Rating: 
Summary: Another Dissatisfied Consumer
Review: It is with confident expectation that I save others the unnecessary aggravation caused by owning an Epson Stylus C80 printer. This is by far, one of the worst purchases ever made. First, value is an issue. Initially, the advertisements and reviews sang the praises of the Epson Stylus C80. It was prematurely branded as an exceptional printer with great value. It is my personal experience that the value of this printer has been grossly overestimated when it becomes inoperable after two weeks of light home use. The printer worked great for approximately one week. After the first week of use, pictures became “dull” and documents began to smear. Finally, lines developed on the documents until the words were no longer legible. Following several complete troubleshooting sessions and numerous cleanings suggested in “Utility”, the Epson Stylus C80 suffered extensive mechanical failure. The printer then began vociferously going through the all motions of the printing process yet was expelling only blank sheets of paper. This printer required an excessive expense of time and energy and rapidly became a burden to own. Just to confirm that the problem was with the printer and not the computer, I tried both an NT 4.0 PC and a Win2K laptop; both provided the same results. The status monitor informs me that I have enough black and color ink remaining to print over 100 pages. ALL of the aforementioned information was relayed to the Epson tech support people via e-mail. The ensuing reply from Epson tech support was insulting and they treated me as a dim-witted individual who couldn’t possibly understand the simplistic workings of printer. They asked if the unit was plugged in and “on”. Then they gave first-grade instructions on how to use the cleaning feature in “utilities”, which I conveyed had already been completed SEVERAL times. After sharing communication with the folks at Epson two additional times, I was given instructions on returning the printer for replacement and was provided a toll-number to call to make the arrangements. The e-mail stated that I would be receiving a “new” OR “refurbished” printer and the units may be the same model or another model of equivalent features. When I called the TOLL-number I stressed that sending a “refurbished” printer was unacceptable and since I purchased a “new” printer, I wanted a “new” replacement. I reiterated that should they attempt to replace this with a refurbished unit, I wanted my money back. This is when I was informed that Epson has a policy that prohibits refunds and will only provide replacements, but assured me that they would make every attempt to send a NEW unit. When I asked for an e-mail address for confirmation, I was informed that the support folks do not have external e-mail capability. The following day, an Epson Printer was waiting on my doorstep with the following word clearly stamped on the box: REFURBISHED. I then called Epson—AGAIN—asking why they sent a refurbished unit. The customer service people were rather insolent and it was during this conversation that I was told that it was Epson’s policy NEVER to send a “new” replacement. At this point, I became incensed and told them that I do not want this product in my home—I do not care to see an Epson product again and to please arrange to pick up BOTH units. I was transferred to two other “customer service” representatives and they said that they would only send a “new” unit and I could not have a refund. This is what I originally requested. I have yet to see this new unit, but clearly understand that should I require additional support, I will be dealing with the same nonsense and the same people for the duration of the printer’s life. As of this writing, I have resurrected my very old HP DeskJet 660Cse, re-installed the drivers and it actually PRINTS, operating at a level far beyond that of the Epson. The nuisance factor far outweighs the satisfaction of owning an Epson Stylus C-80. I will definitely learn from this and never buy another Epson product. In conclusion, should you take pleasure in raucous grinding sounds, paper that becomes easily jammed, a unit that devours ink, sub-standard tech support, condescending customer support people and more stress than you could possibly experience over one printer, then the Epson Stylus C80 is for you!
Rating: 
Summary: dissapointed
Review: I bought the Epson C-80 hoping for great photo quality prints. Unfortunately, I've gotten nothing but dull photos. I've tried every settings with several different types of paper and I can't seem to get an acceptable "photo quality" print. The colors are very dull and lack saturation (even after several Photoshop adjustments). The blacks are also not very black. I'm kind of stuck with it now but wish I had done a little more research. If you want a printer that prints black text quickly, this is it. If you want a printer that prints photo quality prints with good saturation and rich blacks, this is definately not it. I'll probably end up buying another printer and keep this for black text print outs. In terms of setup, I had no problems (Windows 98, Dell PC, Pentium 3).
Rating:
Summary: C80 Has big problems
Review: As the reviews on this page demonstrate, Epson has some significant problems with their C80 printer. I've owned 4 Epson printers and this is the first one with which I had any problem. The printer produces dull, lifeless prints on Epson Quality Glossy Paper, far inferior to my old Epson 740. I spent more than two hours (at my expense) talking with their technical people who gave me widely differing opinions and advice. Eventually they told me to return it and buy a different Epson printer. I don't think Epson knows what's wrong with their product.
