Canon PIXMA iP2580 printerCanon PIXMA iP2580 The model on first sight looks a little too big for its rating and eats up a large part of pricey desktop space. Installation is easy and all a user needs to do is plug in, insert the accompanying driver and software CD and follow the instructions. To make it even simpler the printer comes with a Quick Start Guide. Just like the iP1880, the iP2580 is an all black affair. This one too, like its sibling, comes without an output paper tray. Both the printers look identical, except that this one has gray edges on front side. To give users a complete print solution Canon not only bundles the necessary drivers but also a couple of utilities to manage and print photos with ease. There are just two buttons on the printer to control it. Paper sizes range from 4 x 6 inches to 10 x 8 inches and includes Letter and Panoramic options. Most common paper formats (such as Plain Paper, Glossy and Double Sided Matte) are supported. The printing speed is pretty fast, the fastest in the test. Being a photo printer, the colour reproduction of the iP2580 was decent. Much better than the iP1880. Though the overall quality of the document prints (text) was pretty good, on closer look, some amount of blurring was noticeable. Overall this printer is a decent option for home and office use.

Epson Stylus C90 printer.

Meant for everyday printing, the Epson C90 is an all¬black printer that is easy to install and use. Unlike the Lexmark 2465, the C90 has solid build quality and looks appealing. The only gripe with the printer is that it takes some time to initialize and also produces some noise while printing. The noise at times may irritate you and people around you. The C90 uses four cartridges. The advantage over the conventional tri-colour single cartridge is that if you run out of ink of a particular colour you need to replace only that. This reduces ink wastage and optimizes saving. On the performance front, the test prints were pretty impressive. The printer churns out prints both colour and text at pretty decent speeds. The colour reproduction of the printer was good. However, the shades of black were little lighter as compared to others. Font size even as small as 4 point was readable. Printing photos on photo quality paper also delivered good result.Epson claims to use DuraBrite Ultra ink that provides smudge, water and fade-resistant quality prints that lasts longer. Epson claims a print speed of 25ppm in black and 13ppm in colour both in draft mode. The input tray capacity on the printer is 80 sheets, enough for a home or a SOHO user. Like all other printers in the test, the C90 accepts all types of paper. The C90 comes with Epson's creativity suite that lets you perform tweak the printer settings to your taste. It even lets you print photographs straight off the hard disk drive. You can also select the type of layout you want from a choice of Borderless, Index prints and single page. Like most other Epson printers, the C90 can print even without its top top cover. The C90 supports Windows and Mac operating systems. Conclusion In terms of print quality, there's very little to seperate these four printers. All of them produced decent results. Differences in colour output are largely down to taste: All four printers will deliver a good-looking image from a mediocre photo and we found that in this respect they generally do a very good job. Lexmark 2645 was a pretty average printer with poor build quality as well. The Canon Pixma range of printers were pretty decent and much similar to each other. The photo print quality offered by these printers was excellent. But the Epson's C90 was way and out the best in this test.

RESOLUTION
5760 x 1440 optimised dpi with 4pl minimum droplet size
5760 Optimised dpi using Resolution Performance Management (RPM) Technology
PRODUCT DIMENSIONS
435mm (W) x 219mm (D) x 165mm (H)
WEIGHT
2.8kg
PAPER HANDLING
PAPER SIZES
A4, Letter, Legal, 8x10", 5x7", 4x6", 3.5x5", 5x8", A6, A5, B5, Half Letter, Envelopes: No10, DL, C6
PAPER HOLD CAPACITY
Input capacity: 80 sheets, A4 Plain paper
* True BorderFree™ printing is available for the following media sizes: 4" x 6", 5" x 7" and A4.Media types recommended: Premium Glossy Photo paper A4, 4" x 6" and 5" x 7", Matte Paper - Heavyweight. BorderFree prints are media dependent.
General
OPERATING SYSTEMS
PRINTER DRIVERS*
Win® 98SE/Me/2000/XP/XP x64/Vista, Mac® OS 10.2.8 or later with USB / OS 10.5 Bundle available on CD
* Drivers if available are downloadable from Tech Epson
ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS
RATED VOLTAGE
AC 220 ~ 240V
RATED FREQUENCY
50 ~ 60 Hz
POWER CONSUMPTION
Approx. 15.6W Standalone copying (ISO10561 Letter Pattern)
NOISE LEVEL
NOISE LEVEL>>
5.8B, 45dB(A)>
INTERFACES
CONNECTIVITY
USB — Compatible with the USB 2.0 Specification (cable included)
PRINTER SOFTWARE (AVAILABLE ON CD-ROM ONLY)
SOFTWARE TOOLS
Epson File ManagerEpson Scan AssistEpson Attach to EmailEpson Easy Photo PrintEpson Web-To-PageReference Guide
WARRANTY

