On the market for £60, Epson's Stylus SX425 wireless MFP is less expensive than a lot of single-function inkjets. It makes absolutely no promises of business-grade speeds or even professional-standard picture printing but rather aims to offer an all-round balance of performance as well as value. The MFP includes a 1,200x2, 400dpi scanner, decent memory card support as well as a little colour screen which allows you to - with a lot of button-pressing - link the machine to your wireless network without needing to initially manage the wireless settings via USB. For this reason, getting the SX425W to speak to your Computer is nearly as effortless over WiFi as it is through USB.
The unit requires four unique ink cartridges from Epson's Fox or Apple varieties. These are filled with pigment-based Durabite ink. This pigmented ink might not have the completely precise colouration of the Claria inks used by Epson's more photo-oriented models, however it is vibrant, durable as well as comparatively cheap. We definitely strongly recommend purchasing the highest-yield inks your model can deal with. In this instance, this is the Apple variety, which will cost you approximately £10 per cartridge, producing page costs of 5.6p for colour as well as 2.3p for black ink. That adds up to 7.9p for each mixed-colour page, and that is not bad for a low-cost MFP. A 6x4in photograph on Epson's Premium Glossy paper costs about 28p.
Print quality is decent, as well. It experiences the normal Epson consumer inkjet predicament of ghostly-pale draft text, however we were entirely happy with both the high quality of the mono letters the Text option made and also the reproduction of our colour business documents with Text & Graphics mode. Mono text was basically dark, with sharp edges to the letters, while our colour graphs and illustrations were beautifully clear and vibrant.
We were additionally happily surprised by the quality of the SX425W's photos. Traditionally, pigmented ink doesn't produce the very best pictures and can easily be vulnerable to a refractive effect referred to as bronzing. With this, colours were accurate and realistic, whilst contrast was outstanding on even the more challenging images. Black tones, when using the Epson Stylus SX425 ink cartridges were perfectly dark also white areas suffered solely from an almost imperceptible magenta tinge. Epson's Premium Glossy photo paper was reflective, yet there were not any unusual tints on it.
Scan quality was of the great standard we've come to count on from CIS scanners utilised even in Epson's cheaper MFPs. The resolution of 1,200x2, 400dpi is certainly sufficiently good for the majority of home users, although you may want a dedicated higher-resolution scanner if you are archiving family pictures or records for posterity. Both picture and also document scans were well-defined and very precisely coloured. Copy quality is likewise suitable for both colour and also mono documents.
The Stylus SX425W is an important move in the right track for Epson's cheaper MFPs. The printing rates of speed tend to be none too fast, however with top quality as well as affordable print costs it really is well worth purchasing. It's actually a Budget Buy and, incredibly, still worth getting in the event the price goes up a little.
Epson Stylus SX425 cartridges are to be found here.
Theodore Beach is a member of the Cartridge Concept team which specialises in printer cartridges.
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