Epson Ultra High Definition R260 Photo Inkjet Printer

• 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

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.

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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.

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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.

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I used this printer about 20 times to print mostly black text titles on CDs. The printer then refused to print anything and showed the printer as being out of ink. I was pretty upset because I figured Epson just included some starter ink cartridges with the printer that would last a short time so I''d have to buy their expensive ink replacements. The printer software said all the cartridges were empty. Well, I didn''t feel like I had mush of a choice so I bought the $75 package of 6 ink cartridges. I didn''t really understand why the color cartridges were out of ink since I hadn''t printed but maybe 2 or 3 of the 20 labels with color but again I chalked it up to starter cartridges and the manufacturer pushing their expensive replacements. I installed the new cartridges and everything seemed to be OK the first couple of times I printed, but over the next few print sessions the ink just seemed to be sucked right out of the printer. Once again the cartridges were empty after about 2 dozen CD labels.

I''m just going to toss the printer and go back to Sharpies. They last a lot longer and are cheaper to replace. You can even get them in different colors that won''t run out of ink when you print with a black one.

Bottom line: Epson cost me over $3 per CD to apply text labels to my CDs.

Last thoughts: I wish I could award negative stars to this product because it was a very negative experience.

Would I buy another Epson product? ...Never, ever again!!!

Beware This is the most expensive printer you''ll ever own. My wife went through $120 of ink in less than a month and she doesn''t print that much, just text, no pictures. I had read the other reviews about excessive ink usage, but it is much worse than I imagined. I''m going to throw away a perfectly good printer because I refuse to pay that much for ink.

This printer is also noisy with a lot of vibration. The HP printers I''ve owned are practically silent compared to the Epson 260.

I will never buy another Epson printer.