With the Epson Stylus Photo 870 ink-jet printer, the burgeoning artist or professional photographer will prize this user-friendly desktop photo lab for its photo-quality printing of light-stable and water-resistant prints. Why wait for prints from your neighborhood developer, if you are lucky enough to have one, when the Epson Stylus Photo 870 ink-jet printer can fill most of you needs for everything from proofs to portfolios, from fast, 13-by-44-inch panoramics to transparencies.
The serious power user will appreciate the 870's quick printing and high resolution: six-color, 1,400 x 720 dpi quality 8-by-10-inch prints in under two minutes and 11-by-14-inch prints in under four minutes. For fun and profit you can produce exhibition prints, banners, and iron-on transfers. Everyone will appreciate the beautiful shadow detailing and highlights delivered by four-picoliter variable-size ink droplets.
The Epson Stylus Photo 870 is easy to set up and is compatible with Windows and Macintosh. It provides lasting, fine-quality prints and comes with a one-year warranty plus the security of the Epson Exchange Program.
Epson Stylus Photo 870 comes bundled with the never released before software - "Epson Photo Reproduction Lab" that allows you to print unique, borderless, edge-to-edge on roll-type Epson Photo Paper fitted on the roll paper holder, up to 10 copies at a time. The Banner function, moreover, enables you to print 6 images together as a banner, adding lettering, logos, mini-illustrations and even paint on and apply transparency masks to your images.To cater for your diverse image source, the new Epson Stylus Photo 870 delivers top-of-the-line photo-reproduction quality printing on just about any images from digital camera, scanner, photo CD, or the Internet. Epson Stylus Photo 870 also offers new unrivalled speed. What's more, the reformulated QuickDry ink and Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper deliver lightfast prints that retain their true color for over 10 years. Epson Stylus Photo 870 reproduces with fascinating quality because of 6-color printing at 1440dpi, and the 4-picolitre (pl) Ultra Micro Dot. Backed by the Variable-Sized Droplet Technology with a new version of AcuPhoto Halftoning, the result is a new standard of color fidelity with color blends and gradations virtually indistinguishable from the original.
1 expensive cartridges and a menace to the environment
Forget about it. My husband and I bought this printer a while ago, and all I can say is that it hurts my stomach every time I use it. The cartridges are overly expensive, and once any of the four colors of the color cartridge runs out, it refuses to print, even if you are not using that specific color. Then the cartridges are absolutely unrecyclable. Nobody accepts it, and when I called customer service which is located in Canada, they told me that they are saving the ones they use, just in case they become recyclable at some point. We feel terrible about junking this bundle of polluting plastic, so we use it when needed, but if we could go back, we would NEVER, EVER buy this printer. If you think the price is nice, make your calculations with the expense of cartridges. Laser printers are going down in price and are as good as this, the prints will last longer, and they are not as environmentally unconscious.
2 Six months with Epson 870
I use this printer for semi-professional image production making fine art-type 8x10 prints. Color saturation is very uniform with great depth and fine color matching, print after print. Lucky for me, the monitor and Adobe Photoshop are very accurate, so I do get what I see on the screen. My gallery prints are mostly 7x9, using a tiff setting on the 1.3 meg Olympus, I get a large file that can handle 7x9 in.just fine. One complaint, this printer really uses up the color ink cart. I count average of 36 full color 7x9 prints on heavy matt paper! When the cart. is low, the software will take it down even lower on nxt. boot-up and then you will not be able to use even the full blk.cart., thus locking up the printer until you put in a new color cart. I think the idea is to sell more $24. ink cartridges.
the results are worth it for me and perhaps for you.
3 Ok photoprint, good general use
I bought the Epson Photo Stylus on the basis on superior technical stats and excellent reviews from numerous sources (ZdNet, ComputerShopper etc ...). I have been mostly happy with it as a general purpose printer but I have found it somewhat frustrating to use as a photo printer.
The printer is easy to install and easy to calibrate. The print quality is good and the bundled extras are ok (Photo Delux is very useful, Epson Photo Factory is very light weight).
However, it is very difficult to achieve "photolab" quality results without significant tinkering. I find that only very good quality digital pictures will print to near (emphasize near) photo quality if done on the correct paper (only Epson brand matte paper seems to work) after 2 or 3 attempts at modifying the colour and print settings. I am sure that I could eliminate my need to play around with the setting with some more experimentation but it is going to take a lot more time and ink/paper to finally get the hang of it. If you are buying this printer expecting to get photo quality results out of the box, please be aware that this is not going to happen.
