In addition to a complete replacement, Epson has given a total face-lift to its range of multifunction printers. The Stylus Photo RX700 is the top of the range model reserved for the mass consumer market. It's appealing on a number of levels-notably its versatility-but disappointing in terms of print performance.

Ergonomics And Design

Naturally, Epson has stuck with its architecture of separate ink cartridges for the Stylus Photo RX700. Here we have six cartridges, including light cyan and light magenta for photo, which are added to the four other standard primary colours. What's changed, however, is that the aforementioned cartridges are no longer installed near the printing head, but rather at either side of the front panel of the printer. Following the example of HP's Photosmart 3210, this greatly eases the task of replenishing the ink-all you have to do is lift one of the two trap doors, and a cartridge can be switched in a few seconds.

The control panel of the Stylus Photo RX700 is a little puzzling, though. For reasons of economy, Epson hasn't included a single word of text on the panel, only icons! True, some of them are perfectly recognizable, but others give no indication of what function they represent. Fortunately, the very good quality LCD screen and clear menus compensate for this shortcoming.

You'll notice that this printer has two methods of paper loading: photo paper goes in from the top and ordinary paper through the front panel. But, unfortunately, it's not equipped with a detection system for the type of paper, so it won't be able to warn you if you get it wrong.

Otherwise, you get the functions already familiar from Canon models, such as direct printing to CD and DVD, a tool that works very well but has the reputation of damaging the printing heads and so should be used sparingly.