Photography News Issue 51

Photography News | Issue 51 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

The Photo Expression X-8500 is Epson’s smallest photo quality printer; so ideal if your space is limited, and its appeal is enhanced by its CD/DVD printing, copying and scanning functions. It is also capable of wired and wireless connection so can print via the computer or your cloud. It also has an SD card slot. SettinguptheX-8500isreallyeasy,fromunpacking togetting the right colour inkcartridges into the correct bays. Colour coding and the LCD info panel makes the process almost idiot proof and once the inks are in, it’s time for a cuppa – the initialisation process takes around tenminutes. Once the printer is ready to go, it is time to make a test print (on normal photocopy paper) and this is scanned to check correct printer head alignment. There are two paper feed options, with the secondary paper tray capable of holding 20 sheets of photo quality gloss paper. I had no issues connecting tomy home network and it took just one attempt. There is a Wi-Fi Direct option for connectionwithout the need for a network. Pairing upwithmy iPad also proved equally easy. I made prints from my tablet as well as through Photoshop. I used the same image files and papers that I put through the Canon printer tested here (right) to give a comparison, so I used Epson glossy and Fotospeed Natural Soft Textured Bright White. I had no issues with the thicker media so no paper jams or headstrike, and theA4prints emerged fromthe printer in under two minutes. The unit is quiet running and there is a quiet mode if you prefer even less noise. Print quality was good with richly saturated prints and if anything, the colour output from the Epson was evenmore vivid than the Canon’s. That can be resolved in editing, but the higher saturation does help some pictures so this is not a negative aspect. The Epson’s prints also seemed more contrasty and that was most evident in the highlights which seemed brighter and crisper. That extra contrast was also evident in the black &white prints. WC Epson Photo Expression X-8500 £149.99

Specs

Price X-8500 £149.99. Cartridges: standard capacity £10.49 each (4.1 to 5.5ml depend- ing on colour), higher capacity inks £17.99-18.99 (9.3-11.2ml each) Maintenance box £8.99 Ink Claria Photo HD ink, six colours – black, cyan, light cyan, magenta, yellow and light magenta. Prints last up to 300 years Compatibility Windows 7, 8, 8.1. Vista, XP, Windows 10 Mobile. Mac OS X 10.6.8 and later Functions Print (wireless and via USB), print from SD card, copy, scan, cloud link LCD screen 6.8cm Paper options Rear tray: speciality media feed Front cassette auto feeder: plain paper up to 105gsm Supported apps Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Epson Connect Other print functions Two-sided, borderless, CD printing Scanner resolution 1200x4800dpi Copier functions 1-99 sheets, 25-400% zoom range, two pages on one sheet Interface USB2.0, Wi-Fi, SD memory cards, PictBridge via Wireless LAN Weight 6.7kg Dimensions (wxhxd) 34.9x14.2x34cm Contact epson.co.uk

CanonPIXMATS8150 £159.99

The PIXMA TS8150 is a scanner, copier, CD/DVD printer and photo printer, offering up to A4 output with six single inks delivering high-quality photo output. Naturally, it is thoroughly up to date so you can print wirelessly through the computer, using your smart device/phone, direct from an SD card or via your cloud. Setting up was straightforward, from removing all the sticky tape used to hold moving parts in place to printing a test print to assist head alignment. Things for me slowed up a little when I tried to get the printer connected to my home network. There was a little unsuccessful searching for the printer but with some to-ing and fro-ing and a printer firmware update, I was printing within 20 minutes from unboxing. Linking my phone to print was quicker. I just went to the App store, searched for the Canon Print app and I was soon ready to link up and print. For office documents, the tray cassette holds A4 paper while the rear slot takes single sheets of photo quality paper that is loaded via the rear slot. When the paper is fed in, the LCD panel lets you register which paper you have just fed in. The options are all Canon which is no surprise. I didn’t have any Canon media to hand so I used Epson glossy photo paper and selected Canon Plus Glossy II assuming it would be the closest, and printed through Photoshop. I also tried art finishes such as Fotospeed Natural Soft Textured Bright White. It took just under two minutes, from pushing the print command button to a print sitting in the tray, and noise levels were low too. My colour prints looked good with a high colour saturation that perhaps suits scenes more than people shots. I also tried black &white printing with and without the black & white output box ticked. The results with the black & white box were significantly better. WC

Specs

Price TS8150 £159.99 Cartridges: PGI-580BK £11.49, PGI-580XL £15.49, PGI-580XXL £21.49 CLI-581 black/cyan/magenta/blue/ yellow £10.49 each CLI-581XL black/cyan/magenta/ blue/yellow £14.49 each CLI-581XXL black/cyan/magenta/ blue/yellow £20.49 each Multipacks available Ink Six colours – cyan, magenta, yellow, PB (pigment black), PGBK (pigment black), BK (black). 100 years longevity Compatibility Windows, Windows 10 Mobile. Mac OS X 10.10.5 and later Functions Print (wireless and via USB), print from SD card, copy, scan, cloud link Paper options Rear tray: plain paper up to 105gsm, photo paper up to 300gsm. Front cassette auto feeder: plain paper up to 105gsm Supported apps Apple AirPrint, PIXMA Cloud Link, Mopria, Canon PRINT/SELPHY app, Google Cloud Print, Canon Print Service plugin Other print functions Two-sided, borderless, CD printing Scanner resolution 2400x4800dpi optical, A4 max, taking 14 secs Copier functions 1-99 multiple copy, zoom range 25-400%, fit to page Interface USB2.0, Wi-Fi, SD memory cards, PictBridge via Wireless LAN Weight 6.5kg Dimensions (wxhxd) 37x14x32cm Contact canon.co.uk

Verdict

The Epson Photo Expression X-8500 is a neat unit and its small footprint is a help if your work space is limited. As a photo printer, it delivered good-quality output from various sources with little fuss so if you want a quality all-in-one, this Epson is definitely worth a look.

Verdict

The Canon PIXMA TS8150 is a smart-looking, capable all-in-one device that performs well and reliably. It delivers good photo-quality prints with minimal fuss and the option of larger capacity ink cartridges will help keep running costs down.

Pros Accepts wide range of Epson papers, print quality, versatile, quiet Cons Needs a maintenance box, limited colour management

Pros Touch panel, easy set-up, quiet, versatile Cons Limited colour management support