink is still left.
Epson tech supports, well, SUCKS. Be forewarned, and avoid all Epson printers.
I had a C82, which seemed decent at the time, but it gobbled up ink, and began to have paper feeding problems which refused to go away. I though the All-in-One would be better. Nope. Worse.
I just bought a Canon PIXMA. AMAZING photo quality - their 4 (and 5) ink systems rival the 6-8 ink systems from Epson. Seriously. And the ink lasts WAAAAAAAAAYYYYY longer.
You've been warned...
4 Lovely printer/scanner/copier, but with a huge caveat
Until its ill-starred merger with Compaq, I used to swear by Hewlett-Packard products. But when H-P failed to support my relatively new printer under Windows XP, I started looking around for another printer line and, after a great deal of research, settled upon the Epson Durabrite printers. My first one, a C80, was ruined by a label getting stuck to the bottom of the print head. When I tried to get help from Epson and was stonewalled, and I had to turn to a bootleg copy of the service manual from Russia to figure out how to take the printer apart, I should have seen the writing on the wall. Still, I replaced it with an Epson CX6400 just over a year ago. Then, just after the warranty expired, it started to require frequent head cleaning operations to print properly. Finally, despite this, the magenta dropped out last week, then the cyan, then the yellow and, finally, the black. I installed an entire set of new cartridges (about $70) to no avail. I e-mailed Epson several times and spoke to a representative. I was offered a small discount on an upgrade, but when I asked how to clean the nozzles manually, I was stonewalled again. Each time I ask Epson how to fix or even prevent this, I am told, perversely, that I should clean the printer via the head cleaning operation. No matter how many times I tell Epson that I have done this, and it stopped printing despite many repeat attempts, they tell me the same thing. Coincidentally, a client of mine with three Epson C82s has had all three fail this week in precisely the same way. Neither of us has ever used any cartridges but genuine Epson brand. Durabrite is a great idea in many ways. The colors are particularly vibrant and, according to all reports and claims, the most resistant to fading of all ink jet printer systems. But there is, in my opinion, a fatal flaw. This flaw is widely discussed in various Internet printer forums and the prevailing hypothesis is that the problem stems from the fact that Epson Durabrite cartridges aren't filled with ink but rather particles of toner in suspension and that it is these particles which eventually clog the nozzles no matter what one does. Epson should redesign their system either to allow manual cleaning of their nozzles or include disposable nozzles in the cartridges as so many other manufacturers do. But whatever Epson does, I believe that they are being irresponsible regarding this obvious problem and that until they acknowledge it and offer a solution, this printer and all of their printers which use the Durabrite system should be avoided.
5 Worst printer I ever owned
This Epson CX6400 "printer" will print from computer and work as a stand alone copier. BUT it ends there, NOTHING else works.
I am a computer tech, and I can not get this "printer" to work.
It will do absolutely nothing under OS 9.x and very limited use under OS X.
I have reinstalled Mac OS X 10.3.8, on a Dual processor Mac G5. I un-installed all epson drivers, re-installed all drivers, downloaded and installed all patches (4), re-started computer, unplugged printer for 5 min. Still none of the "smart panel" (printer control panel)features work, It merely shows you 8 nice features such as: Reprint photos, scan & save, copy center, scan to email etc...which you COULD do IF you had a printer that actually worked, nor does any of the on printer functions work (scan to pc, scan to email etc...)
Technical support is a joke, 3 days to get a reply, even then its silly stuff like is it plugged in and is cable connected.
I don't know if this "printer" works under windows, I know it does NOT work under OS X or OS 9.x
I have had many epson printers in the past 8 years, This WILL be my last.
AVOID THIS BOAT ANCHOR!!!
6 Another Year, Another Printer
It seems as though we run through a printer every year or two. I purchased our last printer, a Lexmark, when we bought our new computer. I fell in love with the Lexmark because it was an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier with multiple cartridges for color and black. The black print quality was excellent and the color copy was good. The only problems were that the ink ran out too quick, and after less than two years the color stopped working altogether, and we couldn't get the black cartridge to work very well, so it was time for a new printer, and we chose the Epson CX6400.
Thus far I have been thrilled with this relatively recent purchase. The quality of the color printout is better than our Lexmark and our two previous HP printers. We have tried copying and enlarging color pictures and have had good success. We prefer a matte finish on our pictures and that is close to what you get from this printer. Also, the ink becomes fixed reasonably quickly, and printout on photo paper is good. Printout in black and white (and color) is relatively quick, with one proviso; when you first start to print the printer goes through all kinds of self-checks and it seems to take forever to start a print out.
Another drawback is that there are a lot of controls on the front panel. While the controls give you a lot of options, some of the options are not reached intuitively, which makes for some occasional annoyance. Yet another drawback is that if you turn the printer off, it takes an even longer time to prepare itself to print a document.
This printer has four separate ink cartridges, which give the plus that you may replace them one at a time, but a minus because you have to buy four instead of two that some printers take. Also, I thought it was a little difficult to get these cartridges installed.
We have had our Epson for only a few months, so I am as yet unable to tell you how reliable it may be. It seems like we go through a printer every year or two, and I am hoping that this one lasts as long as our first HP, which lasted for more than four years.
This printer is not a one-size-fits-all unit. It meets our modest needs, which is primarily document print out with occasional color print out and copying. If you plan on doing a lot of color printing, or photograph printing, I suspect that you may want to consider a higher quality and faster printer. However, consider that while there are numerous higher quality printers, this one does a lot cost-effectively.
