I'm looking for a multi-function printer and the specs for the Epson Artisan 710 and Artisan 810 look pretty impressive (I believe the same printers here in Europe are called Stylus Photo PX710W and Stylus Photo PX810FW).
The 810 seems like a better choice of the two because of the following features:
The 810 has also got a big touch-screen which may appeal to some, but I generally don't like touch screens (they often don't work well) though I can sacrifice those buttons for its other features
The downside to the 810 is its bigger (and heavier) size, but other than that I believe they're basically the same printer?
My plan is to have two Macs (a Powerbook G4 and a recent iMac) share it through a cabled (Ethernet) network via a router.
1) Will it be possible to scan and print from each computer, or do certain functions only work when connected directly to a computer via USB?
2) Are there any limitations when using with Mac computers? I believe certain Canon printers won't allow duplex printing for instance with Macs, even when their printers have that function, while it works fine with PCs. But as far as I know Mac support is better from Epson than many others.
3) Are these printers economical when it comes to ink usage? There won't be any high-volume printing (mostly 2 or 3 pages every two days or so with text or web page printouts etc.).
I hate it when some printers use up half their ink cartridges for cleaning every time you power up the printer. Tell me this isn't one of those printers
4) Does the fax feature work on its own (just like a regular stand-alone fax machine), or does it need a computer turned on and running fax software?
Anything else I should know or be concerned about before buying?
The 810 seems like a better choice of the two because of the following features:
- Built-in fax
- 4800x4800 DPI scanner resolution (the 710 has 2400x4800 DPI)
- Document feeder
- Two sided (duplex) printing (the 710 needs an extra part for this to work)
The 810 has also got a big touch-screen which may appeal to some, but I generally don't like touch screens (they often don't work well) though I can sacrifice those buttons for its other features
The downside to the 810 is its bigger (and heavier) size, but other than that I believe they're basically the same printer?
My plan is to have two Macs (a Powerbook G4 and a recent iMac) share it through a cabled (Ethernet) network via a router.
1) Will it be possible to scan and print from each computer, or do certain functions only work when connected directly to a computer via USB?
2) Are there any limitations when using with Mac computers? I believe certain Canon printers won't allow duplex printing for instance with Macs, even when their printers have that function, while it works fine with PCs. But as far as I know Mac support is better from Epson than many others.
3) Are these printers economical when it comes to ink usage? There won't be any high-volume printing (mostly 2 or 3 pages every two days or so with text or web page printouts etc.).
I hate it when some printers use up half their ink cartridges for cleaning every time you power up the printer. Tell me this isn't one of those printers
4) Does the fax feature work on its own (just like a regular stand-alone fax machine), or does it need a computer turned on and running fax software?
Anything else I should know or be concerned about before buying?
