Description Your home photo center. Imagine having a powerful photo center right at your fingertips–one that's so easy, anyone can create brilliant borderless portraits and enlargements. The feature-rich Epson Stylus® Photo RX500 all-in-one offers all this and more, delivering Photo Quality prints,copies and scans with or without a computer. In fact, it's so versatile, it's the perfect solution for all your photographic needs. With superior 6-color Photo Inks and up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi, this innovative all-in-one provides vibrant color photos that are made to last. With many popular BorderFree paper sizes to choose from, it couldn't be easier to make BorderFree prints for framing or to place in an album. For added flexibility, Epson Stylus Photo RX500 all-in-one includes built-in card slots and a convenient photo proof sheet to select and print photos from popular memory cards. The Epson Stylus Photo RX500 also offers fast PC-free photo copying. Whether it delivers vivid reprints or multiple photos on a page, each is as sharp as the original. As for scanning, you will be amazed at your options. Aside from powerful 2400 x 4800 optical dpi, 48 bit color scanning, the Stylus RX500 also offers Epson's exclusive Easy Photo Fix technology to restore your faded photographs to their original, vibrant color. With the built-in transparency unit, you can scan your 35mm negative and slides. Epson's Scan to Card technology lets you scan your documents and photos to a memory card without a computer so you can take your documents and photos with your electronically. With cost-saving individual ink cartridges, plus connectivity for both Windows® and Macintosh® systems, this remarkable performer offers an easy, affordable solution for all your photo imaging needs. What's in the Box Epson Stylus Photo RX500, one cyan ink cartridge (T048220), one light cyan ink cartridge (T048520), one magenta ink cartridge (T048320), one light magenta ink cartridge (T048620), one yellow ink cartridge (T048420), one black ink cartridge (T048120), one USB cable, all-in-one documentation, CD-ROM containing all-in-one drivers and software (Windows and Macintosh), transparency unit, film holder, document mat, paper tray, paper guide
CNET editors' review Reviewed by: Kristina Blachere Reviewed on 2/5/04    Release date: 10/29/03    On the plus side, the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 multifunction printer is reasonably priced and accepts a wide variety of removable digital camera micromedia cards. Better yet, for those wanting to archive old images, the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 includes a built-in slide and film-negative scanner attachment. However, like most photo printers we've seen, the RX500 prints good photo-quality prints at the expense of text and mixed-graphics results, which are merely fair. If you're looking for an all-purpose multifunction printer for the home or the office, consider the Epson Stylus CX6400. But for home users who just want to create digital photo albums, the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 is the ideal all-in-one printer for occasional productivity tasks, such as faxing, printing, or copying. Design of Epson Stylus Photo RX500 Like most all-in-ones, the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 looks like an office copier grafted onto an inkjet printer. Measuring an average-size 17.7 inches by 23.3 inches by 11.9 inches (W, D, H), the RX500 has a flatbed scanner on top, a paper-input tray in back, and an output tray on the bottom. There's a control panel on the front of the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 with an LCD, buttons to scroll through the LCD's menu, dedicated Copy and Scan buttons, and a numeric keypad. The panel is well designed, so the various functions are easy and intuitive. Below the LCD, there is an array of removable media options for Secure Digital, Memory Stick, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Microdrive, and xD cards. Epson includes a connecting USB cable, a rarity today. Unfortunately, the location of the USB 2.0 port is not immediately obvious. As we set up the Epson Stylus Photo RX500, we were surprised to find that the port wasn't in any of the usual places, and there was no direct mention of it in the setup poster. (In fact, the setup poster showed the cable already in place.) We had to consult the CD manual to learn that that USB port lives deep inside the printer, under the scan carriage. While this location makes some sense, we think that the unusual configuration may cause unnecessary confusion and should be mentioned up front in the printed setup poster. Features of Epson Stylus Photo RX500 The Epson Stylus Photo RX500 copies, scans, prints, and faxes (using your own Mac or PC fax software), and it does all