7 Crying over spilled ink
It's the best of machines and the worst of machines. For all it can do, this is a wonderful scanner and copy machine, but the permanent print head has a very short life-cycle. I mean, I've run $80 Lexmarks into the ground and was happy with what I got out of them after 2 or 3 years. But paying what I've paid for the Epson and the cost of cartridges...Oh my God, stick with the cheap disposable units if you don't have hundreds of dollars to throw away.
I thought it would be perfect for our small home-based business as I would save time and money not running to Staples when I needed copies. I made several beautiful color photo prints and I loved the idea of being able to just insert my compact flash card from my camera right in the unit and the photo program came up and I was ready to go. The print quality was good and I was happy...until the first cartridge ran out. I needed to get an invoice out, it was late at night and I ran out of cyan. I was making a black and white invoice and the whole machine was disabled. Funny thing, it seemed to run out of the cyan when I hadn't used it. I blazed over to Fry's Electronics where I had purchased the machine and got a new cartridge, complaining up a storm to the manager about how I was told you only had to change cartridges on demand but NOT told the machine was disabled by any cartridge running out of ink. Rattled off an email to Epson telling them I loved the machine but was dismayed at the cost of cartridges and the lack of info the salesperson had on that "small" tip. They sent me four free cartridges but in the meanwhile I seemed to run out of ink awfully fast. I make a lot of copies but it seemed to tell me one thing and do another as far as quantity of ink left.
After a little over a year now, my print head is so clogged that I'm only getting little dots on the paper. After MUCH online research I'm discovering that you should turn off the machine after copying to cap the print head (THIS IS NOT STATED IN THE REFERENCE GUIDE - SHAME ON YOU EPSON!!) which keeps the heads from drying out. I also discovered info about this so-called "smart chip" which I think should be called "the rip-off chip" as it disables the cartridge while there's ink remaining.
I've just spent $70 plus on cartridges (for four) and had to run the cleaning program in sets of four three times, shutting the machine off for hours at a time, and now my cartridges are down to almost 1/2 to 3/4 full. And that's not even making a print!!
Speaking of cleaning programs, I've learned that they run in a short/long cycle and you can actually CLOG THE PRINT HEADS MORE BY RUNNING THE CLEANING PROGRAM!!!! Good God, is there no SHAME at Epson?? ALSO - there is a relatively small number of retailers who even carry the cartridges (controlled demand to keep prices high??) in a huge town like Phoenix you'd think there would be more than 3 places to purchase them.
I will not EVER, NEVER, AT ANY TIME, EVER buy another Epson printer. They are scandelous scoundrals and should be ashamed for being so greedy. I tell everyone I know this story and I hope that some day Epson gets the message that people don't like being taken advantage of. As much as I wanted the all-in-one machine, I can't see taking so much abuse.
8 Dead after first birthday
I had purchased this all-in-one back in December of 2003. During the past year I mainly used it for general use. Setup was easy enough, and the quality was adequate for what I needed.
At the beginning of this month, the printer started printing in lines and was not legible. I had purchased all new color and black cartridges, thinking that perhaps on of them had clogged up. After installing the new cartridges, I had the same problem. So, I would run the head cleaning utility, print a test page, run the utility again, print a test page again...you get the picture. The ink levels are now down to 30% and the printer is still not working correctly. I tried to clean out any clogged ink within the printer with no luck.
The printer was good for the time it lasted, but I will not be purchasing an Epson again.
9 Won't print without 4 full cartrisges
DON'T BUY IT! It won't print, including in black and white, without four full cartidges. What moron thought of that?!
10 Stops printing after one year!!
My printer started printing blank pages after 1 year. I contacted customer support and they offered to fix the printer for free or give me a discount on an upgraded model. Epson customer support was very helpful, but there is no way I will buy an "upgraded" defective product. I plan on letting them fix my existing model at no cost - just not sure how long it will last.
Here is an excerpt of a review on 10/31/04:
If you're considering this printer, or any other candidates in the EPSON CX line, there's something you should know: they all suffer from the same fatal flaw: clogging print heads. Unlike HP or Canon printers, the print heads in the Epson are embedded within the printer itself (not the print cartridge). This means that, irrespective of use, sometime within 1-2 years after you purchase this printer, you WILL have a print head failure which will cost you more to fix than the original purchase price of the printer.
Happened to me after 16th months of occasional (2x per month, about 10 pages per month) use. As with the other reviews below, I changed the ink cartridges, and found the machine simply henceforth spit out blank pages. I cleaned the heads 15 times (incidentally, each time you clean it uses about 2.5% of the ink in the cartridge)...no change.
11 BUY AT OWN RISK!!!!
I bought this printer because of the good reviews BUT the paper feeder has the WORST quality. After using it for a few weeks, it broke down, printing/ scanning pictures or text with no top margins and very wide bottom margins. I called up EPSON and they exchanged my NEW printer with a REFURBISHED one AND as soon as I got it, there's soemthing wrong again with the feeder. It could not "sense" the papers. So I called them up again & they again sent me a REFURBISHED unit AND THERE'S SOEMTHING WRONG STILL WITH THE FEEDER. This, by far is the worst printer and WORST warranty coverage EVER!!!! I emailed their customer service to file a complaint and they did not even respond!
