Epson Stylus Photo 890 Inkjet Printer

by Heartland

Product Details

Product Manual [452kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 18.5 x 11.4 x 6.9 inches ; 13.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000059RA2
• Item model number: C394011
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 14, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The ideal companion for your digital camera, the Epson Stylus 890 prints vivid six-color images in ultrasharp 2,880 x 720 dpi resolution with 4-picoliter ink drops--drops so tiny, Epson calls them "unvisible." Or, if you're a black-and-white buff, the Stylus 890 prints bold blacks and subtle grays. The result of all this technology is beautiful borderless prints with quality rivaling that of your photo shop. Plus, the Stylus 890 prints sharp text documents.

The input paper tray holds 100 sheets, 10 envelopes, or 30 transparency films. The 890 accepts a tremendous variety of photo papers, from glossy professional rolls to small matte. Supported paper types include single sheets of letter, legal, A4, and A6; plus 4 by 6 inches, 5 by 7 inches, 8 by 10 inches, and much more.

You have your choice of connections--either parallel or USB--and the 890 is compatible with both Macintosh and PC. There is a one-year warranty on parts and labor, and Epson includes instant exchange service for that year at no additional cost.

From the Manufacturer

The Epson Stylus Photo 890 takes great shots right to the edge. It delivers fast, superior border-free, photo-quality images on dramatic and uniquely borderless 4-by-6-inch, 5-by-7-inch, and letter-size prints. Key features include stunning six-color 2,880 x 720 dpi results; continuous tone quality for prints that look like traditional photographs; and "Unvisible" 4-picoliter variable-sized ink droplets for fine shadow detail and dazzling highlights with no visible dots. It's fast, too, with a beautiful 8-by-10-inch photo requiring as little as two minutes. The printer is Windows and Mac compatible and supports quality Epson photo paper, Epson Premium photo papers, and Epson Photo Quality Glossy Film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressive, July 17, 2001

By 

atmj (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Epson Stylus Photo 890 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I did a review after I first set it up and ran several photos through. Now I have run two sets of color cartridges and 2-1/2 rolls of 4" photo paper and several greetings cards through it and I am even more impressed.

PRINT QUALITY EQUIVALENT TO SILVER HALIDE BUT LIFE MAY NOT: As I said in my earlier review a professional photo-evaluator, had recommended this printer to me, as its print quality looks almost like a silver halide print. One concern however, is storage. It is my understanding ink-jet prints though they may look equivalent to that of silver halide, do not have the life span. Only time will tell.

EASY TO USE I make my living evaluating items for ease of use and this printer impressed me. One concern I had when I first realized you had to change some of the parts of the printer for 4" roll paper was ease of doing this, as it was placed up on a shelf and not easy for me to access. I was pleasantly surprised.

PAPER LOADING THOUGH AT FIRST IS CONFUSING GOES TOGETHER NICE: The Epson printer has a two-piece assembly for the back paper-loading section. One part is made to accept two different assemblies. One for sheet paper, and the other for roll paper. Once you first install this piece, it goes in easy. Initially it was a little confusing from the instructions. However, since you have to change part of this to put in the paper roll, I had a chance to do this at least 10 times. I'm happy to say, loading the paper on the roll and dropping this into the back of the printer is easy to do. Given where I put my printer this could have been a nightmare. The printer once the roll paper is placed here and placed toward the back of the printer virtually self loads. The book does a nice job telling you how to setup the "film factory" software to maximize this usage as well. The 4" roll paper once done can be advanced to cut and then put back in loaded position or in position to remove from the printer. All it takes is one button push for each and the printer does the work.

INK CHANGE MID-PRINTING: This was amazing. My ink ran out right in the middle of a large print run for photos on the 4" wide roll paper. I anticipated wasted paper or a need to prematurely change the ink. Luckily Epson thought this all out for me. Once the ink was exhausted the printing stopped and cued up the ink cartridge. It also gave me plenty of warning if I had no cartridge on hand. Each print I did, I was shown the status of the ink cartridges. When it ran out, it stopped nicely after a print and told me it could go no further. At that time I could advance the picture to cut if I wanted to and then requeue the paper. It offered me instructions (which I used) to change the cartridge and nicely showed me each step, including removing the strip that protects the contacts. Once the cartridge was changed it resumed the printing job. Ironically, once this happened when I could not attend to it, and it patiently waited for over 8 hours for me and then went like clockwork when done.

EASE OF FINDING INK-JET CARTRIDGES AND EPSON PAPER Needless to say, once you get the printer, you will need to purchase replacement cartridges. I'm finding it easier to find the cartridges online. However, I'm sure speciality stores would have these cartridges, but they are not in grocery stores like some of the HPs and Canon's are. As far as the paper, I'm also not finding it as plentiful in the real world as online. Online is amazingly cheaper as well, even considering shipping. Key is buying enough at one time.