of these things with a minimum of fuss and effort. The graphical software interface, called the Smart Panel, leads you through various tasks, from performing simple jobs, such as faxing, to scanning a photo into e-mail or to the included ArcSoft PhotoImpression editing software to create a greeting card from a scanned photo. We got a kick out of the copy submenu of Smart Panel: the icon-based interface looks exactly like the LCD on a high-end office photocopier. Epson's copy software lets you reduce, enlarge, or change the layout of an image and the saturation of the ink using a familiar panel display such as that found on a high-end copier. Epson's scan drivers offer three modes: Full Auto, which scans without asking you for preferences; Home mode, for new users who want to choose basics such as the destination application (e-mail, photo-editing, and fax software); and Professional mode, which gives you the total control you'd expect from any TWAIN driver, a standard image-capture interface. But what really sets the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 apart (besides its bank of removable media slots) are its high-end photo features. For example, Epson includes a plastic grid that holds slides and film negatives in place so that you can scan them; the grid can be stored inside the lid of the scanner when not in use. You can also scan hard-copy photos directly to your removable media and easily print borderless photos, perfect for creating photo albums. Perhaps the best feature is Epson's Easy Photo Fix software. Take a faded print photograph or use the film-media attachment with an old slide or negative, scan it, then use the Easy Photo Fix software on your computer to restore the original color to the photograph. The software scans will also remove signs of dust and other imperfections from slides and negatives. The restored images can then be printed or saved to CD, DVD, or memory-strip media for archiving. Our informal tests proved this software a big success, although with the naked eye, we were unable to tell whether the vivid photos the Easy Photo Fix produced were the original colors or a close approximation. Performance of Epson Stylus Photo RX500 Printing performance All-in-one printers tend to be better at some tasks than others, and the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 is no exception. When tested against similar six-ink multifunction printers, CNET Labs found the RX500's print engine to be quite slow. On monochrome text, the RX500 printed at a sluggish 2.0 pages per minute (ppm), not as bad as the HP PSC 1350's 1.8ppm, but nowhere near the Lexmark P3150's 4.3ppm or the Epson Stylus CX6400's 4.8ppm. The RX500 fared much better, however, with 8x10 color photos, printing at 4.3 minutes per page (mpp), which is faster than the P3150's 4.7mpp but slower than the CX6400's 3.0mpp and significantly faster than the HP PSC 1350's 13.4mpp. In CNET Labs tests, the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 produced jagged edges on monochrome text, even when using Epson inkjet paper. Our mixed color and monochrome graphics test document fared no better, showing visible dithering throughout, meaning you could see the discrete colored dots that make up an image instead of seeing a smoothly blended shade. Photos, of course, looked better--much crisper and less dithered. Although the photo quality was good, we still saw some horizontal banding in the backgrounds. Scanning performance The Epson Stylus Photo RX500's 7.5ppm scanning rate was much faster than the HP PSC 1350's 5.4ppm and the Lexmark P1350's 5.3ppm. The Epson Stylus Photo RX500 captured fine details clearly in photos and reproduced tricky gradients smoothly in each scan. However, the RX500's copy speeds were middle-of-the-road at 1.5mpp, faster than the CX6400's 3.4mpp, though not as fast as the HP PSC 1350's 0.40mpp. In terms of consumables, the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 was on a par with other six-ink photo inkjets we've seen, averaging $1.05 per page when printing our 8.5x11 test photo. If you print mostly 4x6 photos, your real-world costs will be about half that. Unlike HP and Lexmark, Epson uses separate ink tanks, so you replace only the color that runs out instead of buying a new multicolor cartridge. Multifunction printer text speed  (Longer bars indicate better performance) Pages per minute    Epson CX6400 4.8  Lexmark 3150 4.3  Epson RX500 2.0  HP PSC 1350 1.4  Multifunction color photo speed test  (Shorter bars indicate better performance) Minutes per page    Epson CX6400 3.0  Epson RX500 4.3  Lexmark 3150 4.7  HP PSC 1350 13.4  Inkjet printer quality • Poor   •• Fair   ••• Good   •••• Excellent  Printer  Text  Graphics  8.5 x 11 color image  Epson CX6400 ••• ••• •••  Epson RX500 •• •• •••  HP PSC 1350 ••• ••• ••••  Lexmark 3150 •••• •• ••

