Customer Reviews

Epson Stylus Color 850 Ink Jet Printer (PC/Mac)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

if you are a print-fanatic like me, and like to work with graphics or photography [from the digital camera, scanners, etc], this the the MUST-HAVE printer!

the EPSON 850, i have two of them, is in use daily. from printing posters, to documents, to catalogues, to photographs and labels, etc. i do use alot of ink, but you definitely get what you pay for! i use up more than 40 ink cartridges a year, and have not had a problem with the printer! i only recommend buying the epson brand ink and paper! you get the best results this way! the price of the printer is nothing compared to the costs you will be spending for the supplies [paper/ink]!!!

this printer will not let you down when it comes to printing results. the SOFTWARE [status monitor] is great! it tells you when you are out of paper/ink or have some other problem and gives you the help faqs. the hardware itself is easy to set up, and lightweight enough to carry around to another computer if you need to [i do from home to dorm to work].

the paper tray/holder are detachable and easy to attach, although the paper tray is a bit fragile if you do hit hard against it. mine broke, but easily fixed and works fine now. i do wish the paper holder was larger, maybe hold 200 sheets of paper so i wouldnt have to refill it when i'm printing alot.

the NOISE factor is the most criticized about this printer. i understand, but you get used to it; and you can always leave the room if you are printing hundreds of sheets [like me]. the noise level is fine in a room once you close the door. it is a bit hard to fall asleep to though! be sure to set the printer on a stable surface, if the printer is on a shaky foundation, the printing may suffer!

also, it's best to just leave the printer on most of the time - shutting it off daily does no good [or harm], but the printer does have to readjust itself when it's shut on/off and also when you have not printed for awhile, maybe during an entire day or two. it's just calibrating itself for the best results - that's what you want!!! other than that it's FAST! enough!

the printer driver sometimes crashes if i load too much for it to print, for example a 50 meg PSD file or 10 meg catalogue file with tons of images. this rarely happens, and after it does a few times, you will know how much your computer printer spool can handle before it freaks out and doesn't print.

overall, the EPSON 850 will win your devotion to Epson printers and ink and paper and everything related to printing after you try it. you will be printing everything soon!

Supposedly faster than the 800, the 850 replaced it. I have both, and cannot detect any appreciable difference in printing speed, but I have noticed (as described in other reviews on this page) a substantially longer warm-up time and a delay before the printing actually begins.

I did perform a price survey prior to buying, and amazon's price was $30 lower than the lowest price I could find elsewhere. Add the savings in sales tax, and it's an excellent bargain.

The Stylus 850 has quite a high quality, but the small ink catridges that it eats up detract from the overall rating.

Being a typical college student, I typically work right up to the deadline for projects.

So when it's time to print out that research paper and jolt to class, it's really annoying to be delayed five minutes to wait for endless buzzing and grinding to stop and actual printing to begin. I've finally learned to restart the printer when I sit down at my computer to work.

Another thing... When printing text at normal resolution it sometimes comes out distorted and kind of smudged. I end up using the higher quality resolution, but that takes more time and ink.

Compared to my old Epson Stylus Color, this printer is only marginally improved. I do have a number of complaints, but until somebody makes the "perfect printer," I'll just stick with the relatively superior Epson printer series.

The main thing I don't like about this printer is that it sometimes takes a long time to warm up. It can take up to 5 minutes of noisemaking before it will actually print. My sister has the same printer and hers does the same. Otherwise, this is a high quality printer that will give you the results you are looking for. Depending on what kind of ink economy is used, you can get laser quality from this jet printer. Another downside is the price of replacement cartridges, but I guess you have to pay for quality. This is a pretty good price for a color printer. It's fairly average--you can try to get the cheaper versions but will probably not be worth it. So if you are looking for a good color printer, this is one to keep in mind. Just make sure you turn the printer 5-10 minutes before you plan to use it. (I think it only takes this long when I haven't used it for a week or so).

THe printing from the printer is very good. It takes a good 5 minutes to warm up if it has not been used for a day or so. Also, when printing reports, when it gets to page ten, it starts spitting garbage. This is not my complaint only. Others have similar problem.

Those who gave 5 stars to this printer were right. This is (WAS) one heck of a printer that handled practically anything you wanted it to do. I had used my 850 with great results for about five years without a single day's problem. Unfortunately age has caught up with it, as it has with you and me, and even more unfortunately, I cannot replace it because Epson has discontinued it. Too bad. I have bought an Epson 1280- an excellent product--but it ravishes ink. I am told that to replace my 850 as a secondary printer the C84 will do well.

I have been using an Epson 850 for two years. It always works, always makes great looking pictures, and is fast for what it costs. Cheapest place to buy refill ink, that I have found, is Target.

What's this other person below talking about? Is he reading a script? I have this printer, and it .... It prints a lot of dots, and the coloring is often not what it should be. I've had it cleaned and everything. It just isn't a good printer. VERY loud, and takes a good 3-4 minutes to warm up before you can do anything with it. Buy something else like I should have.

I can't agreed with some reviews any better. This printer offers quality printing, though it's not uncommon anymore with nowadays color inkjets from Epson or HP,but does take some annoying and grinding minutes to warm up. Annoying because of the semi-endless rattling when you least want to be bothered with noise. Use it sparingly because of its costly cartridge but beware of the warm-up.