A keen amateur photographer friend was thinking about buying another film camera. I asked him why he wasn’t considering a digital camera. He replied, “I don’t really want to be bothered with manipulating the pictures on a computer before I can see them”. Of course he has a point, the vast majority of people (including my mother in law) just want to take happy snaps for their album. However, the thought of never having to buy more film also appeals. Manufactures such as Canon, HP, Epson and others, are developing new photo quality printers that simplify printing digital pictures without even having to turn a computer on.

Epson has introduced the Stylus Photo 925 which has a staggering 5760 dpi resolution and prints directly from a memory card or removable media. The 925 offers six colour printing from two cartridges (although current trends are to supply individual colour cartridges, they are a more economical way of printing as you only need to replace the colour that is depleted). The cartridges on the 925 seem to be rather small for the high resolution output (at 5760 dpi the ink is likely to drain away quite quickly).

Setting up is straightforward and was ready to go 10 minutes after unpacking. As usual, there wasn’t a USB cable in the kit (one day manufacturers may provide it as standard – I guess pigs might fly too!). A 148 page printed manual together with a quick start guide and printing software is included.

An LCD screen is used for setting the print options when printing directly from a memory card. Start by printing out an index sheet of the images on your card - the picture numbers don’t correspond to the digital camera file names. With the index sheet in hand, just select the image numbers, media type, size, quality, and press the Print button. An illuminated screen would be quite useful. As an optional extra, you can buy a small preview monitor which attaches to the printer, this displays the image with its correct file number prior to printing. There are options for layouts; borderless, with margins, two up, three up, four up, eight up, panoramic, and variable size. Only images that have been shot on a digital camera (based on DCF version 1.0 standards) can be printed directly from memory cards. Other files that you may have transferred to the card will only be printable via a computer.

Printing times are on the slow side, an A4 photo took us 7 min 43 seconds to print in high quality mode. In super high mode (5760 dpi) the same file took 14 min 18 sec. The print dot is almost impossible to see in high resolution mode, even when using a high power Loupe. A roll media holder is included, this accepts 100mm x 8m, 127mm x 8 m, and 210mm x 10m roll sizes in various media types. Fitting the roll holder and feeding the paper is a fiddly job, but once fitted it performs like a dream and an auto cuter trims the pictures as they are printed. One problem for which I haven’t managed to find a solution, is paper curl. It is near impossible to straighten out the prints especially the ones which are printed at the end of a roll.

The 925 is an imposing black & dark grey machine which I wouldn’t think complements most people’s homes - it is better suited to an office or studio. The overall construction on the 925 is solid and of very high quality with meticulous attention to detail. Now that the manufacturers have managed to sort out print quality, perhaps they should start spending a little more time on design. I can’t help thinking that today’s printers are resembling 1960s style bread bins.

Quality:
Print quality in both modes is excellent with neutral colours. At 5760 dpi, the 925 is able to generate maximum quality from 240dpi files. A 10 x 8 requires a file of around 13MB. To achieve similar results on other printers would require a 1200 x 1200dpi file which would be over 300MB. In short true photographic quality is now available on an inkjet.

Verdict:
We are going to see more and more printers that are capable of printing directly from memory cards. For people interested in producing prints rather than manipulation, this is the way to go. The Epson Stylus 925 has a lot to offer, its print quality is excellent but very slow. What the 925 lacks in visual design is more than compensated for in print quality.

Pros:
Excellent photographic print quality
Edge to edge printing
Direct printing from memory card

Cons:
No separate ink cartridges
Cost: £249 (inc. vat)

Specs.
· Standalone functionality and intuitive operation
· Resolution of 5760 optimised dpi for Highest Quality Photo Printing
· 8.5ppm black text and 8.5ppm colour
· Built-in slots that directly accept Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick & MicroDrive memory cards (no PCMCIA slot on this printer)
· 6 colour inks for photo quality printing
· Borderless edge-to-edge printing
· Automatic cutter for continuous roll media finishing
· 25 Years lightfastness with Epson Photo media
· Variable Sized Droplet Technology, 4pl Ultra Micro Dot for maintaining high definition detail
· Resealable valve enables partially used ink cartridges to be retained for future use.
· Optional Monitor for previewing images prior to printing
· High speed USB connectivity for Windows® and Macintosh compatibility
· Compatibility with external digital media storage devices such as Zip drives, via external USB port on printer.

Review © Vincent Oliver www.photo-i.co.uk

www.Epson.co.uk