1. Posted: Jul 27 2008

   PROS: Very well packaged, I couldn't have packed it better myself in the box. Lot's of tape and cardboard pieces and to keep moving parts in place. I think it were like 20 tape pieces. The all-In-One was in a big bag with handles so there was no problem lifting it out from the box. No problems installing the drivers, guide or print on cd software. It was more stuff on the cd like red eye reduction but I didn't install that. There were some coupons(MIR) for Epson photo paper. Also included were some samples of photo paper and one blank printable CD-R. I think this is what Epson meant when they printed on the box "75$ value inside". You also get 10% off in the Epson store when you register the printer online. Another reason for buying this one was a 50$MIR if you buy any digital cam, comp or a notebook. They have to be on the same receipt. Exp 8/31-08 I did some test prints and I couldn't find anything wrong. This printer accepts 2GB SD card unlike my EPSON R320 who maxes out at 1GB. CONS: Be careful to remove ALL tape pieces. Some are inside at the printer heads to keep it in place. I don't know if you can damage the printer if you forget to remove them. I almost didn't see them. I wish the tape was bright orange or yellow and black so it can be seen easily. I have read a lot of reviews where the reviewer stated that the printer didn't work. Maybe this tape at the printer heads was the reason it didn't work. When I registered online at Epson, I had to the option to install a little notification software from Epson. You can configure it so it runs daily, weekly or monthly. It will display good deals, specials or products from the Epson store. If you dont install it you might lose the 10% discount at the Epson store. This 10% is time limited even if you install this software. The USB connection, it's located inside the printer. So you have to buy a foot longer cable than anticipated. I liked it, since now the connection is protected from accidental breakage etc. OTHER THOUGHTS: I don't understand this MIR, since I was not looking for a camera or computer. I was looking for a printer. So Epson basically gave me 50$ to buy a non Epson product. I found a nice Camera under 100$ for my daughter. I didn't buy the Epson or camera from Amazon. Since I have benefited from reviews here on Amazon. I thought that someone might benefit from my review. I will purchase a Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for this printer to save $. I just hope that this printer will not have the "bending" or "streaks" problem, that my Epson R320 got after a year. The printer heads alignment utility didn't work 100% on my R320. It's still flawless but only on high-res printing. Maybe a tune-up at an Epson service center will fix it, but to what cost? Will it cost more than buying a new printer? That's the reason why I bought the RX680.

2. Posted: Jul 26 2008

   My prime reason for getting this machine was its disc label printing function. I could have settled for a standard inkjet, as I've used them in the past, though they have been problematic with the disc printing function, and of course Epson's ink usage is legendary. I already have a monochrome laser printer for documents, and I don't do a lot of color printing; there are dedicated CD/DVD printers, but they are very costly and I don't do enough label printing to justify that expense. As far as that goes, on a consumer level, Epson seems to be the only game in town at present. So I figured I'd try out this all-in-one because the price is pretty reasonable, and though I do have a Canon scanner already, that would become obsolete once I got around to upgrading my Mac (I'm still using Tiger on an '04 G5). Yes, the user reviews on this unit are scary. At first I thought I was minorly effed at setup, when the machine wouldn't recognize the magenta ink cartridge.... I picked up a new one, replaced it, and that solved the problem. All other carts were good, and all functions appear operational. I did a disc print job, and though the unit ships with the same clunky Print CD software that the older disc printing machines had, I have to say it works a lot better on this printer than before; thanks to a special module that moves into place when you push the CD Print Tray button, the tray is easier to position correctly, avoiding the frustration I'd experienced with my older (now defunct) Epson Stylus Photo. So that was a refreshing improvement. Basic printing works fine, in fact is a lot snappier than the standalone inkjet. Yes it does cause my little stand to dance around a bit, due to the movement of the printhead, but it gets the job done with (so far) no banding in the default setting. Scanning is a step up from the Canon; the driver software installs a plugin into Photoshop CS3 that does an awesome job when importing. It defaults to high res, and when scanning photos will crop to the edges of the picture, something my Canon couldn't do too well. Less work is always a nice thing, though I don't do a great amount of scanning, it's good to know this unit does it so efficiently. Copying also works, in both color and B&W; something else I won't do much, but had to throw that in for a complete evaluation. So this user is happy. Maybe I was lucky. A device like this that performs multiple types of work and has numerous automatic functions is bound to be prone to occasional mishap; I tend to be apprehensive towards things that are overly automatic, but I'm glad I took a chance and got an Epson that is not only fully functional, but a genuine improvement over what I had previously, and essentially replaces the need for about 4 devices (that's right, it also reads SD cards from digital cameras). So consider me a convert to All-In-One.... knock wood.

3. Posted: Jul 16 2008

   I don't know why so many bad reviews. I bought this printer about 3 months ago and I have been using it daily. The quality is amazing! Pictures are crisp and clear, the print on CD is stunning! The text print is crisp and beautiful on everything from cheap paper to the high quality resume ones.I think the only down side is that it uses ink a bit more then I'm used to. I have used other Epson and HP printers and this printer is far and beyond better then everything I have used before! Also it is a breeze to set up.

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