Epson Stylus SX600FW

Author's product rating:   

Picture quality	Excellent
Printing speed	Fast
Colour sensitivity	Good
Reliability	Good
Value For Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Great quality and speed .  Excellent price .  Wireless G networking .
Disadvantages:	A little noisy when loading paper only .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was in the market for a new multi-function machine and with recent trips back and forwards to the nearest fax service at 50 pence per sheet, I thought a multi-function machine with fax will do just nicely.

I searched the internet and found a few candidates but the Epson SX600FW with its recent price drop, features and decent priced ink, I decided it was the one.

The price online at Tesco was £76 with free delivery to your nearest store so I decided I would purchase in a few days. The next day I went to a shopping centre which had a PC World store nearby so I thought I'd chance my luck. In I went and found the Epson at £99 reduced from £169. I asked a salesperson if they priced matched and it turned out they did and after checking the Tesco website they found it was £3 cheaper again so I took it away for £73.

I had noticed in PC World that the multi-pack of ink was £40. The same pack again cheaper at Tesco for only £27. In the excitement of getting my machine at a great price I forgot all about price matching the ink. No worries though, there's still Tesco.

So what do you get for your £73?

You get a printer, scanner, copier, and fax machine. In the box you also get a multi-pack of ink, a user manual, a disc with software, a fax cable & adapter and an ethernet cable. Did I not mention the Epson was ethernet capable? Well, that means I also forgot to tell you it was wireless too. Having wireless capability means....er...wireless printing.

When you take it out of the box there's a quick setup guide which for me was enough to get started, maybe that was due to the fact the English manual was missing. Never fear, the manual can be downloaded from the Epson web site but I didn't need it coz I'm smart. First thing to do is plug in the power and switch on, it's not connected to the PC at this point. There's a bit of setting up which is done using the controls on the front and the LCD screen, things like language, time and so on. Next thing to do is lift the lid, turn on and insert the ink cartridges. Follow the step by step guide and you won't go wrong.

After that's over it's time to put the software disc in. Follow the instructions and it will ask you how you want to connect to your PC. USB or Ethernet are the two options. You don't get a USB cable in the box. Epson says this is for two reasons, 1) It keeps costs down and 2) Most people already have a cable form a previous machine. Fair enough but what if you don't have a cable? Panic!!! No, just make sure you get one before you buy, that is, if you intend to connect it with USB, otherwise....don't! The cable you will need is a USB A-B type cable and don't listen to the salesman telling you that you need a £14.99 cable, you don't. If you see one at £1.99 buy it. I've been working around computers for years and have never found a need for an overpriced cable.

Where was I? Oh yes, the installation. It is recommended that you insert the cable for initial setup but only when it tells you, afterwards if you're going to use it wirelessly you can remove the cable. In order to let all computers on your network use it, you will need to install the software on each one. If you run into problems the Epson website has a live chat support during the day and they will talk you through it. Better than waiting six years on a reply to your email.

Ok, assuming you didn't wait six years you will now be sitting with a lovely new printer with a little icon on the screen saying you're wireless, or none if you went with the cable option. Oh, by the way, there's a further manual that deals with the wireless side of connecting it up to your network so that will come in handy if you're not sure how to do it.

Before I talk of performance I'll tell you it's features. Along with the functions mentioned above there is a LCD display and a control panel that lets you use most of it's functions without a PC. There's a card reader for most popular card types including the newer high capacity ones. The printer will search an inserted card for photos and will play a slide show until you are ready to use it. There's a PictBridge connection for compatible cameras which doubles up as a reader for USB sticks with photos on them. If you want to scan a document quickly but the PC is off, you can save it to memory card or a USB stick, the same goes for copying photos. You can also do it the conventional way and print them straight off without saving a hard copy.

Paper is loaded at the document feeder at the back and comes out the front at the bottom. There's a little tray you can pull out to catch the paper. The great thing about this machine is the document feeder above the scanning bed. This opens up to receive paper for faxing or copying. Colour faxes are supported. When you flip the little door over this is your paper tray. Opening the door lowers a flap to the right and this is where your original documents are returned. Your copies come out the bottom like normal prints. There's a little door to the left that flips up so you can fix any paper jams. Any paper in the automatic document feeder take precedence over paper loaded at the back. You will hear a little beep when you insert any paper or document.

The LCD screen can be used independent of a PC for copying, viewing and printing photos, scanning and saving photos & documents to memory card or stick, backing up data to card or stick. You can also print school-type ruled paper and of course, send and receive faxes. There's a set up menu if you want to change any of the settings like paper type & quality and you can even check your ink levels. A problem solver is built in if you need brief help with a particular function. The front control panel with the LCD can be angled to your sitting position just by pulling on it. There is a few steps where it clicks into place. To return it home, put your hand under, press a button and push it back in, simple.

In terms of quality it's quite the performer. There are many settings for different fax types and you will know what you want to use it for. For me a full page fax sent at standard quality to my brother was returned to me. I received a copy of the copy I sent him and it came back easily legible. The fax took about 20 seconds to send. Scanning colour and black & white photo's took around 15-20 seconds at 300dpi. This setting is more than enough if you just want a copy of a photo. A higher resolution should be used if you want to manipulate the photo or change anything about it. In any case a 600dpi scan of the same photos doubled the scanning time and only made larger files. 300dpi is adequate for copying or for keeping a safe hard copy. Photo quality is very good and Epson have noted that their ink is fade proof. I printed a 3 megapixel photo onto HP premium photo paper but I found the photo was a little flat, more of a matt than a glossy effect. I haven't used the paper before and the Epson ink is standard colour, not photo ink so I'm sure changing this there will be an improvement. Don't get me wrong, the photo was still great quality, just a matt finish that's all.

One thing I should mention is the document feeders are a little noisier than other printers I've used although the printing and scanning is as quiet as you can expect. I suppose for the price and functions this is nothing really but I wouldn't recommend doing a lot of printing if the wife is having a nap on the couch.

In conclusion I think for a printer, copier, scanner, fax with LCD, ink included and the wired and wireless networking at £73, this is an excellent buy. Epson are known for their quality inks at lower prices than the equivalent form competitors. Everything in one box and no messy wires is a bonus and the ability to talk to a real person live online if you run into trouble is a smart move by Epson. With faster print speeds and lightning scans compared to my HP 1350 multi-function machine, I know I have made the right choice.

If you're looking for this type of thing then you know it's at a great price and you've heard from someone using it and not just selling it. Have you got the Tesco website opened in another tab?