They are not deep (100 pages for paper, 20 for photos) but fine for family use. Yay, the printer has multiple paper trays so you can keep your photo paper in one and photo stock in the other.(NOTE: do turn off any special firewall protection before scanning from the printer or you’ll be frustrated that you can’t make it work.) Unfortunately, there is no “Scan” button so you do have to go through an extra menu to get to the scan function. The XP-8500 makes scanning and saving easy without opening more apps. I’ve always been very disappointed that the “one button” scanning on most printer/scanners just doesn’t work, requiring the user to open that scanner application and begin again. Scanning – I like the way you can scan documents, again from the printer platen, but also can choose to send the copy to a USB memory stick, SD card, the cloud or a WIFI-connected computer.

(For a more workhorse printer, read our review of the Epson Ecotank 4550.) You can also copy from the printer and here again, copy quality is consistent with what you would expect.

Document printing – Wireless document printing is fast and copy quality in both black and white and in color is crisp.

Like any modern device, a color LCD screen helps you easily find and connect your WIFI.

Six print cartridges snap in easily to get you going fast.

Set-up – For anyone who has ever set up a family or small office printer, setting up the XP-8500 will be simple.

Standard print functionsīut how does it work in practice, for photos but also the regular functions of a multi-function printer? Let’s start with the easy stuff any printer should do. You are going to spend about the same per photo as a drugstore or other print, minus of course, carfare to the store. Hey, who doesn’t like instant gratification, right?Įpson does not claim any financial benefit. No trips to the drugstore (yes, many people still do that) or waits for the mail and a packet of photos. The benefit of the Epson XP-8500 is that you can print lab-quality prints at home. And if you have a new baby and are going daily to the drugstore to print up new photos for your mother-in-law, then you’re going to love this solution.Īt $199 (Amazon), this isn’t an inexpensive printer. However, if you love scrapbooking or love photos in frames, this might be a winner. If you’ve moved all your life into the digital word and have nary a scrap of paper in your house, this is likely not the printer for you. You probably know already if this is the type of printer you need for your growing family. It’s a printer, scanner and copier all-in-one that uses their Claria inks for lab-quality photos you can print at home. The Epson XP-8500 is old school printing at it’s best.

Dedicated photo scanner reviews