12 great all in one, I'm very pleased
I bought this about six months ago and I've been very happy with it. It was exceptionally easy to install and set up. The images it prints are outstanding. I love being able to make a copy or print from memory cards without my laptop being docked and running. I like the separate ink cartridges for each color (black and the 3 colors) so I no longer throw away some color ink because the blue has run out, for example).
I've always bought HP printers (perhaps 5 or 6 over the years) and this is my first non-HP printer. I decided to try this because comparable HPs were more expensive, but also reviews from other owners complained about how long they took to install their software and what a space hog the software is. I had no idea really how bad it was until last week, when I helped a computer-newbie friend install her new HP all-in-one with a built in fax. After waiting over 45 MIN. to finish the software install, I was sure it had stalled, and I stopped the install and started over, this time doing a minimum install. There was no warning whatsoever that it could take over 1 HR to install the software (and this was on a new, pretty fast machine)! The minimum install went much more quickly, and as she will not be using all of the image editing features I doubt she'll miss the full install. I'd simply never seen anything like it with any of my other HPs, and apparently there is quite a ruckus about this known problem with some of HPs printers. It is inexcusable, in my opinion, not to give owners advance warning and choices of what to install.
In any event, I couldn't be happier with this all-in-one. I don't know about problem print heads, and I hope I don't encounter them, but given how inexpensive these machines have become, perhaps it just makes sense to move to the next model when encountering a major problem. That is certainly bad for our landfills, but what else can one do?
BTW, do use the high capacity black ink cartridges (T043120)for this machine. Nearly twice the printing capacity at much less than twice the cost of the regular capacity cartridges.
13 Engineered to fail after 1-2 years: All Epson CX printers
If you're considering this printer, or any other candidates in the EPSON CX line, there's something you should know: they all suffer from the same fatal flaw: clogging print heads. Unlike HP or Canon printers, the print heads in the Epson are embedded within the printer itself (not the print cartridge). This means that, irrespective of use, sometime within 1-2 years after you purchase this printer, you WILL have a print head failure which will cost you more to fix than the original purchase price of the printer.
Here's a sampling of reviews written on the CX5200 and CX5400 more bells and whistles than this model, but same internal print engine):
(...)
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Wish I Could Give It No Stars!, October 1, 2004
Reviewer: Brian D. Ratte "dean60" (Sugar Land, TX) - See all my reviews
My experience concurs exactly with those of many people here who have owned the printer over a year. If you do not frequently print in color it basically stops printing when you change the cartridges! I had an HP for 8 years and sold it to another person who is very happy with it. No more Epson for me!! I will be purchasing another HP product to replace this boat anchor!
Did not live up to expectations, September 7, 2004
Reviewer: Cheer Mom "cheermom" (Lindenwold, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
I purchased the Epson CX5200 All in One printer/scanner/copier about 2 years ago when I bought my Gateway computer. I recently purchased new print cartridges and installed them. Nothing happened - tried all the things Epson said to do - head alignment, nozzle cleaning, etc. Because my printer was no longer in warranty, they directed me to a local printer repair shop authorized to repair Epson printers.
The repair shop told me that I would need to purchase a new print head at a cost of about $230 (you can buy a new printer for about $130!). I had just spent almost $75 on print cartridges - you know how expensive they are - plus $42 for the authorized deal to just look at my printer.
I am appalled that this printer lasted less than two years. It got normal use - for school reports and printing photos. My old HP lasted for years. I would definitely not repurchase an Epson printer any time soon.
Works until need to replace print cartridges, October 17, 2004
Reviewer: Suzanne L. Dodson (Harrisonburg, VA) - See all my reviews
I just spent $50 on cartridges that don't work. Guess I should have read the other reviews before spending that $ and put it towards another printer instead. I will never buy Epson again! And it is funny, I traded my working HP printer for this one thinking the "durabrite ink" would be great! Ha!
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14 inefficient and a hassle
ok, here's the deal with this all in one.
i print color pages every other day, and before each print, i have to do a "head cleaning" utility, because the color will smudge all over the page. this takes up considerable amount of ink each time, so in the end, 1/4 to 1/3 of my color cartridges get used up doing this - maybe God knows where this ink ends up, because no paper is used during the head cleaning utility.
To top it all off, half the time i have to do this utility 2x since the smudges still appear. This is just ridiculous.
Scanner/copier are fairly decent for my mediocre uses, and the software included sure makes it easy to scan just about anything on the flathead scanner. decent resolution too.
even though this printer can be used to print photos, i will never attempt this seeing how the color smudges all over the paper...
if you have a choice, please skip this one and go on to another all in one. maybe one with a fax as well, since this one has no fax capabilities.
good luck!
15 epson cx6400 all in one
this product is awful and so is epson. i had previously heard negative info about epson, but bought this anyway (...), my cx6400 stopped working shortly after i purchased it (paper feeding problem). even though the item was under warranty, i was sent a refurbished replacement with AWFUL scanning/copying quality. epson reps have been very unhelpful, i have huge phones bills from contacting their various depts, and i am still unable to use the software w/mac osX. i am so mad at myself for being cheap!
16 Compared to HP OfficeJet 6110
I was looking at various all-in-ones for home and office use and found the following when comparing the Epson Stylus CX6400 (more photo oriented) to the HP OfficeJet 6110 (more general office use oriented).
