Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not for Macs
Comment: This cross-platform printer works fine with Windows. However, its Mac drivers are near useless. The prints are off center and the images fill 2/3 of a sheet. There are no layout options with the Mac drivers. I have written Epson 5 times - no response. I spent $15 for useless Epson Support. Mac users - look elsewhere!
Customer Rating:
Summary: what a dissappointment!
Comment: I did not buy this printer to print photos, so that may be why I'm unhappy with it. I bought the printer expecting it to print out renderings, plans, and presentations for school.
My first problem is that it DOES NOT print borderless at 11 x 17. If you read the specs carefully you can determine this, but it isn't readily apparent. It prints borderless at every size except for 11 x 17, which is the standard presentation size in many design programs. Also, it takes almost an entire ink cartridge to get one good print - the ink is always smearing or leaving droplets of cyan or magenta on the page as it prints out.
I think this printer was a waste of money, and if I had to do it all over again I would spend more money on a better quality printer, because I know I would save the money in the end on ink.
In short this printer has been a source of frustration and a huge headache.
Customer Rating:
Summary: don't buy
Comment: This printer is crap. It makes great prints when it works correctly but it never ever works correctly. I've always had problems with it that I've managed to fix eventually but after my warranty ran out it started printing these pink lines and there's nothing at all I can do to get rid of them. I even called epsons customer support and I have to pay money to even talk to someone. And it says nothing about the problems on their website. Also it goes through ink like crazy and the ink is expensive.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Second Time Lucky
Comment: Jan 21 2005:
I recently bought a 1280 after having owned an Epson 740 for several years. Because I had had such good results with the 740, and because the 1280 was recommended to me, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The prints had a strong magenta color cast and "banding" in blue sky areas. I tried to correct the color cast (about -7 magenta), but could not get good results. The banding I could not correct and that condemned the printer for me. Thus I had to go through the painful process of returning the printer to the store.
After having read a LOT of printer reviews, I am wondering if perhaps the increase in the number of inks has greatly increased the difficulty of achieving both color balance and evenness of color. With four variables it was hard, but with six, seven, or eight colors it is probably much more difficult to achieve. I wonder if manufacturers are being forced to sacrifice good color balance and evenness of color for highlight and shadow detail.
I was also struck by the high expectations we users have for these inkjet printers. I think that basically they are ok for home use, but when we start using them professionally, they are are little marginal.
I also looked at the Canon 9900 and the Epson 2200, but they were a little out of my price range.
Update Mar 23 2005:
I bought another 1280, and this one seems to work much better - no strong magenta cast. I also found that I had to dial down the saturation a LOT (i.e. 20 points on a scale of 25) to get natural looking prints. That should also save on ink consumption. Also, I found that a 10 foot USB cable didn't work properly on the Mac (i.e. the printer would spit out the paper part way through printing); a 6 foot cable works much better.
Customer Rating:
Summary: buy a different printer
Comment: i recently purchased this printer, it was unable to print even one page before an error message popped up on my monitor and the printer stopped. i have tried everything and now i give up, i'm sending it back today.
Summary: Not for Macs
Comment: This cross-platform printer works fine with Windows. However, its Mac drivers are near useless. The prints are off center and the images fill 2/3 of a sheet. There are no layout options with the Mac drivers. I have written Epson 5 times - no response. I spent $15 for useless Epson Support. Mac users - look elsewhere!
Customer Rating:
Summary: what a dissappointment!
Comment: I did not buy this printer to print photos, so that may be why I'm unhappy with it. I bought the printer expecting it to print out renderings, plans, and presentations for school.
My first problem is that it DOES NOT print borderless at 11 x 17. If you read the specs carefully you can determine this, but it isn't readily apparent. It prints borderless at every size except for 11 x 17, which is the standard presentation size in many design programs. Also, it takes almost an entire ink cartridge to get one good print - the ink is always smearing or leaving droplets of cyan or magenta on the page as it prints out.
I think this printer was a waste of money, and if I had to do it all over again I would spend more money on a better quality printer, because I know I would save the money in the end on ink.
In short this printer has been a source of frustration and a huge headache.
Customer Rating:
Summary: don't buy
Comment: This printer is crap. It makes great prints when it works correctly but it never ever works correctly. I've always had problems with it that I've managed to fix eventually but after my warranty ran out it started printing these pink lines and there's nothing at all I can do to get rid of them. I even called epsons customer support and I have to pay money to even talk to someone. And it says nothing about the problems on their website. Also it goes through ink like crazy and the ink is expensive.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Second Time Lucky
Comment: Jan 21 2005:
I recently bought a 1280 after having owned an Epson 740 for several years. Because I had had such good results with the 740, and because the 1280 was recommended to me, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The prints had a strong magenta color cast and "banding" in blue sky areas. I tried to correct the color cast (about -7 magenta), but could not get good results. The banding I could not correct and that condemned the printer for me. Thus I had to go through the painful process of returning the printer to the store.
After having read a LOT of printer reviews, I am wondering if perhaps the increase in the number of inks has greatly increased the difficulty of achieving both color balance and evenness of color. With four variables it was hard, but with six, seven, or eight colors it is probably much more difficult to achieve. I wonder if manufacturers are being forced to sacrifice good color balance and evenness of color for highlight and shadow detail.
I was also struck by the high expectations we users have for these inkjet printers. I think that basically they are ok for home use, but when we start using them professionally, they are are little marginal.
I also looked at the Canon 9900 and the Epson 2200, but they were a little out of my price range.
Update Mar 23 2005:
I bought another 1280, and this one seems to work much better - no strong magenta cast. I also found that I had to dial down the saturation a LOT (i.e. 20 points on a scale of 25) to get natural looking prints. That should also save on ink consumption. Also, I found that a 10 foot USB cable didn't work properly on the Mac (i.e. the printer would spit out the paper part way through printing); a 6 foot cable works much better.
Customer Rating:
Summary: buy a different printer
Comment: i recently purchased this printer, it was unable to print even one page before an error message popped up on my monitor and the printer stopped. i have tried everything and now i give up, i'm sending it back today.
Epson Stylus Photo 1280 Inkjet Printer (Silver) Reviews: Page 6 of 11
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