Epson Stylus 980N Network Color InkJet Printer

Rating:
Summary: Works great with Mac OS and Win 98 simultaneously
Review: I have an Apple G4 running OS9 and a 700 Mhz Dell PC running Win98 networked using a 10/100 hub, using PC MacLan software. The Epson installation disk configured the Apple effortlessly. However, the PC was a little more challenging. The software drivers from Epson didn't install correctly, and I had to configure the driver using PC MacLan's printer server. As a result, Epson's printer maintenance utilities only work with the Mac, and not with the PC. Appletalk may not be compatible? Sent an e-mail to Epson about it, and they responded within 72 hours. The printer works wonderfully, and is incredibly quick. Color printouts come out beautifully, although I had to clean the heads and realign them using the maintenance software that came with the printer after about 300 pages of print outs. Printing addresses on envelopes using Microsoft Word XP was a little tricky. Size 10 letters only print out when you feed them upright. Feeding sideways doesn't work. After about 1000 pages into using the printer, ink's still about 75% full. Of all my previous printers - HP Officejet, Brother HL-660 Laser Jet...this is the best performing printer I've had to date, although it sounds loud and clunky at times. Not sure about ink cartridge prices. Haven't had to change them yet. ...

Rating:
Summary: Works great with Mac OS and Win 98 simultaneously
Review: I have an Apple G4 running OS9 and a 700 Mhz Dell PC running Win98 networked using a 10/100 hub, using PC MacLan software. The Epson installation disk configured the Apple effortlessly. However, the PC was a little more challenging. The software drivers from Epson didn't install correctly, and I had to configure the driver using PC MacLan's printer server. As a result, Epson's printer maintenance utilities only work with the Mac, and not with the PC. Appletalk may not be compatible? Sent an e-mail to Epson about it, and they responded within 72 hours. The printer works wonderfully, and is incredibly quick. Color printouts come out beautifully, although I had to clean the heads and realign them using the maintenance software that came with the printer after about 300 pages of print outs. Printing addresses on envelopes using Microsoft Word XP was a little tricky. Size 10 letters only print out when you feed them upright. Feeding sideways doesn't work. After about 1000 pages into using the printer, ink's still about 75% full. Of all my previous printers - HP Officejet, Brother HL-660 Laser Jet...this is the best performing printer I've had to date, although it sounds loud and clunky at times. Not sure about ink cartridge prices. Haven't had to change them yet. ...

Rating:
Summary: Met all my expectations ¿ and then some
Review: I struggled to make a final decision on a printer for my home office and finally decided on the Epson 980N. I couldn't be happier.
Since I have set up a networked environment at home, I really wanted a printer that had decent networking abilities. I soon discovered that I was pretty limited in terms of cost and color capabilities if I was intent on getting a printer with an Ethernet card. The Epson 980N satisfied all my requirements and has performed very, very well during the past seven months with lots of use - and I mean LOTS of use. I have printed everything from quick black-and-white text drafts to picture-perfect color 8x10s. My only complaint is that the original Epson consumables are quite expensive, and the two times that I have tried off-brand ink cartridges I have been deeply disapointed with the quality.
If you want a great network-capable inkjet printer that produces incredible photo-quality output as well as incredibly fast draft output, then the 980N is a solid choice. And, by the way, I primarily use Macintosh computers with this printer, but have easily printed from my Windows laptop as well as from OS 9 and OS X systems.

Rating:
Summary: It really IS that good - though not quite that fast . . .
Review: I'd been looking for an affordable color printer for some time. It had to be Ethernet-capable, and almost certainly had to be an inkjet, since color lasers are way out of my price range. After briefly using an Epson 900N last year, I decided to look at Epson's newest networkable color inkjet. Though it was ordered before Halloween 2000, it didn't arrive until after Valentine's Day 2001 - but was it ever worth the wait! While it isn't as fast as the specs claim (what printer really is?), it is the fastest inkjet with decent output that I've ever used. The color quality, especially using the MacOS's ColorSync options with Epson's driver, rivals or even surpasses that of our Tek Phaser 550. The dreaded inket streaking effect, often seen on gradients, is minimal. The biggest surprise was ink usage - while the replacement cartridges are more expensive than other Epson supplies, the page-output per cartridge is much improved. Since I don't print full-bleed proofs very often, I can't say exactly how good the page-count-per-cartridge will be, but it's definitely better than the older 900N, or any other Epson that I've ever used. You can hook the Epson 980N up to a Mac, PC, or any computer with Ethernet connectivity, even SGIs or Unix boxes (it's IP-addressable. too) and you'll be well pleased with the results.

Rating:
Summary: Very satisfied with this printer
Review: It took me a while to find the printer I was looking for, but this printer made it all worthwhile. I use it on my network extensively and it works with all my OS's flawlessly (Win98, WinNT4, Win2000 Pro, Win2000 Server), which is the reason I chose Epson over HP. The only cons to this printer are that it is a little noisy and the color cartridge gets clogged every once in a while...although the software helped me diagnose and fix the clogging problem with little effort. All in all, I'm very satisfied with this printer and would definitely choose it again if given the opportunity.