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Issue #0604/2 - Epson’s new All-in-One is a stylish machine that is up with the leaders but lacks the finer details and competitive price to hit the top spot.

Added to the Epson range of inkjet All-in-One machines is the Stylus RX640, targeted at photo-enthusiasts, but with a CPP at the top end of the range.

Epson Stylus RX640

Offering print, copy and scan functionality, with 2.5in LCD preview screen, the RX640 is a 6-ink print engine with individual ink tanks based on Epson’s micro-Piezo technology. Individual ink tanks is a feature shared with Canon and Hewlett-Packard’s latest SPT technology but not with Dell and Lexmark.

But, the factor that sets it apart from the Canon as well as the Dell and Lexmark is that it features a scan head with an optical resolution of 3200ppi. Only Hewlett-Packard has an optical scan resolution that exceeds 3200ppi – this is in the Photosmart 3210, which has a 4800ppi scanner. Canon, Dell and Lexmark are all still using 1200ppi scanners.

Epson’s scan head has built-in transparency scanning capability, a feature that was pioneered by Epson. Hewlett-Packard is the only other manufacturer to have included transparency capability with any of its Photo designated All-in-One machines.

Canon
PIXMA MP500

Other advantages of the Epson RX640 is the ability to print on print-compatible CD surfaces, a feature shared only with Canon, and some nice features of its accompanying image software. For instance, as well as having image restoration capabilities, the software will recognise different photograph types (e.g. portraits or landscapes) and will adjust the image characteristics accordingly - PhotoEnhance.

This means that, for instance, when PhotoEnhance recognises a portrait, it brightens the face and reduces contrast to soften the effect. In other circumstances it will boost contrast to maximise definition and detail.

In addition, the Epson RX640, together with its USB 2.0 interface, has PictBridge interface and the ability to print direct from memory cards, USB pen drive, Zip drives and external USB CD drives. In addition, there is an optional Bluetooth adapter that offers mobile phone connectivity.

Lexmark P6350

But, the single factor that sets one machine apart from all the others, even this new Epson device, at a competitive price and running cost, is networking. Hewlett-Packard is the only company to have the foresight to include network capability into a machine category where there is sure to be a high demand for network connectivity – even in the home. Although the Photosmart 3210 is wired-only as a standard feature, Hewlett-Packard does also have machines in its range that are wireless-ready out of the box.

Speed is not Epson’s strength. This model is based on a 21ppm engine (mono and colour), which is an improvement on some of Epson’s other recent engines but falls far short of Hewlett-Packard’s best at 36ppm (mono) and the 32ppm (mono) produced by the SPT engine.

Other print speed claims for the RX640 include borderless prints produced in less than one minute. While this is not a bad speed in comparison to print speeds from some manufacturers just a couple of years ago, it is nowhere near the 14 seconds quoted by Hewlett-Packard for the Photosmart 3210.

Epson will never be able to match print speeds from other manufacturers as long as it sticks with its Micro Piezo technology. By definition, using Micro Piezo technology it is not possible to create economical printheads with a high enough nozzle density to give a comparable print speed. Typical nozzle density in recent Epson printheads was in the region of 120dpi, compared to Canon and Hewlett-Packard that are able to create printheads with 10x the nozzles density, making for much faster printing with fewer passes of the printhead.

Dell AiO 944

Regarding pricing and running costs, the RX640 is expected to sell at £229 in the UK and €357 in Europe (it is not yet available in the US). This places it at a far higher level than any other machine in the category with no really apparent justification.

Its purchase price is 15% higher than its nearest competitor, Canon PIXMA MP500 and 146% higher than the bottom-end Dell machine at £93.

True, it has the integrated transparency adapter on a high-resolution scanner and can print only white-surfaced CDs but these features hardly compete with Hewlett-Packard’s Photosmart 3210 that has an even higher resolution scanner, with transparency adapter, and has integrated networking into the bargain, at a lower cost!

It is also expensive in terms of Total Cost of Printing – the most expensive of the group at 6.73 pence per page (four-colour printing). Despite the fact that it has the lowest mono CPP of the group, the colour CPP is the highest in the group, contributing to the high long-term CPP.

Note that for this level of machine, the mixed mono/colour CPP over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 250 pages per month using maximum capacity supplies and takes into account any standard, or starter, supplies shipped with the device and also includes the cost of purchase. All prices are manufacturer’s recommended prices.

Although the long-term running cost is only 1.5% higher than its nearest competitor (again the MP500 from Canon), it is 34% more expensive over time than the Dell.

With its fast printing and high overall specification, Hewlett-Packard’s Photosmart 3210 is very competitively priced, placed right in the middle of the group on purchase price and second only to Dell on Total Cost of Printing with a satisfyingly low long-term CPP of 5.33 pence against the 5.01 pence found for Dell.

Hewlett-Packard
Photosmart 3210

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 3rd, 2006 at 12:02 am and is filed under Hardware, Digital Photography, Print Technology, New Products, Pricing, News, Comparisons, Total Cost of Printing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.