Epson's Stylus CX6000 is a low-priced inkjet multifunction device, at least in its initial price. But this unit seems to have some high after-purchase costs because of problems with the device's high ink consumption.

The Stylus CX6000 includes some nice photo-printing features. It has a 2-inch LCD for previewing photos, and it can accept a variety of flash memory cards. Epson claims the Stylus CX6000 can print a 4x6 photo in less than 30 seconds, but it'll take at least double that amount of time for a photo-quality print at the maximum resolution of 5760x1440 dpi.

The Stylus CX6000 seems to use ink much faster than competing machines. Keep in mind that the included starter ink cartridges typically hold less ink than replacement cartridges with any company's multifunction devices, so the included cartridge may run out quickly. But Stylus CX6000 customers report many problems with excessive ink usage even with full replacement cartridges.

Text printing quality is pretty good with the Stylus CX6000. You can print pages as quickly as 27 pages per minute with this device in draft mode, but the text quality will suffer.

The Stylus CX6000's glass flatbed surface is handy for copying and scanning, and this unit's scanner works well for scanning photos. The copier can run at speeds up to 26 cpm in draft mode, but, again, image and text quality will suffer. Using photo mode will yield high-quality images and text with copies, and using photo-paper rather than plain paper makes a significant difference in copy and print quality. You won't find any fax capabilities with the Stylus CX6000, unfortunately.

One final problem: The Stylus CX6000 is extremely noisy as it prints, which might make it incompatible with some SOHO environments. The Stylus CX6000 has quite a few drawbacks, so you'll want to make sure its strengths match your needs before giving in to that tempting initial price point.


Pros: Low initial price, copies and prints are sharp in high-end mode, LCD for printing photos
Cons: No fax capabilities, unit seems to use a lot of ink, overall the device runs slow, noisy machine

Warranty
1-year limited