The Epson Stylus Photo 935 offers a plethora of printing options as well as high-resolution prints, but owing to its slow print speeds and sub-par text outputs, this printer just doesn't hack it for office work.From first impressions, the Epson Stylus Photo 935 seems an ideal photo printer for the family. It features 5,760 x 720-optimized dpi (dots-per-inch) resolution with various printing options ranging from a PC to a digital camera, various types of removable media, and even Bluetooth BIP (Basic Imaging Profile)-ready products such as Sony's DSC-FX77 digital camera. This Epson also prints borderless photos and even roll photo paper--a boon for users who love panoramic shots. Unfortunately, when the chips are down, this inkjet just fails to impress in terms of speed and quality.
Like its predecessor, the Stylus Photo 925, this Epson retains the same formidable-looking and solid plastic frame. There's an LCD and some controls located on the top-right corner for navigation and selection of various print options to aid in standalone printing from memory cards. As with its forerunner, the Photo 935 also comes with the option for connecting a secondary LCD screen for viewing the pictures, allowing you to select your choices without having to print an index of photos stored in your memory cards--saving you paper and ink.The Stylus Photo 935 is also among the first products to be Bluetooth BIP-ready. Regrettably, we were unable to obtain the optional Bluetooth connector for testing with a similar device such as Sony's FX-77.
There seems to have been a lot of thought put into the design of the output tray--there's a folding catchment area to take hold of unwanted bits of roll paper after the automatic cutter has done its job. Therefore it comes as a surprise that the output tray is fastened along only one edge when stored. Over time, the tray will have difficulty remaining folded.
The Stylus Photo 935 is easy to set up. The handy quickstart guide and rather comprehensive manual make quick work of it. The installation CD similarly provides clear setup and usage instructions. The printer supports Windows 98 and up; and Macintosh OS 8.6 or later. The CD also comes with a detailed HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) user guide--so you'll need to have a browser installed to read it. Unlike its entry-level printers, the Japanese manufacturer does not ship a USB cable with its higher-end USB Direct Print range. Other than the device drivers, the installation program will also install basic image editing software, as well as monitoring utilities for ink and storage media. For those who intend the printer for use without a PC, there's nothing physical to set up besides the required attachments for your needs. The software on the unit is about as comprehensive as the ones found on the computer. You're able to independently replace cartridges, clean the printheads, check the nozzles, as well as align the printheads--all from the unit's control panel.If there's one thing that stands out in the Photo 935, it's the comprehensive controls. These provide users with the ability to tweak everything, from basic settings like paper type and layout all the way to complex functions such as photo enhancements for a variety of scenes, brightness, cropping, zooming, etc. There's even a built-in error management system that provides detailed error messages and offers suggestions on how to fix them. About the only thing missing is the inability to print smaller-sized images at 1:1 ratio in the middle of the page.
With the wealth of printing and connectivity options, we really expected the Photo 935 to excel in its print performance. But our hopes were dashed, especially with regard to speed. The unit finished our 10-page test in 2 minutes and 11 seconds, or about 4.5 ppm. A quick look at the specifications revealed that this unit isn't optimized for text printing. However, the photo prints also didn't do much better, clocking in at 11 minutes. In comparison, Canon's i470D took only 4 minutes for the similar A4-sized picture.In our testing, text output was adequate, staying legible down to a 3-point font size--though, most printers now do not have a problem producing clean outputs in the 2 to 2.5-point font size range. For photo prints, the images were generally crisp with no visible dithering and banding on photo paper; printing on plain media was another affair altogether. Printing on normal office paper almost always resulted in wrinkled paper or visible banding. In terms of color reproduction, the colors printed were generally well-produced, though the gradations in skin tones weren't as smooth as we'd have liked.
The Epson Stylus Photo 935 is definitely a feature-packed photo printer that targets consumers who want everything they can possibly get. If what you need is a unit that's able to print on a large variety of media as well as plenty of connectivity options, this Epson should warrant strong consideration. However, with print quality not spectacularly better than its competitors and speeds that redefine patience, the cheaper standalone photo printers from other vendors maybe a better option.
Epson Stylus Photo 935
Company: Epson Australia
Price: AU$699
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1300 361 054
6%
1%
This printer is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever had the misfortune to endure. It takes a couple of minutes to boot up (with more "whirring" and "ticking" than you could shake a stick at), printer cartridges constantly require head cleaning, it goes through printer cartridges like they're going out of style, and most frustrating of all, it has a prepondency to "hang" mid-print for no apparent reason requiring a full re-boot to recommence printing. As Molly would say "Do yerself a favour" - don't get fooled buy the snazzy packaging, save yourself some unnecessary swearing and cursing and steer well clear.