Epson Artisan 800 Printer Review

Incredible Value for the Price

After several grueling months with the Hewlett Packard 7280 All-in-One printer I invoked my Office Max Max Assurance Warranty and happily got my money back. In a nutshell it was the worst printer I had ever owned and that is saying a lot. It was loud, scanned horribly, always pulled two sheets of paper into the feeder and had a multitude of other problems including bloated software which seems to be the staple of HP these days. Anyway, after being burned by this printer I was determined to do my homework and find the right printer for my home office. Enter the Epson Artisan 800 All-In-One printer.

Amazon's many reviewers had given it a cumulative 4.25 stars which is saying a lot. The only bad reviews seemed to focus on poor yield from ink cartridges. Never one did I see notes on hardware failure, poor craftsmanship or any of the other typical printer problems. Once I noted that Office Max had the same $70 instant rebate in store that Epson had online I knew I had found my replacement printer. Upon entering the store I acquired the last Epson Artisan 800 that they had in the store. I declined the extended warranty and will opt to let Epson help me should any problems arise. The warranty is 2 years anyway which is double what HP offers.

Unpacking the printer was a snap. The usual taped edges and plastic covered most of the outer and inner workings of the printer but once removed I plugged it in and pressed on. Immediately it fired up and asked me to go through the easy set up options. I found the easy set up poster and began to walk through the steps. The only thing that might be a gotcha is removing the print head stabilizer for packing. There is one piece of paper inside the printer that points to the plastic device and is somewhat confusing. Turns out you are simply moving it to a spot designed to hold it should you ever need to transport the printer again, do not throw the plastic away if you plan on moving the printer long distances at any point in its life span.