Product Description

The Epson R260 photo printer delivers Ultra Hi-Definition prints at truly amazing speeds -- right at home. Get precision prints every time with ClariaTM Hi-Definition Ink and built-in automatic photo correction. There's even direct CD/DVD printing with no messy labels. It's all possible with Epson, the overwhelming brand of choice among professional photographers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11242 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Epson
• Model: C11C653011
• Released on: 2006-09-12
• Platforms: Windows, Mac
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.30" h x 16.30" w x 17.70" l, 14.30 pounds

Features

• Photo printer delivers ultra high-definition photographs and documents
• Incredibly fast print speeds; up to 5760x1440 optimized dpi resolution
• Red-eye reduction; conserves ink
• Borderless photos can be printed in popular sizes
• Accommodates variety of paper types

Amazon.com
The Epson Stylus Photo R260 photo printer delivers Ultra Hi-Definition photos and documents--at truly amazing speeds. Print photos like those you've come to expect from the lab--only better. With this powerful printer, it couldn't be easier.

Precision, 6-color printing and Claria Hi-Definition Ink provide the ultimate combination of photo quality and longevity. Display stunning, borderless photos that are smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant. The Epson Stylus Photo R260 even corrects the color and lighting in photos automatically for simply amazing results--it's like having a lab technician right inside your printer. Best of all, the Epson R260 races through every project, printing text up to 30 ppm¹, plus borderless color photos in as fast as 13 seconds¹. And, you can print your favorite photos on the spot, right from your PictBridge-enabled digital camera or mobile phone.

With this versatile printer, you can even personalize CDs/DVDs using your own photos and text. Print directly onto ink jet printable CDs and DVDs for professional-looking results with no messy labels.

The Epson Stylus Photo R260 gives you superior photo quality, versatility and performance right at home. Get Ultra Hi-Definition prints with remarkable richness, depth and clarity. It's all possible with Epson, the overwhelming brand of choice among professional photographers.

Features and Benefits

• Ultra Hi-Definition prints – professional level prints at amazing speeds
• Borderless 4x6 photos printed in as fast as 13 seconds and better than lab quality in as fast as 30 seconds (default)
• Claria Hi-Definition Ink for the ultimate in photo quality and longevity (smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant for up to 200 years)
• Red eye reduction
• Direct printing onto ink jet printable CDs and DVDs--no messy labels
• Direct photo printing from PictBridge compatible digital cameras and phones
• Up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi and 6-color ink for the finest detail
• DX5 technology produces 5 microscopically small ink droplet sizes, some as small as 1.5 Picoliters, for the smoothest gradations and grain free photos.
• Borderfree photos in popular sizes
• BorderFree® photos in popular sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10 and 8.5x11) on matte and glossy paper
• A variety of other paper types, sizes and surfaces are available to satisfy your printing needs

Notes
<sup>1. Black text memo, measured after the first page, is in Economy mode on plain paper. Color photo speed is in Draft and Photo modes on Epson Glossy Photo Paper, measured from start of paper feed. Additional print time will vary based on system configuration, software application and page complexity.
2. Not available when printing using Mac OS X.
3. Print permanence ratings are based on accelerated testing of prints on specialty media, displayed indoors under glass or UV filter or stored in archival sleeves in album storage. Actual print stability will vary according to media, printed image, display conditions, light intensity, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. Epson does not guarantee longevity of prints. For maximum print life, display all prints under glass or UV filter or properly store them.</sup>

What's in the box
Epson Stylus Photo R260 printer, power cord, six ink cartridges, Ultra Hi-Definition R260 Photo Printer CD, Printer Basics Manual, tray adapter for printing on CDs
Note: USB cable not included

Customer Reviews

Great for DVD labeling
I needed a printer capable of printing directly onto DVDs because LightScribe can not create ADA-compliant labels, and DVDs with paper labels often "skip" and play incorrectly.

Only Epson makes printers that can print directly onto DVDs, and the R-260 is their current lowest-end product with this capability. Indeed, this printer is so low end that ink refill packages cost about three dollars more than the printer (which comes complete with ink). Hence, this is probably the first high resolution "disposable" printer on the market.

Speed - a couple of minutes per DVD. Basically, it's about the same speed as any low-end high resolution printer printing a 5x7 photo. This is about eight times faster than a LightScribe.

Quality - great! It blows away anything I could do with a felt tip pen or a LightScribe.

Cost - I've printed 45 full color disks with zero defects, and my ink refill icons indicate half-full (or higher) reservoirs. Don't use the "highest" quality print setting (there are only two settings). It drinks more ink, and the normal setting produces great results.

Setup - The multi-lingual instructions were clear, and setup was simple (Windows XP). You'll need your own USB cable, so read the box to be sure you have (or buy) the right kind.

Ease of use: move a lever down, place DVD into DVD tray, place DVD tray into the printer and align arrows. Print from label program (included with printer).

Label program: very simple to use compared to competing products. I would not hesitate recommending it to an eight-year-old. One happy surprise, I can paste screen shots directly onto the label template. On the other hand, the software has no database merge capabilities. As a result disk customization with customer names, serial numbers, or product keys becomes a manual task. That is, you'll need to update the disk label yourself prior to printing each unique disk. I never used that feature anyway.

The Ultimate Ink Sink !
After using another Epson inkjet for five years with excellent results (Model 785EPX) I bought the R260 about 3 months ago so I could print CDs and take advantage of the five individual color cartridges instead of a single 5-color cartridge.

My idea was that now I could replace only the individual color cartridges as they were used up rather than replace the whole 5-color cartridge when only one color was used up. Since the combined size of the five individual color cartridges on the R260 is much larger than the single 5-color cartridge, I expected much longer cartridge life, less waste, and lower ink costs with the R260.

Was I wrong! I was completely blown away by how quickly the ink levels drop in the R260 color cartridges. While you're printing, you can see the levels drop significantly after each print. After 25 prints, some of the color cartridges needed replacement!

So, instead of getting 50-60 prints out of the single smaller 5-color cartridge, I am getting half as many prints out of the larger single color R260 cartridges.

Since the amount of ink used for each print is about the same as my old printer, the only answer is that Epson is putting a tiny amount of ink in each R260 cartridge.

What makes it worse is that Epson charges you $15 for each cartridge at their on-line store. The high-capacity cartridges with 50% more ink are $20 each (33% more), but that only helps a little.

I am considering throwing the R260 away and staying with my older Epson. When that dies, I will definitely switch brands unless Epson comes back down to planet Earth on ink capacity/cost issues.

Great prints, but it IS an ink drinkin' cartridge chomping printer
I got this solely to print custom CDs for a new business project and while the CDs look fabulous, I am shocked at how FAST I go through the cartridges. Yes, I read the other reviews and thought that it could NOT be as bad as they made it sound. Guess what? It is! If quality is important and cost is very secondary...go ahead and get this printer. But if you do not have lots of extra cartridge money lying around, keep shopping. I had to up my prices on customizing CDs to make even a few cents!

I like Epson printers and have had many over the years and this is the first time I have not been able to give a BIG thumbs up. I am giving it three stars because the CDs look great, but the ink consumption is way more than expected. I would give 5 stars for quality of product and 0 stars for cartridge use, so I averaged it to 3.