May 10
23
Epson sx515w printer, we take a look
The Epson range of all-in-one machines deservedly (in my opinion) attract a lot of loyal customers, the machines are by and large robust workhorses. This latest Stylus SX515W machine adds to the excellent reputation and it has wireless capabilities as well
The top of the printer (the lid) is piano black in colour, and looks similar to many other Epson multifunction machines . The SX515W has a 63mm full-colour LCD display in the back left-hand corner which pops up neatly when needed. Many of the printers functions can be used via this screen, including printing photographs when using memory cards . This means you do not have to switch the computer on to use these functions
On the front left of the machine there are two memory card slots and a Pict Bridge socket which allows users to print directly from a usb drive or memory card.
The printer can be connected via USB or a good old Ethernet connection, this machine also supports WI-FI which is now becoming the standard , allowing printers to be positioned away from the computer and potentially allowing you to free up space on your desk. You need to temporarily connect the Stylus SX515W to your computer via the usb to set it up, but once it is set up you can move it to wherever suits.
How does it perform
It is not anywhere near as fast as the manufacturers claim, but there is nothing new there . Epson claim 36 page per minute for black text but we found it averaged out at about 13 pages per minute (still pretty good) . In fact if you were to compare this model to Canon, Hp, or Lexmark in this price range, you would find that it is approaching twice the speed of its closest rivals.
Unfortunately the SX515W is not the quietest of machines, this is mainly due to the paper feed mechanism, which is definately clunky in operation.
As well as the 36ppm headline print speed claim, Epson also claim this printer can produce a 15 x 10cm print in 20 seconds. We asked what settings were needed to get this speed, since all our photo print tests took over a minute . We were told that we need to print in draft mode to get to this speed and allow extra for the processing time. We did this and it worked, but would you genuinely want to print photographs in draft mode, I think not !
When using the correct print mode, the printer performed well . Photographs were sharp and produced good natural skin tones, with some shadow detail and good natural colours, while business graphics are bright and clean. Black text is quite good for an inkjet but imperfections can be seen on close inspection, but of course it is a inkjet printer and not a laser.
A colour photocopy came out well, but colours were perhaps lighter than they should have been.
Epson recommends the T0711/2/3/4 set of ink cartridges – incidentally we of course sell compatible epson ink cartridges at our website www.firstinkjets.co.uk for a little as £9.99 per set. But that’s enough of the plug!
This machine also takes the higher capacity T1001/2/3/4 cartridges which provide a further saving on your running costs.
Verdict
The Epson Stylus SX515W is an impressive all-in-one printer at a very realistic price. It prints very rapidly for an inkjet and produces good quality photos and reasonable plain paper prints.
Recommended by my mum, and recommended by me.