Specifications

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

Technical Details

• Functions: Scan, copy, print
• Printer type: Inkjet
• Print speed: 17 ppm draft black: 16ppm draft color; 4" x 6" photo in 37 seconds
• Print resolution: Up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi
• Printer language: Epson ESC/P Raster, Epson Remote
• Print cartridges: Dye based photographically superior Photo Ink system
• Paper handling (standard): Input paper tray 150 sheets, 20 lb/15 envelopes
• Paper sizes: Letter, legal, A4, B5, A5, A6, half letter, executive, user definable (3.5" to 44" in length); BorderFree printing on 4" x 6", 5" x 7",8" x 10", letter, 8.3" x 23.4" Panoramic Photo Paper
• Paper types: Plain, bond and air mail papers. Supports Epson Premium Bright White, Glossy Photo Paper, Premium Glossy Photo Paper, Premium Semigloss Paper, Premium Luster Paper, ColorLife paper, Matte Paper Heavyweight, Double-sided Matte, Inkjet Transparencies, Self-adhesive Sheets, Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper, Greeting Cards, High Quality Banner paper; labels; envelopes, Iron-on Transfers and Photo Stickers; Panoramic 8.3" x 23.4" Photo Paper
• Interface: USB
• Scanner type: Color flatbed
• Scanning area: 8.5" x 11"
• Scanner optical resolution: 2400 dpi
• Scanner maximum interpolated resolution: 9600 dpi
• Color depth: 48-bit
• Transparency unit: Built-in for 35mm negative, slide and transparency scanning
• Photoelectric device: Color CCD Line Sensor
• Copy quality: Color, Black/White; Draft, Text, Photo, Best
• Copy speed: Up to 10 pages per minute
• Copy features: BorderFree, Small Margins, Mirror Copy, Repeat Copy, 2-up/4-up copy, Poster Print, Wallet Photo
• Number of copies: 1-99
• Filters: Brightness (5 steps from Darkest to Brightest), saturation (5 steps from Least to Most), sharpness (5 steps from Softest to Sharpest), Contrast (Off to SuperHi); Automatic Correction settings include PRINT Image Matching, Exif and Auto Photo Fine
• Color management: Standard, EPSON Vivid Color
• Sound: 42 dB(A)
• Environmental: Temperature: Operating 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C), Storage -4° to 140° F (-20° to 60° C); Humidity: Operating 20% to 80% relative humidity, Storage 5% to 85% relative humidity (no condensation)
• Safety: Safety standards: UL1950, CSA 22.2 No. 950; FCC part 15 subpart B class B, CSA C108.8 class B
• Operating systems: Windows USB - Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 or XP; Macintosh USB - Mac OS 8.6 - 9.2 or later, MAC OS X 10.2 or later (High Speed USB 2.0 not supported on Mac)
• Included software: Epson Smart Panel, Epson Scan Software, Epson Easy Photo Fix, Epson Printer Driver
• In the box: Epson Stylus Photo RX500 All-In-One, One cyan ink cartridge (T048220), One light cyan ink cartridge (T048520), One magenta ink cartridge (T048320), One light magenta ink cartridge (T048620), One yellow ink cartridge (T048420), One black ink cartridge (T048120), One USB cable, All-in-one documentation, CD-ROM containing all-in-one drivers and software (Windows and Macintosh)
• Width: 23.3"
• Height: 11.9"
• Depth: 17.7"
• Weight: 19.21 pounds with ink cartridges

Availability: Usually ships the next business day

rx500Regular price: $199.99Order for Only: $105.99