FOR BEST QUALITY USE EPSON PAPER: It makes a major difference when you use Epson paper with this printer. If you want the best quality, this is what you should do. This is not saying other papers won't work, but the results may be unexpected. On one of the other competitor's paper, I tried, I got an iridescent 3D effect, when I tried it. Not good.

P.S. This review was before I had used Kodak's One Touch to better Pictures. Please see my Kodak Paper review prior to making your buying decision. I was really impressed with what Kodak did.

COMPARISON: I have owned a Lexmark, Brother and HP printers and have never been so impressed at the quality of the product as I have been with this printer. The external construction is solid, the initial use was seamless and its end product is exceptional. Nice job!

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a quick review on initial use, May 26, 2001

By 

atmj (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Epson Stylus Photo 890 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

Yesterday, I received the Epson 890.

SETUP IN UNDER 1/2 HOUR

Within 1/2 hour, I had it hooked up and running. I have Windows ME and a Soyata 733MHz computer. (A Soyata is a Rochester NY company that assembles computers)

RECOMMENDED BY A PROFESSIONAL PRINT EVALUATOR

I had been recommended this printer (the Epson 890) or the Epson 1280 (for larger print sizes) based on a co-worker's experiences with an Epson 870. She is a professional print evaluator and told me it was the best on the market. Not quite as good as traditional photos, but for a high mega pixel camera, almost indistinguisable to the amateur (which I am).

LOOKS AS GOOD AS A PHOTO

Well, she was right....WOW! I would be hard pressed to tell the difference in the prints it made, and I was using a photo created by a 1.2 MP camera. Either I'm easy to please or it was real good (Both, could be true).

SETUP NOTES

A couple notes about the setup... All very good.

HUGE BOX FOR SHIPPING, BUT PRINTER VERY LIGHT

The printer arrived in a very big box, but the actually printer box wasn't that big. You had to lift a plastic covered piece of card board with all the small stuff (paper extensions, manuals, etc.) and underneath was the printer. You lifted two pieces of styrofoam and could easily grab the printer. It wasn't really that heavy. Despite the lack of weight it looks solidly built. None of the plastic housings bend when you handle it.

SETTING UP THE PRINTER SIMPLE

You have to remove less than ten peices of very visible blue tape used in packing. It leaves no sticky residue, so this was a cinch. (Don't forget the stuff in the inside too.)

QUICK START WELL DONE

The quick start guide was huge, but well illustrated. I did find it a little confusing on how to put the back paper holder extension in place. As I'm a former mechanical engineer, they might want to work on that a bit. However, once I got the orientation right, it went together simply.

DOES NOT COME WITH CABLES (OTHER PRINTERS DON'T EITHER)

I hooked up the power and USB cable (It does not come with either USB or parallel cables). Ironically, I had ordered a USB cable, but it is being shipped later. Luckily another device I have (a CD burner) had the right size cable and I borrowed it. Following the instructions for PC was simple. The Macintosh instructions are there too.

INSTRUCTIONS WERE ACCURATE

It told me how my computer was going to act and what to do accurately. The software installed seamlessly. There were 3 or 4 photo programs included and I just picked one to use. Mind you have have about 3 already installed on my computer as it is.

RESULTS WERE EVERYTHING I EXPECTED

It came with a roller attachement and paper for it, plus a couple more 8-1/2 X 11 sheets. However, I had some 4 X 6 epson paper on hand that I had used on my other printer. When I used this on this printer, it was phenomenal. Granted, Epson most likely optimized their printer for their paper. They did a good job. It was like night and day from the output I received from my other printer which at 1440 X 720 dpi, was no slouch.

The print was on Epson 4 X 6 photo paper. You would be hard pressed to tell the difference from a tradition photo.

P.S. This review was before I had used Kodak's One Touch to better Pictures. Please see my Kodak Paper review prior to making your paper buying decision. I was really impressed with what Kodak did to make their paper work with this printer.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good-bye photo lab, hello Epson 890, March 18, 2001

By 

Phillip Konkle (Dunnville, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Epson Stylus Photo 890 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I started printing my first photos up on Kodak paper with very disappointing results and starting second guessing how wise this purchase had been. Then I used the sample sheet of epson photo paper that came with the printer and all I can say is WOW! This thing is amazing, there's no way to tell between developed photos and ones I've printed up. This was on epsons economical photo paper too, I can only imagine how good they'll come out when I get my shipment of premium glossy epson paper. If your in the market for a photo printer this is the one and remember the paper makes all the difference in the world.