Epson Artisan 800- Easy to Use! Even for a 2 Year Old!

2 year old Captain Computer is a big fan of any project and loves buttons. I recently enlisted him to help set up my brand new Epson Artisan 800 printer. Once we unearthed it from its packaging and Captain Computer used his detective skills to sleuth out hidden blue tape that I needed to undo prior to setup, it took less than a half and hour to get it up and working. Captain Computer quickly located the on switch, tapped the 7.8” touch panel, figured out that the brilliant 3 ½” LCD tilts, and we were off and printing!

Can I say that I truly love the Artisan???

It is so much more than a printer…It is also a copier, scanner, fax, ultra high definition photo printer with wifi which makes it easy to use among the multiple computers in our house!

Why do I love it so? Let me count the ways:

• Brilliant high definition photos. The quality of these photos are unlike anything I’ve ever seen come out of a home printer due to the 6 Ultra High Definition Claria ink cartridges that Captain Computer and I clicked into place during setup. The colors are sharp, true to life, and grain free. The quality of the ink ensures that my photos won’t fade over time. Also, pictures don’t emerge from the printer wet so I have no fear of smudging them. And using Epson ink on Epson made glossy, matte, or regular papers means I don’t have to worry about smudging or scratching photos or the ink running if I accidentally get a printout wet. The convenience of this printer and beauty of the prints means that we’ll be more likely to print photos from our huge iPhoto library on a regular basis! And Tech Savvy Daddy points out that while it is cheap to upload your prints to online photo printing sites or stores like CVS or Costco, there’s nothing like instant gratification.

• Ultra fast printing! The speed of this printer leaves our old one in the dust! It can print 38 black and white or color pages in a minute! It spits out gorgeous 4” x 6” photos in less than 10 seconds and takes a mere 50 seconds to print an 8” x 10.”

• LCD and touch panel is bright, clear, and easy to use. It has buttons that light up so you can quickly choose printing options. It also enables the printer to work independently from your computer so you can select, copy, enlarge, rotate, crop, and print right from the screen, preview and correct photos before printing, and also view and share photo slide shows

• Super quiet. It sits right beside my computer and hardly makes a sound while printing unless the automatic sheet feeder is being used for faxing and copying. Still, when printing the Artisan is very quiet. I wish Captain Computer and Little Miss Techie could work as quietly it does!

• Stylish and compact. The Artisan is sleek, with its shiny and matte black exterior and silver trim. It measures18.4” x 15.2” x 7.8” which is extremely compact for a machine that does so much. I tucked mine in on a small corner of my desk and it fits perfectly! Tech Savvy Daddy thinks that the printer is a little bigger than most but compared to the HP 3500 and 5500 we use at my school, this printer is super compact!

• So simple to set up! Like I said, unpacking to printing took half an hour. Let me know if you get one and want me to dispatch Captain Computer to assist you. If Captain Computer is booked, call Epson. Epson provides 2 years of toll-free customer support when you register your printer and registered Artisan owners get free lifetime phone support with no additional charges beyond the warranty period. And some notes for Mac users…There is an endless series of installers to download but when you finish, the Artisan is set up perfectly. It seems like the Artisan has full Mac support, something that many printers do not. Also, the manual shows how to print from Macs but it doesn’t show iPhoto specific screen shots. After a couple of times of monkeying with the settings, Tech Savvy Daddy was able to print borderless pictures from our iPhoto library.

• Sturdy. Captain Computer helped me set it up and didn’t break a thing. He’s 2. Enough said.

Other great features include:

• 2 year warranty (probably doesn’t cover Captain Computer’s setup mishaps so thank goodness we didn’t have any of those!)
• Flat bed scanner
• Automatic sheet feeder for scanning or faxing multiple pages
• 2 paper trays plus a tray for printing to a CD or DVD
• Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking built in, Bluetooth photo printing is available with an adapter
• Multiple slots for memory cards to view your photos on the LCD and print without a computer in case you have a use for them. I mean I’ve never put a memory card any of my printers but Captain Computer likes shoving all kinds of things in there to see what will get stuck!

The suggested retail price of the Epson Artisan 800 is $299 and but Epson is currently running a deal with it selling for $229.99 after rebates. Click here to take advantage of the special price.

For the price, the Artisan is perfect for a home office, photo enthusiast, and anyone looking for an all in one machine. It would make a fabulous holiday gift!

If you’d like to win your own Epson Artisan 800, visit the Silicon Valley Moms Blog to read what other contributors from around the country had to say and enter to win one beginning Tuesday, November 18.

Huge thanks to Silicon Valley Moms Blog and One2One Network for allowing me to review this printer! And of course, to Captain Computer who much preferred setting up our new printer to going to bed.