In the autumn of 2007 Epson released two new multifunction printers aimed at the photo market, The RX585 and the RX685. The RX685 is the top end an obviously more expensive version of the two and offers you the highest quality and the quickest prints of both general purpose and photo printing.

Using a separate ink system of 6 colours (Black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan and light magenta) based on the Premium Claria Ink System, The RX685 can produce quality photos with vibrant and true colours. When Epsons Photo Enhance software is enabled, the RX685 will detect any specific tones such as skin which require more details and adjust the printing as required. It will also detect any large areas of colour to increase the droplet size where needed to increase print speed.

The RX685 comes with two paper trays to make printing photos on premium paper and normal paper printing easier to setup. The optional auto duplexer also allows for easy double sided printing saving on paper when printing large quantities of documents.

Features that both the RX585 and the RX685 share are the ability to print directly onto CD's or DVD's with compatible covers. Simply place the CD or DVD into the provided tray to print your image onto it. Both of these printers can perform direct photo printing from PictBridge digital cameras or from memory cards of which the popular models are supported. No PC is required when printing directly from these sources. With the optional Bluetooth adapter you can also print photos directly from your mobile phone or your PDA.

Looks wise we think the RX585's Sleek black design looks better than that of the RX685 but they they do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. At release the price of the RX685 is around the ?200 mark, A little too much to spending if your looking for a general purpose all in one machine, but if its a lot of  photos your printing which you need to look good for personal or professional purposes then the RX685 will certainly be one to look at.

The RX685 has the following reported print speeds (in fastest modes)

Black text - 40 pages per minute
Colour Text - 40 pages per minute
15x10 photo - approx 12 seconds

Features

• High quality, low cost printing with individual ink cartridges & More value ink multipack available
• Exclusive Epson Claria Photographic Ink system
• 6 Colour Premium quality photo prints that last up to 200 years in an Album
• Preview your photos on a high resolution 2.5" adjustable LCD viewer
• CDR / DVD Printing functionality
• Print Photos direct from memory cards and PictBridge
• Scan photos and documents with a 1200dpi scanner
• Photocopy in black and white, and colour
• Borderless photos up to A4 size
• Flexible twin paper trays

Manufacturers Description

The Epson Stylus Photo RX685 is a flexible photo all in one product featuring Epson?s newest print engine, delivering fast print speeds without any compromise in quality.

Ink Cartridges

Colour	Cartridge Number	Part Number
Black	T0801	C13T08014010
Cyan	T0802	C13T08024010
Magenta	T0803	C13T08034010
Yellow	T0804	C13T08044010
Light Cyan	T0805	C13T08054010
Light Magenta	T0806	C13T08064010
Multi-Pack (all 6)	T0807	C13T08074010