I am sure that true photo buffs can get excellent results with this printer but the average consumer is going to be a little frustrated. On the other hand, it makes a great general purpose colour printer that produces good quality output for print and graphics.
4 A digital darkroom at home!
I've had my 870 for more than a year. It has lived through package after package of Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper without issue. I'm on my third digital camera upgrade but have found no reason to upgrade my Epson printer. The results are amazing! If you're worried about durability, I've had an Epson 780, an Epson 900 and now the 870 in service with zero issues. They just keep on going!
I've read some reviews regarding color management with this printer. I've never had that problem with Photo Shop, Photo Deluxe and other photo editing software, colors are perfect, including skin tones. I do always keep my drivers to the latest release. I've had this printer through Win 98, 98 SE and now 98 ME and Epson's drivers have never let me down. It's also key to put a little effort into setting up your PC. If you don't match your screen settings to your printers' output, you'll never have good looking prints. I did a lot of homework on the web and can honestly say that working a little in this area made an improvement in output quality.
I've put my Epson up against a number of other printers, even a couple of HP's that cost three times as much and have to say my Epson wins for photos. And come on, can you beat this price? Epson, keep up the good work, my next printer purchase dollars are yours.
5 Great Printer, but paper selections limited
This is a wonderful printer if you want to eliminate the corner photo lab,and all the time, money (and film) wasted there. Digital photography has freed me up to finally KNOW what I'm getting before it's printed. The 870 prints fabulous prints that rival the professional photo lab, and I love the Film Factory software included. Although to really do a more perfect job of manipulating the photos, there's nothing out there that beats Adobe.....I have both Adobe and Film Factory. Film Factory gives me what Adobe doesn't...an easy to use place to store and catagorize my prints, and see thumbnails of them all at once. My only objection to the Epson 870 is the limitation of paper I can use with it. I've seen and tried the new Epson Glossy Photo Paper, 4x6 (perforated edges) as well as the new Epson Glossy Photo Paper borderless. Another size I like to print are 5x7's. The Epson will not print a 5x7 on 5x7 paper,(competitor brand, I don't see that Epson sells a 5x7 size). To do these sizes properly with the 870, I have to use a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, what a waste of paper and money. Unfortunately, the Epson 870 is not set up to use these papers automatically, and that's a real shame, because I see here and at other consumer review sites, that this printer is extremely popular...so WHY doesn't Epson make 4x6 and 5x7 (cut sheets)paper especially for this printer?? Other than that...the speed is very fast, quality is outstanding and overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.
6 Great Printer!
I've had this printer for about 4 months now. It's fantastic. The picture quality is excellent and I've found it easy to use. My only problem to date was when I got a solid red light near the power button and the printer would not print. After consulting my literature with no luck, I called tech. support. First of all, Epson tech suppport is friendly, helpful, and fast. They informed me that my color cartridge was out and when the printer detects that the ink is out it shuts down completely. I was printing in black/white mode only, so I was surprised that it would not print at all, but evidently it does not. So, keep extra color AND b/w cartridges on hand and enjoy. ONE OTHER THING!!! PAPER MAKES ALL THE DIFFERNECE. After many unsuccessful and unsatisfactory attempts to get a good quality print, I realized it was the paper. I tried for hours tweeking Photoshop settings, printing from different applications, etc. Finally I tried a piece of Epson paper...BINGO. Don't settle for anything less, spend the extra few cents for good paper. Kodak and HP papers produces really BAD results in my tests.
7 Epson 870 photo printer
I have used the Epson 870 photo printer new for three days and am very happy with it. The photo reproductions both skin tones and landscape were outstanding. The only problems I had was when loading the software the computer locked up, I had to shut down the computer and restart it, but after that all was will.
This printer is all I expected
8 Epson Photo 870 went beyond expectations and the HP970.
Photolab quality prints. Thats it. Premium glossy photo paper that is 4 inches wide and 26 feet long. (The sample in the media pack was 9 feet). The roll holder attachment was included. Epson has engineered a remarkable product. You may keep seeing the word PHOTOLAB often when others refer to this printer. Epson also included some 8 by 11 matte, 8 by 11 premium glossy and 4 by 6 photo paper in the sample media kit.
We also had the Hewlett Packard 970 here at home. My wife brought one home from work. Sorry HP, you're very good, but Epson is a shining star.
