Rating: 
Summary: Great Performance but poor logistics
Review: I was looking for high-end photo printer that I can print out my family photos. I intended to replace my 35mm camera with this printer and a digital camera.
I am satisfied with this printer performance; printing resolution, dye inks (it lasts longer than common inks) and user interface software. But I am quite disappointed by its logistics.
First, you can not buy those ink cartridges at shops around neighbors. The shops handling this ink cartridges are quite limited and sometimes, you can not find all colors, even at epson on-line shops.
Second, you need genuine epson papers to print out photos. Third parties papers do not work. Finding epson papers are easier than finding 960's inks, though , this is another frustration.
Overall, I am satisfied with the printer performance but the poor supply logistics deteriorate the usability of this printer. By this reason, I will buy Canon high-end printer next time.
Rating: 
Summary: Good printer for all types of media!
Review: I would give this a 4.5 if I could. I finally replaced my 1998 Epson Photo 700 printer with this one. Short of shelling out $600 for the Photo 2200 I decided on this one because I don't have a camera that can give me enough detail that can be printed on something larger than 8.5X11" paper can do. Even if I did decide on the Photo 2200 I would have to spend more for larger paper and subsequently more ink. I got the "best price of the season" from Amazon at $310 w/ free S&H. I buy a lot from Amazon so they upgraded me to 2 day fedex shipping for free (usually $23 to Hawaii). It came in a huge box that could hold 3 printers. The main gripes I have about this printer is that I have to put in attachments for specific media. When I want to print on roll paper I have to attached the roll to the back, the paper cutter on the front, and the catcher on the output tray. To print on regular paper or use the front feeder attachment I have to roll out the roller paper and detach everything. The paper cutter is fine but if I cancel a 35" panoramic picture it will cut it at 35" so I waste the rest of the paper unless I can print smaller pictures on the rest of that 35" later. Ink is hard to find but this printer is relatively new and most stores don't stock it yet.
You really save on ink on this printer. Ink capacity is huge compared to standard 1 color cartridge systems. I've been mainly using the paper roller to print out borderless 4X33"-35" long panoramics that Photoshop elements 2.0 and my Epson 3100z camera can do with stiching (not on OSX though). Try get custom panoramic sized prints at your photo lab or online photo site... Those come out fabulous and when I show people they say "wow" or "cool", esp. if they are HP, Cannon, or dare I say Lexmark users.
Print image matching works great. You have to really read the manual about color profiles or else you will get discolored prints that are useless.
I bought this printer mid-Sept. and it came with the CD printing carriage which I did not try out yet because inkjet printable CDs are hard to find.
Printing at 1440dpi is fine. You really can't tell the difference between lab processed photos and prints at 1440dpi, fast mode off, and on premium glossy photo paper. I suggest cold laminating prints you want to display indoors and want to last long. Hot lamination might warp colors. Prints in photo folders/albums last very long. My prints from 1998 still look great from my photo 700 in the photo albums on the standard glossy photo paper. Printer manual suggests drying for 24hrs before framing eventhough they are dry to the touch right after printing. I'll trust the manual sans destroying a great print.
I'm an avid digital media enthusiast but short of being a pro or pro-ameteur. After reading photo printer reviews for a year waiting to replace my photo700 this printer more than fits my requriements. Great media handling expands your creativity in the print world. 2 picolier prints on this printer is noticeably more detailed than my 4 picoliter photo 700 prints. I use it at home so printing speed is not an issue. I let it dry before laminating anyways so there is no rush. It is significantly faster that my photo 700.
This printer is a must for digital media enthusiasts like me that are willing to pay a bit more for a whole lot more quality and "shock and awe" prints. Can't wait to see what Epson will have when I'm looking to replace this printer in 4-5 years.
Just make sure you print often or else your print heads will clog, usually about once a week for me in Hawaii. Even just a little printing like a web page invoice of your cell phone bill, bank statements, etc...
Rating:
Summary: Great photo printer with some rather useless options
Review: I've printed numerous photos with this printer from 4*6 to 8*10 and have always got great results.I usually print pictures from 2288*1520 photos and at best quality.This printer hasn't let me down yet.The 4*6 and 5*7 photo prints from this are unrecognizable from the prints from my more expensive dye sub.The epson also gives you more print size choices than many more expensive dye subs out there.I have found that the best prints come from using epson papers.Kodak paper was my stand by; after all it is more expensive and you get what you pay for right?Not in this case epson premium glossy photo paper is an all around better choice.I do have my problems with their matte papers though almost anyones matte finish paper is better quality paper espescially HP's but again it seems the epson papers produce the best image reproduction at the expense of paper qaulity at least in matte finish.My other problem is with the roll paper yes it works great for panoramics and other continues printing needs BUT unless you are going to matt and frame these pictures or place them in an album FOREVER you better get some type of rolled picture storage.The attaching and removall of the paper roll is also nothing but a hassle. I for 1 never like a picture to curl up even if it will be in an album forever or not. I think my roll attachment is probably about an arm shove from the garbage.The epson also takes up more desk space than other equally capable printers because of the rear feed and front recovery.There are also no card readers for those of you that like that option.I can forgive the miss comings of size and matte paper and rolled paper for what I do with it.Their ink cartridges are easy to install and seem to last a few prints more than others.I've never had a problem with installing them such as some others mention I just pop in and go.The printer and it's software is also easily installed and produced no headaches with windows xp.The other nice thing about the inks is there are no changes for cartridges from photo to text.I also use a HP 7960 its print quality is absolutely equal to the epson, install is just as easy, even a extremely usable precut paper tray that works just great.It takes up much less desk space and even has a card reader for every photo media out there with a great lcd to boot; it even does exceptional matte finish on HP matte paper. But yes BUT for all its conveniences it does not have seperate print cartridges for each color like the epson. Run out of a color and you have to buy all print cartridges or at least you should there is also a great hassle of having to change the gray and black cartridges for photo or text respectfully.I also can overlook it's drawbacks for it's coveniences.So I can't say I like one more than the other although the HP can stand alone for photo printing no pc required they're both great photo printers it's just which good outways which bad.