12 months return to base
Standard

Optional Additional 2 Year Warranty
3YWC90

Epson Warranty
INK CARTRIDGES
STANDARD INK CARTRIDGES
Black T0731, Cyan T0732, Magenta T0733, Yellow T0734
LOW COST INK CARTRIDGES
Black T0911, Cyan T0912, Magenta T0913, Yellow T0914
STANDARD INK CARTRIDGE YIELDS*
Black 250, Colour Composite 390
LOW COST INK CARTRIDGES YIELDS*
Black 180, Colour Composite 215
LIGHTFASTNESS
Lightfastness#: Up to 120 years on Epson Matte Paper - Heavyweight
LIGHTFASTNESS TEST CRITERIA (INDOOR DISPLAY CONDITIONS)
Light source
Fluorescent light
Intensity
70k lux
Temperature
24°C
Humidity
60% RH
Glass Mount
2mm, soda lime
Fade Criteria
Pure YMC 30% loss at OD=1
Display Life Calculation
Total illuminance/(500 lux x 10 hours x 365 days = 1 year)
Tests developed and conducted by Epson under fluorescent light (indoor display condition) with glass mount. The data is calculated by Epson's accelerated test of prints on specialty media.
# Data is calculated using accelerated simulation of fading under indoor preservation including fluorescent light indoor display. Temperature, humidity and some atmospheric gases may also affect the rate of estimated lightfastness period does not indicate the colour changing or the durability of the paper itself. Epson prints be stored in a photo album (or plastic photo storage box) in acid free, archival sleeves commonly available from most camera shops.
^ Print speed (PPM) when printed on A4 plain paper in the fastest mode. 10x15cm photo print speed when printed on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper in draft mode. Print speed may vary depending on system configuration, print mode, document complexity, software, type of paper used and connectivity. Print speed does not include processing time on host computer.
>> According to ISO7779 Pattern with Premium Glossy Photo Paper / Photo RPM mode.* Based on ISO/IEC24711 and 24712 test suite Click here for details on ISO testing. (PDF)
PAPER & INK‡ The printer ships with full ink cartridges and part of the ink from the first cartridges is used for priming the printer. Yields vary considerably based on images printed, print settings, paper type, frequency of use and temperature.When an ink cartridge needs replacing, you cannot continue copying or printing even if the other cartridges do not need replacing.Leave the cartridge that needs replacing installed in the printer until you have obtained a replacement. Otherwise the ink remaining in the print head nozzles may dry out.To ensure ongoing print quality and trouble free operation, a variable amount of ink remains in cartridge after the “Replace Cartridge” indicator comes on.
Warning to Epson printer owners. Many well known third party companies claim their inkjet printing papers are compatible with all Epson inkjet printers. Epson has reports from many customers who have used third party's paper and have been very disappointed with the results. When the same customers have changed to genuine Epson paper, they have been amazed and pleased with the colour and quality of their prints. Epson recommends that you do not use any non genuine printing papers if you want to get the best results from your Epson printer. Epson printers are very carefully tuned to ensure Epson inks and Epson's patented MicroPiezo™ printhead produce the best quality prints using carefully selected Epson paper. All other brands of printing papers are not wholly compatible with the printer. Link to for more information and independent studies on media durability by Wilhelm Research
Equipment supplied by Epson Australia is designed to function in conjunction with genuine Epson consumables and accessories specifically configured for it.
The Epson Intellidge™ Ink System is designed to work perfectly in harmony with the printer andyour choice of media to ensure you get:
the very best of print quality every print, every time
and trouble-free, peace-of-mind printing every print, every time
The Epson Intellidge™ Ink System brings maximum benefits, maximum ink usage and the interchange of Epson cartridges suitable for this model.The Epson Intellidge™ Ink System gives you easy-to-see, always available information about all your ink levels.
This printer is designed to be used only withGenuine Epson Intellidge™ ink cartridgesIntellidge™ Ink cartridges are not designed for refill.
It's now easier for you to identify Genuine Epson cartridges.Epson is gradually replacing the current hologram with thenew anti-counterfeit Color Shifting Label.
As an International ENERGY STAR Partner, Epson has determined that this product meets the International ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy efficiency. Epson is the registered trademark of Seiko Epson Perfect Picture, MicroPiezo, AcuPhoto Halftoning, QuickDry are the trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other names names used herein are for identification purpose only and may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Epson disclaims any and all rights in those marks. All print samples shown herein are simulations. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Usage ConditionsEpson products are designed and made to give highly reliable use and long life when used according to its specifications. With any system, product or device used in situations where human life may be involved or at risk, Epson advises that you should take all necessary steps to ensure the suitability of your Epson product for inclusion in your system, and recommends that you include fail-safe procedures and redundancy support or backup equipment in your system, to maintain the maximum safety margin and optimum system reliability. Examples include but are not limited to – do not interfere with any electrical components within the device, do not use items supplied with the product for purposes other than as intended by Epson (ie mains cords, inks, CDs, plastic wrapping) and do not make modifications to the product.