More and more people are buying multi-function devices (MFDs), which can scan and copy as well as print. They’re around the same price as standalone printers, take up little more room and are ideal for the occasional photocopy.
Now Epson has launched a multifunction printer for digital photo enthusiasts, by adding memory card slots and transparency scanning to the mix.
The Stylus Photo RX520 is a small device with a cutaway front that folds down to form a paper output tray. Plain or photo paper feeds from the back. The top part of the device is devoted to the flat-bed scanner, which has a top resolution of 2,400dpi. A couple of adapters are included, allowing film slides and negatives to be digitised.
There are some design oddities in the RX520. The memory card readers are slung under the main control panel, behind a smoked-plastic cover, which makes them awkward to get at. Also, the paper/envelope select lever is so far inside the machine, you need a torch and a miner’s hat to find it.
The control panel is well laid out, though the display is smaller than in some digital cameras. It’s OK for checking the printer’s status display and identifying images, but not big enough for any editing.Print quality is good for photo prints, which came out vivid and very precise. Plain paper prints weren’t as good, though, with a fair amount of ink-bleed into the paper – even when using Epson’s bright white paper stock. It gave text a slightly fuzzy look, which is unusual on a modern ink-jet printer.
Page costs were helped by the four separate ink tanks and typical prices came out at around 3c for an A4 text page and 35c for a 6 x 4 print, including paper.
Verdict 7/10
The Stylus Photo RX520 is a clever idea and great for printing digital photos on decent paper. Plain paper printing was a bit disappointing though.
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