Rating:
Summary: Cream of the Cream!
Review: If you are interested in printing photos, the only printer in the whole world that "could" be better than Epson Stylus Photo 960 is, amybe, Epson 2200. No other brand could match Epson for photo printing.
Rating:
Summary: Easy set-up
Review: Received from Amazon on 4/9/03. Followed enclosed instructions..set-up a breeze. Printed beautiful 8x10 color photos on matte and high gloss paper five minutes after set-up.
4x6 roll photos with cutter attachment works great; just be sure to put 4x6 photos under or in something heavy to flatten them out. Prints text well too.
Rating:
Summary: Good as photo lab prints!
Review: Snap to set up - although it would be nice if Epson would throw in a cable to hook it up to my computer. Not so thrilled with the photo editing/managing software, but they are just frills. The printer is much larger than I'd imagined, but well worth the desk real estate. Printed my first photos on Kodak premium picture paper and they were beautiful. Haven't tried the Epson paper yet to compare but I can't imagine them getting any better.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent all around photo printer!!
Review: This being my 6th printer I have ever owned, I have to say it's the best printer I've owned. There are a few minor things I'm not too crazy about, but with the right photo paper and resolution settings, the pic's come out "photo quality". The option for printing directly onto inkjet printable CD's was one of the reasons I bought this printer and I have to say the prints on the CD's come out GREAT! (I suggest going to CDW.com and purchasing the Verbatim inkjet printable CD's). The roll paper option that comes with this printer is also excellent, but there's literally nothing you can do to get out the "paper curl" that happens when printing off a roll. The only thing you really can do is put the pictures in an album and leave them there forever. Picture quality is excellent though.
Now onto the minor annoyances I have with this printer that prevented me from giving it 5 stars.
I'm not, and have never been, too crazy about the ink cartridge systems that Epson puts out. The cartridges come with a protective "covering" where the ink comes out (looks like plastic but I'm not sure) and when you first install them, the printer itself has to "drill through" the plastic when you first install the cartridge. The main problem with this is that sometimes it takes 2 or 3 times to run throught the whole head cleaning process to get the cartridge to open. When I first set up my 960, I installed all the ink cartridges (6 in all) and when I went to print, there was purple color on the page I printed where there was supposed to be blue. For some reason, the blue didn't print and it took me 4 times of going through the "head cleaning" process to get the blue to work. Although, after I did finally get it to work, the colors were excellent...
The other minor annoyance I have is that on certain photo paper, the Epson 960 didn't perform well at all. I've only really used 2 types of paper and both of them I purchased at Costco. They have a Kodak 100 pack "Premium High Gloss" photo paper for about 25 dollars, about 25 cents a sheet. They also have an Epson Glossy Photo paper for about 20 dollars for 100 sheets, about 20 cents a sheet. I guess it's true what they say about using the paper that is the same name as the printer. The Epson paper, which is cheaper, prints better pictures than the Kodak paper which is a better paper (both prints I did were at the 1440 dpi setting). The only way I was able to get a good print on the Kodak paper was to set the highest dpi setting (2880 dpi) and then I got a decent print. So basically, if you want good prints out of this printer you really need to stick with the Epson paper. I haven't tried the high gloss Epson paper yet since it's a bit expensive right now...the regular glossy Epson photo paper is a good choice...
And the last minor thing I need to say is the ink availability. It's strange but I was able to get the ink here at Amazon, but it was offered through "Office Depot". When I went to the local Office Depot here, they didn't have it and when I went to the Office Depot website, they didn't have it either. The only way I've found to get this ink is through Amazon via Office Depot (huh?)
Anyway, this printer, for the money, is probably the best photo printer you can buy for picture quality and versatility. I know there are other photo printers out there costing 2 and three times as much as this printer, but I can't see how much better pictures can print than what this printer puts out. Without a doubt, worth every penny!
Rating: 
Summary: Epson printer
Review: This is a printer that I would avoid. I was very disappointed in the print quality of this printer. There were vertical lines in the printout and overall print quality was poor.. I tried all of the maintenance techniques recommended, but the printout was still very poor. This seems to be a problem with many Epson printers. I returned the Epson, bought a Canon and am very pleased with the results.
Rating:
Summary: Epson printer
Review: This is a printer that I would avoid. I was very disappointed in the print quality of this printer. There were vertical lines in the printout and overall print quality was poor.. I tried all of the maintenance techniques recommended, but the printout was still very poor. This seems to be a problem with many Epson printers. I returned the Epson, bought a Canon and am very pleased with the results.
Rating:
Summary: Just got it.
Review: This is my third Epson printer. Love it so far. Very easy to set up. Faster than my older machine (880) and considerably more quite. I would suggest that you find a study place to put it other than the place you are working, as with all new printer, this one is a mover and a shaker. Love the individual ink cartridges and the print quality and color has so far impressed me, even on the lower 720/1440 settings. It would be nice if it accepted stock that was wider than 8.5inch paper, but you can't always have it all.I would suggest this printer to anyone with the extra dollars to spend (you get what you pay for) and loves to make prints without the hassel of a trip to the photoshop or kinkos. Don't forget to get your own USB cable as the printer companies for some odd reason still skimp on adding them even though they're only a couple of dollars.
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