Some things we noticed when comparing prints were the beautifully accurate skin tones from the Epson. Also, the Epson 870 completed printing in much less time. Ink costs about 33% less. When printing you get a graph showing how much ink is left in both the color and black cartridges.
There were tiny dots and slightly jagged lines visible with the Hewlett Packard 970(you have to look very closely). Not so, with the Epson Photo 870.Black and white printing was fast and laser sharp.
As a helpfull hint to users of any make of printer: Download and install the latest drivers from the website given in the manuals. Use papers and inks only recommended by the manufacturer. The people who engineer these devices use fine tolerances to deliver the best performance and longevity of the printer. Pay attention to the paper type selected, or use auto settings. The higher the quality of the source,(use a 2 megapixel or better digital camera or high quality scanner) the better the output of your printer will be.
Oh yea, did I say Photolab?
HAVE FUN Tom P.
9 Great Printer, Works Well With Macs
I bought this printer because I'd heard good things about the quality of output it produces on 8x10 glossy photo paper and because it claimed to work on a Macintosh. It exceeded my expectations on both fronts. The quality is stunning and the Mac software is great.
10 Landscapes YES, people NO
While the Stylus Photo 870 renders excellent prints of objects and landscapes, skintones always have a marked violet cast. None of the numerous adjustments provided in the driver software seem to impact this shortcoming. I used Epson photo paper, and found no difference relative to other Premium photo papers. This same paper yields perfect colors with an HP895 inkjet printer, using the identical file, software, and computer.
If your images do not include people, you will be happy with the Photo 870. Otherwise, you will be extremely dissapointed.
11 I love this printer
I think this printer is unbelievable. I just keep getting very impressed with the print outcome on different media everytime I use it. Just last night I printed out on 4" x 26' roll & I could'nt believe that they were not pictures from the photo developers. Far as the software goes, I'd rather use the software that came with my Olympus digital camera. But the Film Factory sortware also works nicely in my opinion.
12 Photo Quality Picture Printouts Are Amazing!
This printer works wonderfully. You can't tell the difference between 8x10 glossy photo lab printout and one printed on the Stylus 870. It uses ink fairly quickly but printing photo's always does--ink cartidges approximately $20.00
13 Great printer - Terrible software!
I recently bought a Kodak Digital camera (DC3400 Zoom)to use with my Epson 870 Photo printer and the results are really great. My wife said, "the details in these photo's are better than the ones we get from our 35mm!" Two things that I've determined are - 1. Use Epson Photo Quality Glossy Paper 2. Use a good software pgm. I downloaded Ulead Photo Explorer 6.0 for free; it is really good. The software that came with the printer, makes my system shut down. Even the software that came with my camera isn't good. Kodak and Epson need to get a clue when it comes to software, otherwise, they're GREAT!
14 Good job Epson
I bought this printer in Canada...it came with a French setup CD, but no installation instructions in the box. After getting the install poster, it setup well and I'm amazed by the quality of my photos. I take digital photos with a Sony DSC-S70 set to 1600x1200 resolution (2.1MP) and 4x6 prints are awesome. I've yet to experiment with larger prints, but I'm thinking about keeping my old Canon BJC-4000 for draft printing from the web, Word etc as ink seems to go quickly...Good job Epson.
15 An intermittent performer
I've been using this printer for six months on a Windows 2000 system. Photo print quality can be good but it is not consistent. Sometimes I get decent prints, other times the prints have lines on them or ink spots on the borders. This can happen from one print to another on the same run. Paper handling with roll paper is a problem. The roll paper is a nice concept but often the printer won't load the roll properly and sometimes ejects too much paper before printing the first image. The driver software needs improvement. The constant pop up messages while printing are an annoyance. They give you too much information and get in the way when you just want to print in the background while doing other work. Epson still has a lot to learn from HP in this regard. Since new printers come out almost weekly I'd take a look around before jumping on this one.
16 Great printer, but only if you watch the ozone
Yes, I'm serious about the ozone, but let me start with the review: this is one fine phot printer. I use it with Windows and am completely impressed with the output. I prefer to print 4x5 photos, so I print on the 4x5 roll paper from Red River - its less than half the cost of Epson's paper and I like the results better.
Print cartridge life is terrific with 4x5 prints, and obviously a good bit shorter with 8x10s. Printe speed is quite fast, and I had no installation issues. It does take a few minutes to become familar with the print driver options, as there are a lot of choices.
