Blag

*insert standard offensive content, discrimination and political un-correctness disclaimer here*

<rant>

Righteo. Time for a somewhat short list, due to the fact I am typing this on a phone:

• Pommy tourists who plonk their feet out on the opposite seat, and leave sand deposits everywhere they go
• Old rickety busses with no air-conditioning
• Macquarie University students (read: FOBs) who natter away on their mobile phones in languages other than English, at excessively high volumes
• Macquarie University students who decide that it is necessary to cover the person sitting in front with spittle, while undertaking the above task
• Obese people who take up both sides of the seat + obstruct the aisle (why do morbidly obese people not get a mention in the federal fire exit acts, or whatever it’s called? (Yep Sarah, that was a reference to your OCD-ness over closing stairwell doors. *Name changed to conceal identity)
• People who decide that it is acceptable to hold everyone up for 5 minutes by paying their bus fare in 5c coins
• Wankers from Epping Boys High School, who sit in the back seat making orgasm noises… for reasons unknown to me. For fucks sake kiddos, you sound even faker than the stereotypical porn stars.
• The Sydney Buses route 288 driver who decided he had the authority to conduct a bag search for illicit materials, aka hot chips. Not that he got very far. Go piss up a flagpole, asshole.
• Lazy bums with wheelie bags – if you’re old, have scoliosis/back problems or are a little kid, fine. But not 16 year old males. S
• People who urinate/defecate on bus seats
• Busses always run +/- 20 minutes of the timetable.
• The bus you desperately need to catch is pre-pay only, and you’ve run out of travel tens.

</rant>

But seriously,

*posted, while sitting on the 506 next to a 45 year old drama queen, who reeks of pesticide*

(3-Phenoxybenzyl(1RS)-cis,trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate to be precise)

Epson Stylus Office TX300F

Seeing as there aren’t many reviews for the Epson Stylus Office TX300F, I’ll throw my opinion out there. Skip to the end for the summary. *See footnote. These are the only other ones I’ve been able to find on the internet:

• http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/printers_scanners/epson/stylus_office_tx300f/263373 ; http://www.news.com.au/technology/reviews/epson-printer-affordable-but-slow/story-e6frfrpi-1111117973160 ; http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/printers_scanners/epson/stylus_office_tx300f/263373#cb – NOTE – All 3 are the same article by the same author…
• http://www.pcworld.com/article/177825/epson_stylus_tx300f_price_102.html – Isn’t really a review… more of a “buy it if you can find it cheap”. (Part of a top 9 bargain printers for under $125 list).

Then there’s this moron (click to see profile/other reviews) who posted a review on Dick Smith Electronic’s website:

http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/product/XP8303

You’ll notice he gives sparkling 5/5 reviews to EVERY single product, and goes into hardly any relevant detail… he’d be great working in the advertisement industry, the way he writes up products. Sadly enough, people actually get suckered in and purchase products based on his reports. *See footnote

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Scathing comments aside, back to the printer.

Bought the TX300F from Dick Smith on special for $98, normal price was $128. It’s a standard multifunction printer – print, copy, scan but can also send and receive faxes as well. It also has a auto document feeder which is useful for batch copying or scanning documents. I also got a 3 year extended warranty through Dick Smith which sweetened the deal – it even covers wear and tear! Assuming I take the printer back when it breaks, that’s 2 printers for $54.

The printer uses Epson’s DURABrite pigment based ink – 73N series of cartridges (TO731N, TO732N, TO733N, TO734N) or an optional 73HN high capacity tank for black ink. These cost around $16 each, depending on the store of purchase, so it’s $64 for a complete set of ink cartridges. Calidad does offer drop in compatible cartridges – these come in a set of 4 + 2 free magnetic photo frames for $36. Unfortunately, these are the new micro-chipped ink cartridges, so refilling is more complex than drilling a hole and squirting ink in. (Dedicated 3rd party re-fillable cartridges or a CISS will have to be purchased).

In short, the Epson TX300F was disappointing. It takes quite a while to start up and shut down. Print quality and speed were a big let down for an otherwise worthwhile printer. Typical of most Epsons, draft mode is unreadable, but standard and high quality modes take much longer to print documents. While not unbearable slow, it IS noticeable compared to most modern inkjets. Text is crisp, but image quality is fairly average, on par with most $40-60 Canon/HP printers. Photo printing was painfully slow, at over 2 minutes per image. Comparable Canon/HP printers typically take ~45 seconds. Once again, this slow speed doesn’t translate into improved image quality. The TX300F is much better off as a small business workhorse than a home printer.

I cannot comment on scanner image quality, not knowing much about calibration or colour accuracy. Copying however works well, and apart from the speed, have no complaints. The user interface and menu are fairly intuitive, although the “are you sure you want to shut down” question bugs me. I do not have a fax service, and thus unable to test or use the scan function.

Typical of most sub $180 printers, the build quality is fairly mediocre, hence my joy at picking up extended warranty including wear and tear. Printer weight and size is fairly average, so it should fit in the existing space of you already have a multifunction. Being a office printer, it doesn’t have a built in memory card reader, or EXIF based USB printing. This printer comes with a USB cable, RJ11 phone cable and IEC power cord. Disappointingly, there was no sample pack of photo paper.

The software package included with the printer is fairly lightweight compared to other brands. The Epson supports Windows 2000 or higher (including 7) and Mac OS 10.3.9 or later. Apart from the printing drivers, a basic scan utility is also installed and a printer status monitor that sits in the system tray. I’m not a fan of this, but it can be disabled.

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Should you buy this printer? Canon PIXMA All-in-one printers with fax and ADF functionality are available for ~$125-140, can print faster and have higher image quality. At it’s RRP of $149 AUD, it’s not worth it, but on discount, as a document printer, it’s worth considering.

I’ll be fitting a CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System) to this printer, something that is MUCH easier to do on this Epson than comparable Canon models – one of the reasons I bought this printer despite it’s drawbacks. I’ll detail the installation process, and list ink/cartridge/CISS suppliers in the next post. (A CISS is a giant external tank for a printer, which supplies ink to the print heads via a series of tubing.)

Pros:

• Good value if on special/you have a discount
• Ideal small business/office printer
• Automatic Document Feeder + Fax functionality
• Includes USB and RJ11 cables
• Can be fitted with a CISS/Re-fillable cartridges/Compatible drop-in replacements

Mediocre:

• Photo printing speed and quality
• Re-filling is slightly more complex than other Canon/HP/Lexmark/Brother printers

Cons:

• Unreadable text and images in draft mode
• Build quality

*I am not affiliated with DSE, Epson, News Limited, PC World, GGG or DaleB545 in any way. Opinions expressed in this article are purely my own and written for my personal amusement. If you incur any losses as a result of comprehending and/or following the advice of this post, you hold the author free of any indemnity or damages claims. Please see the complaints page for more information. If you disagree with any of this, please leave this website immediately and clear your browser’s cache.