1. Epson Stylus CX6400 includes 3 different color ink cartridges (yellow, magenta, cyan) whereas OfficeJet 6110 includes only 1 color ink cartridge.
2. Epson Stylus CX6400 includes slots for 3 types of digital camera cards whereas OfficeJet 6110 does not include any.
3. HP OfficeJet 6110 includes an automatic document feeder whereas Epson Stylus CX6400 does not. Document feeder allows you for instance to load a 14 page document, hit the copy button, the machine automatically feeds and copies all 14 pages; as opposed to inserting each page individually into the copier.
4. HP OfficeJet 6110 includes a fax machine whereas Epson Stylus CX6400 does not.
17 Wouldn't recommend it
I haven't tried this model in particular, as I logged on to Amazon.com looking for a replacement for my ailing Epson Stylus CX3200, a previous model in the same line.
This is actually my second 3200, as the first one died within a matter for weeks, one of the moving parts got stuck in the wrong position, and it made a very load banging sound when turned on. Epson did replace it when I called support(not a toll-free number), but they put a charge on my card for the amount of a replacement, which they said they would be returned to my card after they received my original printer. Well, they didn't, and I had to have my credit card company attest the charge.
My second 3200, usually reports a scanner error when you turn it on, but not always. If you turn it on and off a couple times, it will behave. You can print successfully even when the Scanner Error message scrolls across the printer display, but if you want to scan or copy, you have to turn it on and off until the printer cooperates.
Willing to deal with this minor inconvenience, I continued to use the product. Another problem is that the printer uses way too much ink, I was replacing one cartridge or another every two or three months. I don't know if this was just my printer or what.
Alright, so now, I've had the printer for perhaps a year and a half, and it has decided to print out weird colors and fuzzy lines. I tried the various printer utility operations, cleaning the printer head, etc. Nothing helps.
I also have a cousin who recently got a Epson printer free with his computer, and surprise, it also reports a bogus error when turned on. Seems this is an Epson signature feature. In addition, he's only had the printer for two months, and he's already out of black ink!
I work for a software sompany, and I've dealt with customer support, so I know that sometimes two different customers can have experiences on seperate ends of the spectrum. I'm not saying that you'll have the same problems that I did, especially since this model is newer than mine, but I won't be buying from Epson again.
18 Very easy to use, but a bit bulky
This printer is very easy to use and set up. I was printing pictures within 20 minutes of opening the box. Picture quality is awesome. I have had the printer for several days, have made about 20+ pictures with very little ink being used. The greeting card software that came with the printer is handy also. The only problem that I have is that the printer is a little bulky if space is tight. Overall, this is an excellent investment and purchase.
19 Replacement Ink Costs $73?
Had the printer for about 8 months now, is working well enough, but was a little set back when I went to purchase replacement ink. Requires four different cartridges - black (high capacity $34), cyan ($13), magenta ($13), and yellow($13), for a total of $73.
And we don't print that much. Maybe that's within the normal range for ink replacement with a color printer these days, but it seemed high to me.
20 Nice Hardware, Poor software (on MacOSX)
I am very satisfied with the print quality, borderless on photo paper is just stunning.
As a scanner the printer is really hampered, on Mac OSX, by the supplied drivers: The installer crashed a number of times, the "Smart controller" often unexpectedly quits.
Also, the screens in the "scan and save" function have many field that I just can't edit, for example the Format where you could choose between PDF, JPEG is stuck at JPEG, a real bummer. The resolution field is also unmodifiable.
The software is obviously a bad port from windows, as it does not obey the most basic keyboard shortcuts (cmd-W to close a window does not work, cannot tab between fields etc). The "Smart panel" is laughable, especialy its "advanced settings" that's totally useless.
If I had known this I would not have bought the printer.
And yes, I went to Epson site to get the latest drivers&software.
21 Great Value
I bought this printer a little over a month ago, and I am completely satisfied. I used the card reader for photo prints for the first time last week and I really liked the process. Prints came out very nice. Comparable to an HP photosmart printer, but I feel like the epson prints were much nicer because you don't have to wait for ink to dry. Colors are just as vivid as an HP photo printer. But I do suggest that you buy DuraBrite Photo paper. This optimizes the photos appearance.
The printer is very easy to set up, Nice speed and very quiet. This is a great value for anyone looking for a quality multi-function printer. Especially with the great rebate Amazon is offering at the moment. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because it is a little bulky. But that is expected from a multi-function printer. I would LOVE for these to shrink a tad bit!
22 Printer paper has to be loaded from the back
I have only used HP and wanted to change to a printer that has individual color - I don't know what HP was thinking when they made color in one cartidge! I don't like the fact the paper has to be loaded from the back - didn't even know they made a printer like this. I am returning mine and will probably go back to a HP again. I don't like the time it takes to start printing either. When I put several sheets of paper in the paper holder it took all of them so it messed up the printing but that could just have been the way I loaded it. I don't think envelopes can be printed with it but I could be wrong - not keeping it long enough to find out.
23 So far, so good
Pros:
Does everything well
Excellent value for the price!
Easy to use
Cons:
It does shake quite a bit
Nothing else so far.
I would give it a 4+
24 Excellent Printer
Just bought this printer last week, and so far I am completely satisfied. Easy setup in Windows. Also works very well in Linux, but it does require a few modifications (Epson does not provide Linux drivers).
I would definately recommend this to others.
