The PX700W starts the new PX range of multifunction Printers from Epson. The PX range takes over from the RX range which is aimed at the photo enthusiast. The text performance has increased in quality since the RX range, but this printer is certainly t its best when printing high quality high definition photos. The price range of over £200 at release (check out our price comparison for a cheaper deal) does suggest that this printer is aimed with an enthusiast in mind. If you looking for a general purpose printer, why not take a look at the SX100 and SX200 printers also from Epson.

While maybe not as curvy as some of the later SX models, the PX700W does have a great deal of style. The polished black surface looks good, the buttons are flat to the surface, everything looks compact and neat for maximum desk space saving.

The PX700W works on a 6 separate ink system adding light Cyan and light Magenta to the normal Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow cartridges. Epson printers use Piezo print heads. This system uses electric charges to fire the ink droplets. This system is considered more precise than the other inkjet method with is bubble technology. Bubble technology uses air pressure to fire the ink droplets to the paper. Epson's Micro Piezo print heads are also variable in size. On the PX700W the minimum droplet size is 1.5pl. The Variable size print heads allow the PX700W to adjust the droplet size depending on the print area of the photo. Where a single colour is dominant the print head will open to maximum and allow the photo to print much quicker, when fine detail is required the Print head closes which slows the printing down but allows for a much finer print to be made.

As you will be finding with a lot of new printers now he ability to connect wirelessly is becoming standard. The PX700W is no different. Wireless connection allows much more freedom to place the printer anywhere you like in your home or office, it no longer has to sit cluttering up your desk. Wired connection is also available via USB and Ethernet but these connections are best suited for the initial setup of the printer to allow the wireless connection. The Wireless connection does however require the use of a wireless network and must be connected to a router in order to be connected to a PC.

Standalone printing and copying is made easy with the wealth of options available on the front of the PX700W without the need for a PC. A simple menu system displayed of the 2.5" LCD screen will guide you through all the features you will require when printing or copying in standalone mode. The panel can unlock and tilt in case your printer is on a low table, then the need to bend right down is reduced. It may only be a small feature but its nice when these things are thought of. Photos can be printed directly from PictBridge compatible digital cameras, Directly from Supported memory cards (see below for full list of supported cards) or via USB.

The PX700W is of course a multifunction machine so onto scanning. Scanning like the printing can be done easily direct from the printer without a PC involved. The scanner has the ability to scan more than one image at once. When it sees a large enough area of white space between colour it will distinguish this as a new image and split them into different files for you. This can of course backfire if you don't want the images split, or if you have an image with genuine white space in it such as a scene shot through a window for example. Using the PC software however you can turn this feature off. The scanning resolution is a very decent 2400 x 4800 dpi giving quality scans.

Printing on CD's and DVD's is also available with the designated CD/DVD tray. Plus Dual paper trays allows for standard paper and a separate tray for photo paper or different paper sizes. Double sided printing is also available with the optional duplexer.

Overall, you will not be disappointed with the output of the PX700W, it provides excellent Photo quality and good text quality. The scanner has a good resolution, higher than that of the lower models in the previous series of multifunction printers from Epson. The Price however may be a little steep if you are only looking for a general purpose all in one printer, however if you are a photography enthusiast I would suggest that the PX700W will give excellent results in the photo department as well as plenty of options in the menu's to assist with getting that photo just right.

Black text - 40ppm*
Colour Text - 40ppm*
15x10 photo - 10 seconds approx*

* Speeds taken from manufacturers website, taken at lowest quality under test lab conditions

Features

• 6-colour, Epson Micro Piezo print head
• 180 nozzles each (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta)
• 1.5pl minimum Droplet size using variable sized technology
• Epson Claria photographic ink
• 5760 x1440 optimised dpi print resolution
• Black text up to 40ppm, colour text up to 40ppm
• Copy speeds: 6msec per line at 1200dpi (black), 12msec per line at 1200dpi (colour)
• Scan resolution 2400x4800dpi
• 2 Paper trays
• CD printing
• Double-sided printing with optional duplexer
•  2.5in colour TFT
• Memory Card reader
• USB 2.0, WiFi, Memory card, Pictbridge connections
• Dimensions: 519x214x496mm
• Weight: 11.1kg including ink and power cable.

Manufacturers Description

The Epson Stylus Photo PX700W is sleek, streamlined and designed to look great in any living space. And when connected to your wireless network you can print, scan and copy wherever you want.

Enjoy the flexibility, speed and freedom of printing great quality photos and documents up to A4. With a fast speed of approx. 10 seconds per photo*, a twin paper tray to save you time and an LCD control panel for ease of use, this is a photo printer that makes light work of producing great images. You can also personalise suitable CDs/DVDs by printing directly onto disc.

Supported Memory Cards

Compact Flash (Memory card only), MicroDrive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo*, MagicGate Memory Stick, MagicGate Memory Stick Duo*, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO Duo*, SD, SDHC, MiniSD*, MiniSDHC*, MicroSD*, MicroSDHC*, Multi Media Card, MMCplus, MMC

*adaptor required (not supplied in the box)

Ink Cartridges

Colour	Cartridge Number
Black	T0801
Cyan	T0802
Magenta	T0803
Yellow	T0804
Light Cyan	T0805
Light Magenta	T0806
Multi-Pack (5 colours + black)	T0807