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By Jim Forbes
The Stylus Color 500, Epson's latest entry into the competitive arena of color ink jet printers, is a sure attention-getter, producing outstanding monochrome and color output at a price that's hard to beat.
With a maximum resolution of 720x720 dots per inch, the Epson Stylus Color 500 capably executes most color printing tasks, including acceptable reproduction of color photographs. With its support for printing modes of 180x180dpi and 360x360dpi, you can likewise be assured of consistent output for less demanding jobs.
The easily adjusted paper guides are welcome; the unit handles paper and envelopes from the same feeder.
The printer uses one cartridge for black ink and a triple-reservoir cartridge for color. Both cartridges differ from those of the Stylus Color printer.
The speed of printed output varies, depending on the resolution setting and mode of operation. A 580-word, single-page, black-and-white document required one minute to print at 360x360dpi. At 720x720dpi, the same document took three minutes. A single-page graphics file with three charts, each using four colors, required four minutes at 360x360dpi and 5.5 minutes at 720x720dpi. But a lengthy 10 minutes was needed to print a color picture at a 720x720dpi setting.
Epson's software drivers let you select print density, page orientation and number of copies, and control color characteristics. You can specify the type of document being printed, such as text, business graphics or photos; the program switches settings to optimize output. The software bundle includes Printshop, Adobe Photo Deluxe and Adobe Home Publisher.
--Info File--
Epson Stylus Color 500
Price: $279
Pros: Price; versatility; color
Cons: High cost of disposables
Platforms: Windows 95, 3.1x
Epson America
800-GO-EPSON, 310-782-0770
WinMag Box Score 4.0
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