Epson Stylus Photo 960 Inkjet Printer

by Epson

Product Details

Product Manual [589kb PDF]

• Item Weight: 16.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 28 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00006FXBE
• Item model number: C11C456021
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 29, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description Epson's Stylus Photo 960 inkjet printer combines speed and print performance in a package that's ideal for home or small offices. It delivers results fast--crisp black text up to 8 ppm, 4-by-6-inch photos in 53 seconds, or 8-by-10-inch photos in 2 minutes 8 seconds. It also delivers stunning high-quality prints with resolutions up to 2,880 x 1,440 dpi.

The versatile 960 makes it easy to print on envelopes, roll paper, and many types and sizes of single-sheet paper.

The Epson Stylus Photo 960 offers versatile paper handling for a wide range of media, and even comes with a roll paper holder with cutter and catcher accessory. It utilizes six-ink color printing with 2-picoliter droplets, and it draws media from a 100-sheet standard input tray. The printer comes with everything you need to get great-looking documents and photos and is compatible with both PCs and Macs. It offers the choice between USB and parallel connectivity (cables not included).

What's in the Box
Epson Stylus Photo 960 inkjet printer, one cyan ink cartridge (T033220), one light cyan ink cartridge (T033520), one magenta ink cartridge (T033320), one light magenta ink cartridge (T033620), one yellow ink cartridge (T033420), two black ink cartridges (T033120), roll paper cutter and catcher accessory, roll paper holder accessory, printer documentation, CD-ROM containing printer software (Windows and Macintosh); printer cable not included

From the Manufacturer

With the world's first 2-picoliter ink droplets, a 6-color Photo Ink system, 2,880 x 1,440 dpi, and versatile media handling, including printing directly on inkjet-printable CD/DVDs, the Epson Stylus Photo 960 offers the flexibility to print virtually anything you can imagine with brilliant, long-lasting results. Superior ink technology offers precise color and accurate skin-tones, while photo-optimized black ink delivers exceptional shadow detail.

Individual ink cartridges provide added convenience. And, three paper paths accommodate a wide range of media. The printer also prints BorderFree printing of 4-by-6 and 5-by-7-inch photos. An automatic cutter and roll paper holder make it fast and easy to quickly create multiple 4-by-6-inch borderless photos. Best of all, the Epson Stylus Photo 960 now prints directly on inkjet-printable CD/DVDs to personalize a digital photo album or music collection.

Windows and Macintosh compatible, this inkjet facilitates fast photo and text printing without sacrificing image quality. And, it supports PRINT Image Matching technology for the best possible prints. When used with light-fast Epson Photo Papers and quick-drying Epson Photo Inks, the Epson Stylus Photo 960 creates durable photos that are both water- and fade-resistant. A powerful, versatile performer, it provides an easy, affordable way to create realistic prints or enlargements.

The Epson Stylus Photo 960 offers superior image quality and remarkable versatility, giving users infinite possibilities for all their inspired visions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 171 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epson Stylus Photo 960, December 23, 2002

By 

Richard A. Baker (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Epson Stylus Photo 960 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I think it is fair to provide a little background so you can better evaluate my review of the Epson Stylus Photo 960. I have been interested in photography for about 40 years and consider myself an advanced amateur. Until recent years I did all my own enlargements - black and white as well as color. I use a 35mm SLR film camera and scan the slides/negatives to digitize them. I now use my darkroom to store my photo equipment and produce all my enlargements on the computer. I consider myself an intermediate computer user. I have had the Epson 960 for about a month now. It replaced an Epson Stylus Color 800 that I bought shortly after it had been released (I don't think they were making 6-color inkjets at that time.)

I am very pleased with color photographs printed by the 960. As with my previous printer, I will use only Epson ink and I have started with the recommended Epson papers. I have made test prints including portraits, landscapes and architectural subjects. I have made about two dozen 5x7 prints (two to a page) and, to evaluate details and performance, about ten 8x10 prints. I tested various printer driver settings with each of three papers. So far, I have printed on Epson's Premium Glossy, Premium Luster and ColorLife (semi gloss). Color accuracy, saturation, and tonal gradation are excellent with the Premium papers. ColorLife prints with a slightly warm color shift, but is otherwise much like Premium Luster. (My wife likes it better for portraits, but I am still considering my final opinion - I may create a custom profile to remove the color shift.) I will test other papers as time and interest allow. I find that the ink dots and dither pattern are nearly invisible (unlike my previous printer) and results compare very favorably to photo lab prints. The small ink dots allow the 960 to produce very fine detail in photographs. So far the light cyan, light magenta and one black ink cartridge are being consumed faster than the rest. I'm sure this will be affected by the nature of the colors being printed (bright, primary colors versus softer hues), but is likely to be true for most users. I tried printing at both the 1440 dpi setting as well as the 2880 setting. I have determined that the prints at 1440 dpi are so good that they will be my standard. I will use the 2880 dpi setting only for "special" prints. A friend has the Canon 900 and I printed 2 prints on his printer to compare to the 960. The Canon is faster, but the detail and lack of visible ink dots/dithering from the 960 make it a better printer for me. I also preferred the more neutral colors on the Epson 960, but that could probably be adjusted in the Canon printer driver.

I have only two small complaints about the 960. The first is the time required to perform a print head alignment. In order to get acceptable alignment I had to go through the process 4 times - each time it got better. Although I did not specifically time the process (I didn't think of it until I was part way through the second alignment cycle), it took between 1.5 and 2 hours. I did not even attempt to print a photograph until I was satisfied with the alignment results. There may be a good reason why it takes around 30 minutes to go through each alignment cycle, but it is still irritating. Hopefully the print head alignment will not have to be repeated very often. The second small complaint is that if I turn on "high speed" for text printing (bi-directional printing) I get frequent ink blobs at the start or end of the page. If I print with the "automatic" settings there is no problem, but printing is slower. Despite this complaint, text printing is acceptable.

Based on my experience so far, I can highly recommend the 960 as a photo printer. Because of the two minor complaints, I would have rated this printer at 4.8 stars if that choice were available.

65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blows away the competition, December 26, 2002

By 

jlas "heartbart" (Bayside, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Epson Stylus Photo 960 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I researched photo printers extensively before choosing the Epson 960, specifically comparing this printer with the Canon S900 and the HP 7*50 series. In my opinion, the Epson 960 blows away the competition. Yes, it's slower than the Canon, but the colors are truer, and there's more detail. Also, definitely better image quality than the HP. I'm very happy with my choice.
Would not use it for text, but that's not what a photo printer is for, is it?
Update: since I wrote this review, I have found that the printer has a problem where the print head contacts the paper near the end of the print, only when printing at 2880 dpi, and 8x10, causing a slight scratching and smudging. After extensive discussion with epson tech support and customer support, it became apparent that this was a known issue, and the paper must be absolutely, perfectly flat for printing at this resolution. Somewhat annoying, because sometimes the curve in the paper is imperceptible. But in general, the quality of the output is top-notch.

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epson 960, excellent, January 1, 2003

By 

Karen J. Smith "Karen S" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Epson Stylus Photo 960 Inkjet Printer (Office Product)

I received my Epson 960 a couple of weeks ago. I tested a number of other printers and was not satisfied. I did a lot of research and discoverd that the 960 was the first printer to have a 2 picoliter printhead. I am a portrait photographer and print my own brochures, this printer does an excellent job of showing small detail. My brochures have both text and pictures in them. This printer has 2 black ink cartridges for text. I also just read a GREAT review written in the magazine Shutterbug, Feb 2003 issue. To get a complete review from someone who knows what to look for I would recommend reading that article.