The Epson Stylus C43UX is a budget printer that combines good value with reasonable good-quality prints.The Stylus C43UX is Epson's budget offering to the masses. At AU$129, it's easy to brush aside this unit for one that will almost surely produce low-quality prints with deadening speeds. Therefore, it comes as a pleasant surprise that the outputs seem much better than we anticipated.
Printers do not come much simpler. The Stylus C43SX/UX keeps a similar curvy styling as Epson's previous entry-level units and retains the same body as its older brother, the C41SX/UX. The UX designation at the end of the model denotes USB transfer. The SX, on the other hand, refers to the traditional IEEE 1284 parallel variant.
Targeted squarely at the home, the printer measures just 424 x 229 x 172mm when packed, making this unit easy to hide or tuck away. When in use, the output and input trays extend 10 and 20cm in depth and height--still remaining relatively small and compact. Similarly, the 2.5kg frame makes light work of moving this inkjet around should the need arise.
Like most consumer-oriented inkjets, setting up the C43UX is straightforward. Simply connect the printer to the PC, install the drivers and you're good to go. The other plus is that Epson actually throws in a USB cable with the unit--so you won't have to worry about getting one.
The C43UX specifications are 12ppm (pages per minute) and 5.4ppm for monochrome and colour, respectively. Taking into account the rather low retail price, these are some pretty good numbers. In our speed tests, this model completed our draft-quality 10-page test in about 1 minute 44 seconds, or about 5.8ppm. This really isn't bad considering it's only 20 seconds behind the more expensive (by $170) Canon i470D. However, when we put the C43UX through our photo print runs, the unit really wore us out with the wait. Challenging the limits of our stopwatch, this Epson took almost 20 minutes to output an A4-size photo and 13.5 minutes for 4R prints.
In terms of print quality, text output was average, producing legible 2.5-point font size text. The draft outputs of the C43UX were almost "dot matrix-like", not that this should matter and they should not prove anymore difficult to read than other printouts. The inkjet's colour graphics were good overall with slight dithering visible on some of the outputs. However, even with the rather "low" 2,880-optimised dpi rating by today's standards, the unit managed to produce detailed and sharp photos with vibrant colours. As expected, the entry-level printer does not support "borderless" prints.
It's worthwhile to note that the Epson Stylus C43UX is the manufacturer's most affordable inkjet. In our lab tests, the unit's performance and print quality are comparable to other more expensive, higher-end models. For those looking for a decent printer without wanting to feel the pinch on their pockets, the C43UX should be very appealing. However, should you require "borderless" or faster photo prints, have a look elsewhere.
Epson Stylus C43UX
Company: Epson Australia
Price: AU$129
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1300 361 054
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