Epson R800 vs. R300

[transco]

I need to make a quick decision between the two printers and I'm
hoping someone can answer a few qustions:
1. Can the R800 print the full 11" length of a 8.5" x 11" page (a
border on the width is not important). I need to be able to print DVD
case inserts on standard letter size stock. To do this I need to be
able to print the full lengh.
2. An immediate need is to be able to print on DVD's. Since both
printers have this capability, does one do a better job of it than the
other? In particular I was wondering about the abrasion resistance.
Does the "Gloss Optimizer" overcoat on the R800 provide extra
protection. Which printer is most likely to print on a wide variety
of printable media?

Answers to these questions, and any others I should consider would be
greatly appreciated.

 

[FredBillie]

<< From: (e-mail address removed) (transco)
Date: Sun, May 23, 2004 8:45 PM
Message-id: <[email protected]>

I need to make a quick decision between the two printers and I'm
hoping someone can answer a few qustions:
1. Can the R800 print the full 11" length of a 8.5" x 11" page (a
border on the width is not important). I need to be able to print DVD
case inserts on standard letter size stock. To do this I need to be
able to print the full lengh.
2. An immediate need is to be able to print on DVD's. Since both
printers have this capability, does one do a better job of it than the
other? In particular I was wondering about the abrasion resistance.
Does the "Gloss Optimizer" overcoat on the R800 provide extra
protection. Which printer is most likely to print on a wide variety
of printable media?

Answers to these questions, and any others I should consider would be
greatly appreciated.I can’t address your main DVD insert question but I would comment that the
R-800 with its 1.5 Picoliter drops is likely to produce a better picture and
its use of Pigment inks versus the dye inks of the R-300 is likely to produce a
picture less prone to fading and moisture smear.

A recent reviewer took a picture printed by an Epson PictureMate (dedicated 4X6
printer with 6 color pigment inks) and ran it under water immediately after
printing and rubbed the surface with no smear and little worse for wear after
it dried. That impressed me and would suggest similar results from the R-800.

 

[Guest]

The R300 will give you a brighter sharper print and also on CD's and DVD"
than the R800. The R800 will do borderless 8x10 but not 8.5x11.

 

[transco]

Interesting to hear that a printer that is $200 cheaper does a better
job. Thanks for the input. One more question... what is the maximum
printable area on a 8.5 x 11 sheet using the R800?

 

[Safetymom123]

8x10 is the largest borderless size. You can have very small margins when
printing on 8.5 x11

 

[Peter K]

what about smudging on CD's? we just bought a R300 (love the
output!) but the ink can smudge on CD's... not a huge deal for us, as
we don't expect to print alot of CD's...

-does the R800 do a better job with CD's?
-with the R300, will the ink "set" better with time on CD's?

(p.s. the prints from the R300 seem indestructible! i tried smearing
one with water, fingerprints, etc... had no effect whatsoever!)

 

[transco]

Safetymom -

Can you tell me what the margin is in the 11" direction of the page
(both top and bottom)?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Larry]

Finally! A printer that does borderless 8X10 instead of useless 8.5X11's

-Larry