Introduction
Epson has just released their flagship L655 Ink Tank System Printer 2 months ago, promising users of affordable and quality prints. These two characteristics are the result of the Ink Tank System technology, as well as the new PrecisionCore technology printhead. Coupled with additional features such as Fax, Scan and Copy, it is a printer that is most suitable for small and home offices. However, can all these great technology and features justify its suggested retail pricing of $539 (SGD)? Read on to find out what we feel.
Getting Started the Epson L655 Ink Tank System Printer
Black and white are probably two of the most common colours that are available for printers. Epson has decided to go with black for the L655, which they felt complements well with the buttons and screen on the printer. Moreover, we felt that black gave the whole printer a more professional appearance, fitting well in any corners of the office.
Equipped with a small 2.2 inch Mono LCD backlit display, the Epson L655 simplifies human machine interaction. Every single function on the L655 can be executed right from the device itself, with the help of the user interface provided by the screen. However, we realised that getting started with the printer was not as simple as it seems. In fact, as shown on the image above, the printer prompted us to look at the setup manual to carry on with out initial set up.
As the Epson L655 utilizes their Ink Tank System technology, extra knowledge is required to get the printer started. There are special instructions to follow before we can start refilling the machine with the bottles of ink that are provided in the box. Despite the hassle for initial setup, we thought that it was probably acceptable as once we manage to get the initial set up completed, the operation of the printer was smooth and straightforward.
Core Features and Functionalities
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| Buttons for User Interface |
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| Power Button | Textured design on the control panel |
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| Extendable Tray for printout collection |
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| Removable A4 Size Tray |
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| Scan bed |
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| Fax / Scan Tray |
The Epson L655 covers every single aspect of the needs of the printer in office. This printer does not only prints documents in both black/white and colours, but it also has scan, fax and copy functionalities. It is the perfect machine to have, if you are looking for an all-in-one solution.
The L655 is also a printer that features multiple connectivity options. Equipped with a RJ45 port, this printer can be easily connected to your office network. The telephone line port allows faxes to be sent and received, with a USB port is also available if you want to connect it to a computer directly. Additionally, the Epson L655 also comes with wireless printing capabilities. That is, users can simply not connect to any of the ports mentioned above, and still send print tasks to this machine wirelessly. Of course, this is extremely convenient, as the printer can now be placed anywhere within the office, without needing any consideration on the availability of a network cable or a physical computer.
Ink Refilling Experience
Although it is fairly mundane task to refill the ink tank of the printer one by one, the process must be handled with utmost focus and attention. Users are dealing with actual liquid ink products and have to be extra careful when refilling each bottle to the printer. A negative example is shown below. However, we believe that practice makes perfect and this task can be done better.
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| Ink Spilled during refilling process |
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| Filled ink tanks |
Upon completion of the refill process, the printer has to take about half an hour to charge the ink within the ink tank before it can print anything. Even though the screen states that it will take about 20 minutes, it is usually longer than that.
Honestly speaking, setting up the L655 for the first time is really quite a hassle. Do not expect a plug and play solution, it this machine requires human patience and intelligence. The whole setting up process should take about 45 minutes or so.
User Experience
Epson never fails when it comes to printing. We were highly impressed by the quality of the printouts from the printer, and satisfied with the speed of printing. This was thanks to the new PrecisionCore Technology printhead adopted by Epson resulting in printouts that are of a higher “resolution”. This is done by creating smaller ink dots for finer precision, but at the same time also not compromising on the speed of printing.
Photocopying of documents from the top input tray is a luxury that is only available for higher end printing machines, and this could be one of the key feature that attracts buyers. Multiple page documents can be photocopied very easily with this feature, even in colour!
Lastly, it is rare to see duplex enabled ink jet printers, and we were quite surprised to see such a feature that comes this machine. Epson states that the L655 is in fact the world’s first duplex ink tank system printer. Most definitely, duplex printing brings much more convenience to the users and also indirectly results in more environmentally friendliness as the number of papers used are decreased.
Conclusion
Epson has set the benchmark for a great printer that comes with all the different features that you can ever think of. With the ink tank technology that the company tries to promote, we are convinced that printing costs can be greatly reduced. At a price tag of $539 SGD, we thought that it is definitely affordable with all the features that comes with it. In the long run, the affordability of the ink bottles will justify the initial high price of the printer. Of course, at The Tech Revolutionist, we would definitely recommend the Epson L655 Ink Tank System Printer to all our readers.
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