Onto the ozone issue. There has been an issue with color changes ("orange shift") that some people have experienced and Epson has acknowledged. It seems that reds slide over towards orange when exposed to high ozone levels (which seems to occur only in some geographic areas). The good news is that Epson has a buy back program in place if you are unhappy.
Despite the potential ozone issue, I highly recommend this printer. In my experience with Canon and HP photo printers, this Epson photo printer is the best one for money.
17 This printer is GREAT!
The photo quality print out of this printer is amazing! It truly looks like a real photo, no dots are visible at all! The photo quality of this printer is comparable to other extremely expensive (around $1,000)dye sub printers out there. This printer is loaded with features which among them is a great feature, the ablitiy to print boarderless pictures when using the 4x6 photo roll (around $20 for 50+ prints). You, this epson, and a digital camera and/or scanner, can truely become a photo lab at home!. The quality of the print is amazing, the setup is quick and easy, and the photo paper and ink are reasonably priced. What else could you ask for, this is simply a great photo printer, seriously.
18 REAL photo-quality printouts!
I really wanted a color printer after only having a black and white laser printer from many, many years. I am a student of Multimedia and often dealing with graphic design and such. After getting a new computer this year, I had to get a good scanner and a good printer. I bought the scanner (the Epson Perfection 1200U), and it was the time to get a color printer. I did a lot of research before making my decision to get the Epson Stylus Photo 870 Inkjet Printer. And during my personal research this is what I found out:
The color printouts you get using Epson's photo paper (and it has different kinds) are to die for. Many different reviews agreed on this.
The black and white text printouts aren't as good as with the laser printers (but oh, well, I wanted a COLOR printer to print pictures).
The number of years of print display before noticeable fading occurs is 24-26 years on the Epson Matte paper!!!
It comes with Epson Software Film Factory, and Adobe PhotoDeluxe.
You can use roll paper to pring banners, panoramas and signs.
During my research I also found that the 870, 875DC, and 1270 models were being affected by a color-shift problem. Aah! I had found the printer I wanted and it has a problem? So I did more research. I learned that it affects one of its papers: The Premium Glossy Photo Paper and this color shifts is caused by high ozone levels. So a small percentage of people living in such areas would be effected. But by covering the printout, it would be okay. I've also learned that Epson stopped circulating that paper and it's working on a new one due this month. You can learn more about this in Byte's website. Look for Davi's Em article "Epson Ink Fades Too Fast On Some Paper." So, I took my chances and I bought the printer. After seeing the kind of printouts it makes, I couldn't be happier with my decision. After all, if one wants to really keep these printouts for a long time, use the Matter paper which isn't affected. If you insist on using the other glossy type paper they have, cover it with glass or another kind of photo cover. But remember, even regular photos don't live forever.
The decision is yours, of course. For me, I gladly share with you my two cents. Hopefully, it will help you make the best decision. Do your homework, read all you can, and if you go for it, I hope you are as satisfied as I am with your purchase. :)
19 Superb results VS HP 970CSE
I have been a long time user of HP printers (550c, 720 & 970). That is until recently. Because of a variety of problems with HP in recents months, I looked at and went with the EPSON 870. It took only a matter of a few minutes to get the 870 up and running.
As a matter of comparison, I also left the HP970Cse attached. (Both the Epson 870 and the HP970 use USB). Using their respective premium glossy photo paper, I printed the same series of photos on both printers from three differnt programs (Corel, MicroSoft Picture It!2000 and Adobe). Without exception, the Epson 870 clearly had better results than the HP970 and in less time. The HP970 had very good results and prior to using the Epson, I considered the results from HP as outstanding, but the Epson 870 was superb. Results from the EPSON rival that from a professional photo lab.
Cost is another factor. The Epson 870 is about $100 less than the HP 970. The Ink is also significantly less for the Epson. I am very happy with the results that I am now getting from my Epson.
20 Extraordinary Quality
I have used this printer withe a Kodak DC 290 camera with outstanding results. The printer was out of the box and up and running in 10 minutes. The injet cartridges are rather small but their price is less than 740 cartridges I once used. Even though they may not be readily available at your local stores I've ordered them overnight from various web sites.
The resolution and color have to be seen to be believed.The ink is water resistant and made to last 10 years. What more could you ask from a photo printer? The pictures do truly rival the one hour photo store type.
If your a digital photography buff, this machine will amaze your friends! Even using standard note cards I got good results. The photo paper for this machine however, will really show you what this printer's capability is.
Epson is a quality company and has produced yet another great value.