25 Great Multifunction Printer!
After doing a lot of research and talking to friends I finally decided on the Epson CX6400, and so far it has been great! It produces great color prints and can print crisp, clear, dark black text at about 10ppm. The photos it print are with rich colors and are clear. PHOTOPAPAPER REALLY ENHANCES QUALITY! It can copy about as fast as a standard copy machine, and can print directly from compact flash, memory stick, and SM cards. Setup was very fast and easy to do, it has a illustrated setup guide included. It can also act as a card reader for your digital camera. It does not have a fax machine included with it. The only other drawback that I have seen so far was the time it takes to start printing, about 30 seconds. The features are:
Color Printing-approx. 5ppm
Monochrome Printing-approx. 10ppm
Color Scanning
Color Copying
Card Reader
I recommend this printer to anyone looking for an affordable multifunction color printer. Epson remains a great supplier of printers!
Update: I have just printed a 41 page document with color images and text. I was able to print it double sided very easily, and did not have to rearrange the pages at all. Double sided printing is very good, and the printer has remained solid the whole time I have owned it.
26 Editorial Review Is Not Accurate!
This all-in-one is not reported to handle 15 envelopes at once, nor support banner paper. This info came straight from Epson. So if you're buying the printer, based on either of those features, you may be disappointed.
Also, it does not have batch scanning capabilities, which means it doesn't allow you to scan multiple pages at once, to be saved in one file.
Luckily for me, I have document management software, which does have batch scanning capabilities, so it's okay. I do like the printer, and chose to keep it, but I want people to know what they're getting. I bought this printer at Office Depot, and the rep wasn't very knowledgeable about the features.
27 Don't Hesitate Buying the CX6400!
My hesitation in purchasing anything other that an HP product was completely erased once I took the CX6400 out of the box. I've been shopping around and the way this multifunction all-in-one is constructed leaves no doubt that it's quality. Just remember to read the install instructions as it will remind you to fight the urge to hook it right up to the computer, as software must be loaded first. This unit is quiet and I enjoy the Epson Smart Panel software that comes with it, giving me the option to perform any function through the software package instead of using the unit's well designed front control panel. You also get software Photo Impressions, which is very user friendly. My sister had sent me a jpg file of my parents' 1945 wedding picture. I printed it out on 8.5 x 10 glossy paper and all I can say is WOW...my wife thought it had been done professionally! It was that good. The scanner works great...not a 500 page per minute production scanner, but does a great job for what us common scanners really need. I like the 4 multi-toner-cartridge design, (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) and how software shows the toner level in each color. I'm sure it'll come in handy when it shows me what color cartridge I'll have to buy next. I took the leap when purchasing this unit, but I have no regrets, as it's exactly what I wanted and works terrific!
28 GREAT MULTIFUNCTION
This is the first multifunction I have owned, but so far, no complaints. Picture print quality is very good, copier is good and scanner is good. I don't think the noise level is too bad. Set up for printing is a bit slow, but not that bad. I like the seperate ink tanks. Ease of use is pretty good as well.
29 good printer and copier, average scanner
The quality of printing is quite good - at least I didn't have any problem. The delay before it starts to print is a few seconds but I can live with it. It has four separate cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) and it's supposed to help to preserve the ink. I thought that my old HP laser color printer with one cartridge has actually lasted a little longer. This printer has interface for all major memory cards and allows to print directly from them without PC involved - which could come very handy. The buttons and menus on the printer itself could be more straightforward though. I was very impressed with the software that comes with this device. It really does a great job of self diagnostic and eliminating a problem. I had one of cartridges dirty (I didn't know about this at the time). The software not only found the problem but also cleaned the head. All this without me even opening the cover. All in all, it's a very good printer and copier for the price with the bonus of having a mediocre scanner - but even this is quite adequate for my moderate scanning needs.
30 Excellent Multifunction! Check for promotion at Epson site!
After hours of research and comparisons to find the most bang for the buck, this unit won hands down! And, it gets even better! I visited the Epson site to scan for promotions today and see how easy it was to navigate their site and find answers to my questions, and it was wonderful. (Rule #1: Never purchase a peripheral device unless you know customer and tech support is easily accessible and the site provides value added service (manuals, faqs, driver downloads, etc.) I even found a $20 rebate coupon I can use immediately, which made it an even more delicious bargain. The Epson site is very user friendly and loaded right up.
Am I pleased with the Epson CX6400?? It has performed flawlessly, has a smaller footprint and weighs less than the HP it is replacing, yet it is substantial, is very pleasing to the eye, and even sports a card reader that accomodates (in addition to the usual media) the new, higher speed, xd picture cards used by FujiFilm and Olympus digital cameras. (I won't need to purchase a stand-alone card reader for this new technology.) It has performed reliably and has not given me one moment of grief.
This is by far the most capable and reliable multifunction I've ever used (printer, scanner, copier, card-reader). It is a marvelous time-saver if one needs to make a quick copy before mailing documents out, and it is very fast. Unlike laser printers it does not create ozone which researchers believe can reduce lung capacity and cause a multitude of other problems. With the new ink technology I won't worry about fading or blurring colors, and I will enjoy saving money by using *very* cost effective separate ink cartridges -- that is, if one or two colors run low I'll be able to just replace the ones I need and avoid wasting ink and money. I won't need to cough up $50 + to replace a cartridge. Installation was a breeze and because it is light weight I won't have a "hitch in my getalong" for days. One caveat: It is very important to install the software before making the physical connection, and follow the on-screen cues.
