Epson Artisan 800 Multifunction Printer - Design
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The Epson Artisan 800 really shines in the design department – literally! The piano black finish provides this printer with a very sleek, smooth look. The Artisan 800 would look good in just about any home office setting.
The size of this printer is relatively small considering it's a 5-in-1 multifunction machine. It's much larger than a traditional inkjet printer, but it does much more than these types of printers so you can't really compare the two. The overall dimensions of the Artisan 800 are 18.4” x 15.2” x 7.8”, and it weighs a hefty 23.8 lbs. This printer is built like a tank despite its elegant exterior.
One of my favorite parts of the Artisan 800's design is its huge 7.8” touch panel control module. This touch panel controls all of the functions of the printer including photo printing, copying, faxing, and scanning; it also handles controlling and monitoring the settings of the printer (ink levels, maintenance, color settings, etc.). This touch panel also features a useful “Problem Solver” button which helps guide you through common functions of the printer with step-by-step instructions.
The menu system is easy to navigate, and there's always a “Home” button available to get back to the home screen if you get lost in the menu system. You activate the touch panel LCD by simply touching the screen, and it automatically turns off after a specified number of minutes to help save power. By the way, this printer is Energy Star certified; that's always a big plus.
Also on the front of the printer, you'll find a convenient SD/MSpro/xD all-in-one memory card slot for printing photos directly from a memory card. Just below that slot is the Compact Flash slot for people who use this type of memory media in their digital camera. Next to this slot is the PictBridge USB port which can be used to print directly from a USB drive. When printing directly from a memory card or USB drive, the Artisan 800 will show you a preview of the photo on the LCD screen as well as allow you to do a decent amount of photo editing (red eye, crop, enlarge, “fix photo”) before you actually print the photos.
The top of the printer is where you'll find the scanner. This feature is extremely easy to use, and surprisingly quick as well. One of the useful aspects of the Artisan 800's scanning feature is the ability to scan multiple page documents (up to 30 pages) using the automatic document feeder on top of the printer.
The back of the printer has the basic inputs/outputs that you'd expect in a multifunction printer. There's a LAN port, fax input, USB port (to connect to the computer), and an EXT port for connecting the fax machine feature to your phone line if you only have one phone line for both phone and fax.
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