Epson's versatile R220 inkjet printer can print on just about anything, including CD and DVD. The catch is that it can only print on inkjet-printable discs, so you won't be able to put labels on all those unidentified discs you have scattered around the house. Inkjet-printable media also costs a bit more than standard media.

Set-up is easy, although you must provide your own USB cable ($10 to $20). The printer includes a USB port on the back for connecting to a desktop computer, as well as a USB port on the front for an easy connection to a laptop computer. You can only connect to one computer at a time, however.

The paper input tray can hold up to 120 sheets of plain paper or 20 sheets of photo paper. The output tray can hold up to 30 sheets of plain paper. The R220 can print borderless photos in sizes ranging from 4X6 inches to 8X10 inches, and can also print full bleeds on letter-size paper.

The R220 supports printing resolutions of up to 5,760X1,440 dpi (optimized). Output quality is generally very good to excellent, particularly for photos. Pictures look better on photo paper than plain paper, but that's not unusual. Output quality for text, particularly text-heavy pages, is average to slightly above average. This isn't the best choice for an all-purpose printer, but it's a very good choice for photos, with the added bonus of printing on CD and DVD.

The package includes six ink cartridges (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta), a CD print tray, printer documentation, and a CD-ROM with a user guide, printer drivers, Epson PrintCD software for printing on CD and DVD, and ArcSoft PhotoImpression 5, a basic image editing tool that can also create photo calendars, albums, and slideshows.

Pro: Output quality of photos is very good. Can print on a wide variety of media, including CD and DVD. Good software bundle. Sleek, compact design.
Con: Output quality of text is average. Can only print on inkjet-printable CD and DVD, although that is a fault of the media and not the R220. Better at printing photos than text. Cannot print directly from digital cameras, digital camcorders, or memory cards. No LCD display.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Epson America
3840 Kilroy Airport Way
Long Beach, CA 90806
562-981-3840
http://www.epson.com

Warranty
1 year, limited