The scanner lid slides up and detaches completely to make room for big books. With the lid attached it can accommodate A4 paper to scan or copy, but lacks an automatic document feeder. Physically, the RX620 is reasonably compact with a desktop footprint measuring about 20in by 21in.
The front panel includes all the basic controls and a 2in by 1.5in colour LCD (liquid crystal display) screen, which shows menu and control settings as well as thumbnail digital images from flash memory cards before they are printed.
The front face provides a standard PictBridge port for connecting to a digital camera, plus four memory card slots that accept most of the standard formats, including CompactFlash, Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, xD Picture and Sony’s Memory Stick cards.
Once you put a digital memory card into the machine you can use the LCD to crop, resize and make other basic adjustments to the images before printing them. The six colour inks (one is black) ensure good quality text, graphics and photographic output and reasonable printing costs: you can replace each ink colour individually.
Although the RX620 is not the fastest ink jet around, it is not the slowest. Overall, the Epson Stylus Photo RX620 is an impressive machine that is particularly well suited to users looking for an all- in-one digital photo printer and scanner who do not need a built-in fax capability or an automatic document feeder.
The Canon Pixma MP760 Photo All-in-One, which also costs about Dollars 300, is probably the main rival to the RX620. It also includes a transparency adapter in the top cover and is faster than its rival, and thereby possibly a better choice for small businesses.
But both could face competition from H-P’s new Photosmart 3000 – an all-in-one machine based on HP’s newest photolithographic printer and scanner technology. The Photosmart 3000, due for launch later this year, can deliver 4in by 6in prints in as little as 14 seconds for a minimum cost of 24 cents a print – considerably faster than the competition.
The Photosmart 3000 is expected to cost between Dollars 300 and Dollars 400 when it goes on sale and is likely to set a new benchmark for multifunction printer and scanner. In the meantime, the Canon and Epson machines prove that all-in- one printers can finally compete head to head with standalone devices and offer value for money without compromise.
