after purchasing a nixon cp900, i am about to purchase an expson printer-- the models under consideration are the 700,800,850 and the stylus ex. my research indiates the 700 is very good, the 800 and the 850 have improvements but do not warrent the investment and the stylus Ex is worthy of purchasing. inform me if my assumptions are accurate. reviews have not been totally positive toward the 800 and 850. my needs are for photographic prints, semi to pro results. my understanding is that the 700 only allows 4x6 prints(not 8x10) which i am interested in. with that requirement, the answer to my own question indicates the epson stylus ex as the printer, however, i am seeking input from YOU. if i determine the Ex to be too costly, then is the 700 still the way to go. thank you for your input to this anguishing question. respectfully, raymond a. bleesz at bleesz@vail.net

-- raymond a. bleesz (bleesz@vail.net), November 07, 1998

Answers

If you're mainly looking at printing photos, the 700 or EX wins hands- down over the 800 or 850. The 700 & EX are "photo quality" printers, which means they use 6 inks to print with, rather than the conventional 4. HUGE difference in image quality!

As to print size, it sounds like you're confusing the PhotoPC 700 digital camera and the Stylus 700 *printer*. The camera is limited to 4x6 or maybe 5x7 prints if you want the output to look good. The Stylus 700 printer though takes standard 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper, and will print whatever size file within those constraints. Bottom line: Get the Stylus 700 printer! (No need for any further anguish!)

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), November 07, 1998.

Raymond, I also responded to your questions about inkjet papers. So just a brief recap here of my praise for the 700 EX.

This printer is outstanding. I would suggest it over the regular 700 because of the larger format size: it prints up to 11.76" x 44". This larger format allows full bleed tabloid (11" x 17") images.

I am a graphic designer (Macintosh) and need extremely accurate color reproduction in my work  and the EX delivers So much so that the printing houses I work with bought the EX for their own in-house work when they saw the output I was bringing them for my clients, and that is the highest praise.

If you use a Mac so much the better because the Mac Epson printer driver has full support for ColorSync2 which allows proof quality output. As I mentioned in the other response you should definitely get the optional PostScript RIP if you use layout programs, or any program that uses imported TIFF/EPS format images. This RIP is tweaked for the Stylus Photo series and the reproduction is near perfect.

This printer is a gem, and a steal, at $499.00.

Jim Scott St. Helena, California

-- Jim Scott (wgd@napanet.net), November 15, 1998.