I really like the quality of the output for such a reasonable price; this could be your loyal assistant whether you're in the mood to write, be creative (it even does iron-on transfers!), prepare a professional looking presentation or resume, or print photos directly from cards if you prefer. I was amazed at the number of useful features it offers and found the software and control panel very logical, intuitive and easy to use. I think one could scan a document in to fax software on the computer, then use that software to send a fax, and of course scan documents or images to attach to email messages to send electronically.
When considering which equipment will meet your needs, there are many things to consider. First, are its capabilities needed? Will its software be compatible with existing software and hardware? What are the system requirements for it to function as intended?
Although there certainly are far more expensive high-end multifuntion units available, and many more which are far inferior even at far higher prices, it is important to consider the limitations of the human eye, as well as the actual requirements of the end user or recipient of the finished piece. A peripheral is never obsolete unless it can no longer do what you need it to do. It is pointless to create an ultra-high resolution piece if the human eye cannot discern the difference or the monitor cannot display that high resolution. Cost is another important consideration; not only of the actual machine purchase, but also of the consumables the machine requires to produce finished copy. If extremely high-end results are needed -- but only occasionally, it is very cost effective to delegate the job to a service bureau or save the photos to a card for delivery to a good photo finishing shop, rather than purchase high-end equipment and consumable supplies. If the same amount of money needed to purchase high end equipment were applied instead to, say, a credit card or loan balance, the savings in interest would quickly pay for the occasional high end run at a professional processing shop. (What investment can one make these days and receive absolutely guaranteed, no risk return as high as 18% -- without the need for financial advice or a broker?? Consider payments on high interest debts as just that... a no-risk, high return investment.) Whether starting up a small business, pursuing a hobby, creating a home office, pursuing an education or accomodating a disability, I would give this multifunction assistant my highest recommendation! My opinion, based on my experience, is that Epson device drivers are consistently compatible with a greater number of software products and drivers than any other brand, and less likely to cause your computer to "hang", crash or behave erratically than any other brand. It is always delightful to find new technology that is inexpensive, does a great job and saves me time and money! I rarely write reviews, but when I am this pleased I just can't keep quiet about it! Good luck and best wishes -- I hope this review has been helpful.
31 worst printer
This is the worst printer ever! The ease of use is zero. I used to have a HP that would print at the touch of a button. This Epson simply doesn't print at one touch. I'm going back to HP.
32 just what I wanted
I have been very satisfied with my purchase of the Epson Stylus CX6400. I had heard horror stories of all in one units being poor quality but not with this unit. It does an amazing job of
printing pictures of good quality. I especially like the one touch copy feature without needing the computer. Now with a digital camera the card slots make transferring pictures a breeze. Do not hesitate to buy this product.
33 Great Multifunction Printer
I own this machine by Epson and it is a great for an inkjet printer. Not only are print speeds extreamly fast, it scans fast and delivers excellent copies. I really like the memory card slots, which is able to take different size memory cards. There is only one thing I would recommend as far as multifunction machines go... GET A LASER IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT! Inkjet printers are great, but color laser printers deliver MUCH better quality. They do make laser multifunctions but there prices are usually very high. Careful not to get trapped into the inkjet laser quality text saying, which if you compare the two, there is a major difference. For the most part, this is a great printer
34 Best customer support ever
I had difficulty hooking up the printer on a wireless network shared by a Windows XP computer and a MacIntosh Powerbook. Epson's customer support spent a good 40 minutes on the phone with me helping me to solve the problem. The best customer support ever.. patient, clear, and courteous.
35 Bundled surprise
When I purchased an Epson LCD projector, the CX6400 came as a bonus. What a piece of luck. It is a great home copier. Goodbye Kinko's. It also makes fast B&W copies and good color copies. I had not previously considered buying a multipurpose machine, believing that it would many things poorly. The CX6400 does them all well.
36 GREAT MULTI FUNCTION
JUST RECEIVED MY CX6400 1/12/04. ORDERED ON 1/7/04. I HAVE SCANNED AND PRINTED PHOTOS AND TEXT, USING BEST, DRAFT, ETC...GREAT JOB ALL AROUND.
THE SCANNED DOCUMENTS DON'T AUTOMATICALLY SCAN PERFECTLY, BUT WITH A LITTLE ADJUSTMENT USING THE EASY EDITORS, THE PICTURES ARE AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL.
TEXT PRINTING IS FAST, AS IS PHOTO PRINTING. AGAIN, THE QUALITY OF BOTH IS REALLY GREAT.
I'M JUST REALLY IMPRESSED BY THIS AFFORDABLE MACHINE. EASY TO SET UP, EASY TO USE, AND THE OUTPUT IS ABOVE AVERAGE ALL THE WAY AROUND.
37 Not for online auctioners
I purchased this unit to open up space. I use Epson at work so I had some knowledge of the brand. If you are looking for a copier and printer, this is a good unit. But if you are looking for something to scan "not perfectly flat objects" this isn't the one. I tried to scan something that had a slight raise in the middle and could not get a clear image. I contacted Epson and was told that the scanners on these units were not designed for anything except flat paper, etc..., in fact they were just a extra bonus,(add on)for the printer/copier. Also be prepared for the ink usage, it uses a lot of ink for photos, compared to other printers. So I'm going back to my Canon D660U scanner and HP printer and sending this back until I can find something else with the quality as my current scanner.
