Epson Artisan 730 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Copier, Scanner (iOS/Tablet/Smartphone/AirPrint Compatible) (C11CB18201)

I've had Epson and HP printers, and both have their plusses and minuses, but I have found over the years that Epson makes a superior product - particularly where photo printing is concerned. When my aging HP all-in-one printer died, I decided to replace it with this Epson Artisan 730, because I needed certain features but did not feel I need 'top of the line' (Epson has other models that have more features and higher prices). I have been very pleased with my choice. This printer does the job nicely!SCANS:An important feature to me is being able to scan documents and photos. For documents, I am typically interested in archiving them for my records, but for photos I demand a high quality scan. This device accommodates both needs and everything in between. The scanning is very easy with Epson's software and has a number of settings. You can either do a quick scan with some default settings or tweak the software settings for a very specific type of scan quality.COPIES:Much like scans (after all, a copy is just a scan with the output going to paper rather than digital file), you have several choices for the quality of your copy. Most often, the bare-bones selection will do - and the quality of the copy is extremely good.PRINTING:You'll need to install the printer driver on any device you intend to print from (included, and easy to do) and then it's simple to print from any wireless device in the house to this printer. The unit has a lower door panel that hides the paper tray and output, but when you print or copy, this door is automatically opened - no paper jams or accordions created due to printing to a "closed" printer. I like this feature a lot! I keep the panel closed to keep dust out (and for aesthetics), knowing that if a print job is sent, it will open. The catch is magnetic, and very 'soft open/soft close'.There is also a separate tray for photo paper (4x6), so that you can keep the printer loaded with both plain paper and photo paper, making it ready for both at all times.CD/DVD Printing:You can also print on "printable" CD's and DVD's, making your homemade media customized. My previous Epson also has this capability (which works great) - but the Artisan 730 makes it much easier to use than the old machine, which required the use of an insert caddy. The included software allows you to design your disc art and labeling, and then send that to the printer. A great feature.WIRELESS:Wi-Fi printers are the only way to go these days. You no longer are tethered to the PC, so you can place this device in a location best suited for it and accessible to the whole family. You also don't have to worry that the PC to which the printer is connected is offline, etc. The Wi-Fi was very easy to set up, even with my non-broadcasted secure network it took only a few minutes.MISC:Other comments I have:The unit is very quiet.Changing ink cartridges is a pretty simple task.Getting the hang of loading paper properly takes a few tries, but once you get it you're good to go.The plastic trays do seem a bit flimsy, but so long as you're not rough with them it should be no problem.NO FAX! I actually didn't read the specs well enough to know this until I set up the printer, but there is no fax machine included. If you need to have one, that's important.Print from iPhone! There's an app for that - and it works pretty well. I don't use it much, but it's a handy thing to have.I see that Amazon has dropped the price significantly on this device (currently around $100). I paid more and have no regrets - at that price it is a steal.

I bought this printer some months back. I chose this one because I wanted a flash card slot, networkable all-in-one printer that printed good pictures. It is fast, with great quality printed photos, easy to setup, and at least reasonable on ink usage. It also has a nice little CD/DVD tray which along with the provided software prints labels on CDs and DVDs. Love that! So far so good...but if you need to print on heavyweight paper, this is NOT the printer for you! I print labels for fruit canning jars, certificates on card stock, clean edge business cards, and certification cards for the training classes I teach. This printer either will not feed or jam with anything other than regular weight paper. Strangely, it seems to work fine with photo paper...although it will on occasion not align it properly and print crooked, high, or low on the photo paper. I suspect over time that it will eventually stop feeding photo paper as well. The paper feed is poorly designed, somewhat flimsy, and difficult to use...it's a drawer type that comes all the way out. Fortunately, removing jams is not difficult...the back of the printer comes off easily. After some research on Google, I found that several companies that make heavyweight paper for special purposes recommend the Canon ip4920 for this purpose....apparently since it has a rear feed option. It doesn't have all the whistles and bells that this printer does, and it's not networkable...but it's not expensive...downside is having to buy ink cartridges for two different printers to print heavyweight documents. Would be nice if manufacturers listed in the specifications the weights of the paper supported by their printers.

Purchased an Epson Artisan 730 to replace an old HP Photosmart. After doing my research, I decided the 730 offered the best value in a six ink, inkjet printer. My usage is at home, printing mostly photos and colored creative projects (stickers, cards, tags, magnets, etc.) Wife is a teacher and prints a fair amount of documents and ideas from the internet. Kids print projects and certificates from web sites. I am writing this review from the perspective of a home user, not an every day office user.Overall, I think this is a great printer. I don't want to say this is a great printer AT this price, as that would imply that it is an acceptable budget printer. Rather, I am surprised at the quality of the output for $100.Having said that, you do need to use the right paper and printer settings to get the best output. This may be no surprise to some (most?), but you do need to use higher grades of photo paper to get the best results. Using HP paper as an example, there is a big difference in the prints on Everyday photo paper compared to Premium Plus. If you are not getting the results you want, try the "next level up" photo paper from your preferred source. Also, you need to adjust print settings on the 730, like going to "Best Photo" and turning off fast printing, maybe some other adjustments to suit your tastes. The same holds true for documents, with better paper and a "Fine" setting giving pretty crisp print for an inkjet.Of course this machine drinks ink. Stop complaining and buy a Continuous Ink System. Don't do the Epson firmware update, though. It sounds like it makes it harder or impossible to use a CIS. Lots of them out there. Systems can be found from $30 up. Do your homework. So far I have been happy with one from Ink Products. Cost $100, but should last the equivalent of 10 cartridge replacements (at $80 for a set). Ink tanks are refillable.As far as comparing the photo prints to prints from a lab, you're high if you think your can get the same results at home. Perhaps you could control the colors and settings better at home, but the output will not look the same. The 730 does a great job on photos, but you can definitely tell they were printed on an inkjet printer.Additional reflections...-It is a pretty big machine. Measure your space available.-The paper tray does seem flimsy. And, you do have to take the whole thing out to load it.-Output tray seems flimsy, too. It pulls out in two sections, and has a stop that flips up. I foresee breakage.-It does make some noise, but does not rock the printer stand like my HP Photosmart did. I would not say that the 730 is loud.-Automatic duplex printing is nice. Thought you would have to open the tray and re-feed the sheet. Instead it picks the sheet back up from the output tray.-You can scan a high contrast photo and make a coloring book page (from the touch panel.)-You can make lined writing paper and graph paper from the touch panel.-Have not used the wireless features yet.*****UPDATE 1-16-2013--I set up wireless in about 90 seconds, and am printing from ipad and Dell laptop.