Rating: 
Summary: Another great epson printer
Review: The Epson Stylus C80 is my second Epson printer purchase. Epson printers always offer great quality at affordable prices. I use my Stylus C80 for both digital pictures and text print outs. The Stylus C80 handles both perfectly. I recommend using the quality instead of speed setting when printing out digital pictures. Changing the settings is quick and very easy to do. By giving up speed for quality you will have excellent digital photo print outs. I am using Windows XP and had absolutely no problem installing and operating my printer. Something else I really enjoy about this printer are the separate ink cartridges for red, yellow, and blue. A lot of printers have just one color ink cartridge containing red, blue, and yellow. Which means when you run out of one color, you have to replace all the colors except for black. With the Stylus C80 you only replace the color you run out of. I'm glad I turned to Epson for the second time when I needed a new printer. Epson printers never let me down.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent prints
Review: My first prints with the C80 were disappointing, but that's only because I didn't set it up right. Then I ...got detailed settings that matched the Kodak paper I was using (Ultima) to my C80 printer. Once I set the printer driver settings up correctly, I started making beautiful prints from scanned images and images from my hard drive. I don't have to go to the photo lab anymore, unless I want a print larger than 8x10. Anybody who says this printer doesn't make high quality inkjet prints isn't using it correctly. I'd recommend the C80 to anyone who wants to make lab quality prints at home.
Rating:
Summary: Bought it, tried it, not terribly impressed
Review: I purchased this printer for myself just after Christmas. Installation seemed to come off without a hitch, but soon discovered that Windows 98 no longer would shut down properly. I uninstalled the printer driver and the shut down problem was corrected. I went to the Epson web site and downloaded the most current driver hoping that this would fix the shut down problem. But guess what ... the problem shut down problem was back. I emailed Epson support about the problem, with their promise for a response within two days. Its been a week, no response. As for quality, it printed pretty good on the heavey mat paper, but the glossy paper results were marginal at best and there was "banding" beginning to show after just a week or so of use. All in all, I wish I'd purchased an HP.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad impression
Review: I bought this one to for it's speed. I returned it the next day. (Not bought through Amazon) The printer is terribly noisy feeding paper. Too many loud clunks when feeding, especially compared to my old printer.
The printer was leaving streaks on the prints on some of the first prints. I didn't use it enough to see if that cleared up. It has a permanent print head instead of the print head being built into the cartridge, so I didn't like seeing streaks like a clogged head when it was all new.
I'd rather stick with my pokey HP 712C than listen to this faster one.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed after 3 months
Review: First I will start by saying that I have been a fanatic supporter of Epson printers; I have owned (own) three of them. I have also owned HP's, and like I said, am an Epson fan. At first I was blown away by the clarity and brightness. But.. We (Epson support) couldn't configure the printer for USB. Then I noticed the printer was literally drinking ink...I mean lots of ink on the lowest black resolution only. As far as speed, yeah, it cranks out the pages, but only after taking extended periods of time. On average, I have about a 25-30 second delay before the printer will begin to print (very annoying). Once it gets going, it kicks butt. Now, back to my biggest gripe... I have owned this printer since November 2001. It is now January 2002. I have blasted 5 black cartridges and 2 each of the remaining colors. By comparison, with my Stylus 740, I used to go thru 1 black cartridge every month, sometimes it would last 2, and the color about every 2-3 months. I have also found the ink incompatible with quality, high-gloss stock from Red River. Personally, I am now looking elsewhere. Dunno what went wrong, but I don't feel like spending [that much] in ink per year. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Value
Review: I've had the printer a little over a week and have finally got my portraits skin tones correct. At medium resolution direct from my digital camera this printer performs beautifully. It's still "just" an ink jet but it comes REAL close to professional quality. I love the separate ink wells. ..
Rating:
Summary: Warning Mac System 9 users!
Review: I own 4 Epson inkjet printers and was expecting the usual trouble-free installation and use of the new and highly rated C80. Unfortunately, there appear to be real difficulties with the C80 driver software, which has in the press been noted to cause "occasional problems" with Mac System 10.1. This printer fared extremely poorly with System 9.04 as well. The C80 printed a few pages just fine immediately afer setup, then took 37 minutes to print a 4x6 color photo. At last, it simply quit working.altogether. Downloading the updated driver software from the Epson support website did not help the problem at all. Nor did two seperate half-hour consultations with the nice people at Epson's tech support number ( long distance toll calls), which culminated in their recommendation that I return the printer to the retail store for replacement. I did so, but had exactly the same problem with the second C80. I have since replaced the C80 with a Cannon S600, which works very well. It is worth noting that during the entire seige with the C80s I had two other Epson printers functioning flawlessly from the same Mac computer. Having been an Epson fan since the days when they were the only major printer manufacturer supporting the Mac platform, I am hoping that this problem with the C80 is something they will address posthaste. I have found their other products to be consistently excellent. Until then, Mac System 9 users beware!
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