38 THE real multifunction machine
This is an excellent piece of equipment. The 6400 is everything you will want for quality, dependability, and all around perfection in an all-in-one. I researched many different items, and found this to be the best of all. After looking at, researching, reviewing, and testing many different models, brands, and manufacturers, the CX6400 was the top of them all. As far as the review on the RX500 - all I can say is this too is a good unit, but leans more to printing your pictures from your digital cam. For all around, every need, use.....the 6400 definitly outshines the RX500. In addition, when we all are aware of the costs of cartridges now days, they are all quite costly when it comes to the more quality machines. When you are focusing on that, you need to keep in mind, the more cartridges you have, the more cartridges you will need to replace. The CX6400 does have four cartridges and that is enough. The print quality is superb. The clarity and crispness of the copy is excellent. I needed to take a copy of the label off of the box that the machine was packaged in, so I could submit the $60.00 rebate. When the copy was coming out, it looked so close to the real thing, I at first thought the original cardboard had somehow been pushed out. It was so real, and perfect looking, you couldn't tell the difference from the real thing. You will definitly be pleased if you pick this item. You will not be sorry, or wish you had gotten something else. In fact, once you get it home and use it, you will find you stop looking for anything else, or wanting to possibly see if there is something else out there. That is unless you are wanting to use it only for pictures and in that case, save the time and focus on buying a unit that specializes only in that.
The scanner is a flatbed, that not only lifts up, but the lid will actually lift off. If you have an oversized item, or awkward piece, to copy or scan, this is a wonderful plus.
There are three (3) card slots that will accomodate any digital camera you may have.
The front receiving tray is designed nicely, so your copy will come directly out to you, from the paper loading dock in the rear. I love the fact that it is a stationary unit and does not have the top that glides from side to side, to operate.
The ability to make changes on the cartridges is very easy with the lift top that opens wide enough that you are not subjected to a small, dark area to try and replace them. A simple flip out and slip in and you are ready to go.
The paper tray holds plenty of pper and has an easy drop in tray. The envelopes fit in nicely and print out perfect each time.
Set up is easy and a snap. Plug your cable in follow a few simple instructions, and you're ready to go. The light up touch keys, and the lcd are easy to read and perfectly located on the front of the unit. Right where they should be when you are using a piece of equipment.
Buy it! You will be glad you did.
39 Just misses the mark
I was looking for a color printer, as I only had a b/w laser printer. Since I have owned digital cameras since 1999, it was time to get a photo quality printer.
Performed exhaustive reseasrch. Conclusion 1 - device must have separate ink cartridges to conserve ink and expenses. That ruled out anything by HP.
I really wanted an awesome photo printer to go with my Canon S400 Elph (4 megapixel) camera. There are dozens of great photo printers with separate ink cartridges. I was able to narrow my finalists to Canon and Epson.
I loved the Epson R300M, because it had a 6-ink system, and it could print directly on white CD-R discs with it's special tray. It also had phenomenal quality. Canon had a couple that competed nicely in quality and price, but in the end, the Epson had a slight edge.
Knowing I could get a great photo printer a a reasonable cost, I started looking for other nice features to narrow the field. The Epson R300M delivered awesome quality photo prints at the showroom, and it could print on printable CD/DVD media. Way cool. The 6-ink system was primo. You could also save $50 by getting the R300, which just doesn't have the color LCD screen (which I really don't need). The 300M was completely out of stock everywhere, and the 300 was in short supply.
I liked the idea of a multifunction device (MFD), so I could get rid of my UMAX scanner and replace it with something that could print and scan. Having a copier was also a huge plus in an MFD. I have a fax machine, so I don't need the device to do this, and I don't need an automatic document feeder for multiple pages. I don't scan multi-page documents.
Conclusion 2 - The device must have a flatbed scanner, not a sheet-fed scanner. I wanted to be able to scan unusual documents, such as paper that was not square on the edges (kid's artwork, etc.). A sheet-fed scanner also has trouble with different thicknesses. Some jam when feeding a thin magazine sheet, and others jam when the paper is too thick, like a post card.
The pool of candidates was manageable now. I read reviews in PC Magazine and PC World, as well as reviews on websites, and the manufacturer specs for each model.
The Epson CX6400 looked to be at the head of the pack. It was a 4-ink system (not 6), but the DuraBright inks were getting good reviews. I bought it, and stayed up until 1am playing with my new toy. On premium glossy paper, the prints were very good. However, they had a matte, or maybe a semi-gloss cast to them, event on the best glossy paper. Other printers delivered a glossier photo-processing feel to them. I could live with that for the price and features it had. The 6-ink system was not in the cards for me if I wanted a MFD flatbed device.
The next morning, while reading the Sunday paper, I saw an ad for a brand new MFD by Epson. It was the RX500. Here's the bottom line. It has the same 6-ink system as the R300/M, and it is a flatbed MFD. Nirvana!
I exchanged the units the next morning. Wow! The printouts are just like a photo lab with my 4 megapixel shots. Even my older 2 megapixel shots looked great.
You can do almost everything on the device without a computer, as it has card slots for almost every media type. When you print from the computer, the software lets you tweak the quality even higher.
Liked the Epson CX6400. Love the RX500. The RX500 is the best of both worlds. For $50 more, get the RX500.