21 A Disappointing Printer!
I purchased the Epson 870 on 7/10/00 to replace my four-year-old Espon 800. When I noticed that the colors were not quite right on an image that I printed with the new printer, I decided to try to print the same file on my husband's HP 970. I got a beautiful print! This was an image of a castle on the water. There were lots of blues - the water, the mountains, and there were purple flowers. The HP 970 gave me a far superior print with true colors. (I used Epson photo glossy with the Epson & HP photo glossy with the HP.)
I called Epson about this problem, & they said people using PhotoShop were having problems with color. They faxed (no electronic file to e-mail) me some reading material on color management using PhotoShop. I followed their instructions by turning off Adobe color management & turning on automatic mode. I printed the same castle image again & I got only a slight improvement. I tried another image & I got a truly gastly print on the Epson. (Yes, I checked the paper type.)
I had one other problem. I live in Chico, CA, & the closest place that carries ink cartridges for the 870 is about 90 miles away! Even Amazon is out of stock!
Epson does have one advantage over the HP; it prints much faster.
Bottom line: If you are really concerned about getting good quality color, consider purchasing the HP 970. If you cannot tell the difference, then buy the Epson 870 which will print in far less time.
I want to emphasize that I am not dissatisfied with Amanzon. I will continue purchasing products from Amazon because it is very convenient and they have *exceptional* service.
BTW, I gave this product 1 star bc it is the lowest rating that I could select. ;-)
Frederica Shockley
22 Longer lasting Photo Quality is Here!
As described in PCPhoto Magazine, this printer is the real alternative to photos. With a 2 or 3-megapixil camera (like the Nikon Coolpix 950 or Olympus C-3030), I can discard my Canon SLR. I challenge you to identify the prints on Epson Photo Paper (required) compared to photographs. The prints, unlike other ink-jets, are expected to last decades. It doesn't hesitate for minutes to clear ink jets like the earlier stylus printers (as my Epson 600 did). It even has a roller for printing 4x6's continuously. BUY THIS ONE!
23 Probably the best little Photo Printer out there.
As a Professional Photographer, I use the 870 alongside my Espon 1270 to produce nice photo-realistic images. It really is amazing, but like what has been said you need to get Epson's Premium Glossy Paper (which feels just like photo paper) or Heavyweight Matte paper (which is somewhat like cardstock paper) to get the best results.
We use the 870 to print proofs and other promotional materials for our business (portfolios, etc). Everything about the 870 is the same as the 1270 except that it won't take the larger paper sizes that the 1270 takes. Also, the 870 doesn't include a bundled copy of Photoshop LE 5.0 (the 1270 does). Otherwise, quality, speed and ease of use are the same.
If you're looking for a the best photo printer among inkjet models (which rivals Kodak and Fuji photo printers), and don't need anything bigger than letter size paper, then this is the printer for you!
24 Incredible Quality at a Great Price
I've avoided inkjet printers for years. I've always felt that the inkjet process creates low quality images and poorly defined text. Recently I took a second look at inkjets and wound up buying an Epson Stylus Photo 870.
The Epson Stylus 870 was simple to set up (took it out of the box, plugged it in, installed the software), simple to operate (the control panels are easy to use an intuitive), and produces absolutely stunning photographic quality images.
Paper is one of the keys to this printer. If you use regular paper you'll get good, but inkjet-like results (some bleeding, degraded resolution). However, if you use the premium glossy paper (the printer comes with some samples), you get *incredible* photo-quality output. Paper makes a huge difference. The pictures you get using the right paper are photographic quality... they really are incredible.
I recently used it for printing wedding invitations on a variety of different shapes, sizes and types of paper (transparent/vellum, thick stock, smooth and textured surfaces). The results weren't as exceptional as photo-quality paper, but they certainly were high enough quality to send out. The printer held up well through the process, and produced great results.
The printer has multiple speeds and quality settings (accessible via software)... in general it's quite fast.
The only downside with this product is the cost of the supplies. Paper is quite expensive, and the inkjet cartriges run quite a bit.
To summarize, I'm amazed by this product and the quality of it's output. I'm happy with my purchase. Well done Epson.
25 Just plain awesome
I just bought this printer (220V model) on Friday on the German economy and I can tell you that it is awesome. I am ready for my wife to throw away our 35mm camera. The pictures I took with my Kodak DC280 camera at both low and high resolution were very colorful on both the glossy (NON-premium) and matte 4x6" paper. You could not tell the difference between a picture printed on the printer and the photograph.