40 A loyal, good and reliable printer with copier/scanner
Pros
Speed, features, print index, software, word recognition, ease of use, reliability.
Cons
Lack of performence in copies sometimes.
I replaced my old, defective printer (Epson Photo Stylus R300) and got this one on 11-16 (My birthday too, he he), and I have to say that I am overall pretty satisfied.
The Dura Brite Ink cartridges (4) are pretty good, yet the oversized black cartridge is $35 to replace. It has a built in indicator to tell you how much ink you have left in increments of 10%. Right now I have 80% in the colors and 70% in the black one after many, many copies black and white, some photo printing, and lots of internet page printing in the past 2 weeks.
The flatbed scanner/copier is 1200x2400 DPI which is acceptable for an "all-in-one". I can copy magazine pages, regular documents, pictures, even objects flawlessly.
On the topic of speed, I must say it has done well in that category. It is much more swift than my '00 HP T65 all-in-one. It copies black and white text in less than 20 seconds I'd say.
In the Features category it has also done well. The card slots have greatly helped me print photo indexes to scan and then print automatically. You can scan something and then directly without a computer save the picture to a card.
This product bundled pretty good software. My favorite is the word-recognition software. You can scan basically any typed document and then it will recognize, rotate, and crop the document so it is almost flawless which comes in handy if you need to update something but have lost the computer documentation of it.
Well, that pretty much sums it all up about the things I can think of that I like with this product. I'd recommend it to a friend just basically because it works and is worth the $180 price tag.
Recommended
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 179.99
The Bottom Line
I recommend this product because it functions great and has a lot of fun features and options with the software and just the product alone.
41 Cramming it all on the Head of a Pin
For those who can't afford the table space for separate machines for scanning, copying, and printing, this item is a very good solution, if not perhaps quite as small as a pin-head. Though considerably larger than a standard ink-jet printer, it's still small enough to fit on most computer tables, and considerably smaller than what three separate machines would occupy.
The assembly and installation instructions were adequate to the task, much better than most instruction books that are poor translations of Japanese or Chinese. Assembly itself took about five minutes, consisting of mounting a couple of page guides/holders, removing some shipping tape, and installing the ink cartridges. The included software installation went without any hitches on my XP machine, and the operating system recognized the new USB device as soon as it was plugged in (NOTE: don't plug in the USB cable till told to do so in the installation instructions). Having the printer connected via USB is quite an advantage - no big bulky cable, and transfer speeds are much higher, significant when dealing large high resolution scanned images.
Of course, the real test is making it do some useful work! My first test was a five page Word document with embedded italics, super and sub-scripts. This printed in about thirty seconds, about 5 seconds of which was the XP operating system setting up to send the document. Print quality was excellent using the default printer settings, barely distinguishable from a laser printer output.
Next up was scanning in a glossy 3x5 photograph. At the default settings, this scanned in as a 1440 x 1000 pixel JPEG image (about 300dpi). Looking at the resulting file with Olympus Camedia software at 400% image size, some small graininess can be detected, and there were some small spots that were apparently dust specs picked up by the scanner - so a must is keeping the scanner bed and the item to be scanned absolutely clean. Taking this same image without alteration and printing it back out on CX6400 using high quality glossy paper and printer default settings, and comparing to the original, some slight loss of definition and brightness was noticed, but there was no banding, blotching, or significant color alteration. Using this same photo, scanned in using higher resolution, 'fixed' using the supplied software, and printed at the printer's best settings produced a print almost indistinguishable from the original, though it did take a significant amount of time to print at these settings, about six minutes.
Copying text pages produced good copies, but it took an inordinate amount of time to start printing, over six minutes with image enhancement turned on, and about two minutes with it turned off, set for text, black and white only. The provided software control panel for this looks very much like a standard office copier display, so finding your way around the various options is pretty easy. The supplied OCR software (ABBYY Fine Reader 5.0 Sprint Plus) worked very well on a standard text page, but it did eliminate the spacing between paragraphs.
The provided image enhancement software is fairly basic. If you need to do serious work with photos, I'd recommend using Adobe Photoshop rather than this, but if most of your work is cropping, eliminating red-eye, hue/saturation/contrast adjustments, this software will be quite adequate.
I have not tried the memory card reader functions, as my camera automatically interfaces to my computer as a USB drive. For those who need such a reader, though, the CX6400 provides interface ports for just about all types of memory cards.
Price wise, this machine is quite competitive with other multi-function printers on the market. It's best feature is its high resolution for scanning and printing photos, which few other machines match, and it works quite well as an everyday text printer.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
42 Nice printer, but some drawbacks
Ok, I got this printer after much pressure for printing photos. Got a little patience? Good...because this will push your buttons to oblivion. Im not saying this multifunction is bad, it just has a little kinks to be worked out. (Ok Epson?)
Printing: nice and quiet, and fast. Nothing wrong there.
Scanner: ok too, but it takes a while to get the commands to the scanner. (Or maybe that was my computer, who knows?) The first time I used it, I scanned the same photo twice, because I didnt think it was already scanned. However, I think their software should have a little more umph to it, Im not thinking Adobe Photoshop, but close.
Copy: well, its ok, if you are only copying paper to paper, but if magazine to paper, this is where they get you. I copied an article but the print came out so small, I was very unhappy. So I scanned, zoomed, cropped and printed. Then I felt satisfied.
Card Print: Havent used it yet, waiting for a digital camera...hint hint.
