Epson - Stylus DX9400F review

The ongoing attraction of All-in-One printers shows no sign of diminishing and the latest Epson Stylus is designed to cram as many functions as possible within a compact body.

Measuring a tidy 435 x 219 x 165mm and weighing in at just 2.8kg, the DX9400F combines the roles of printing, copying, faxing and scanning into a stylish black casing that won't look out of place in a small office or home business setting.

It certainly won't be of much use for more demanding work, as the paper hopper at the back only holds a maximum of 80 sheets of A4, plus envelopes, and the automatic document feeder on the top can only handle an additional 30 sheets.

As you'll be buying this machine, at least in part, for its fax capability, it's perhaps surprising that it doesn't come with a phone/answering machine, so be aware that you'll have to provide your own.

The control panel at the front, however, is the current standard Epson format, with a four-function Mode dial on the left (handling Copy, Memory Card, Photo and Fax), a 2.5-inch LCD display which allows you to view, select and manipulate photos without having to use an attached PC, plus separate 4-way scroll, Setup and Menu buttons for more detailed settings.

The four individual DURABrite Ultra pigment ink cartridges are designed to be highly durable as well as smudge and water resistant. Print speed has been improved thanks to the revamped Micro Piezo print head which has increased the maximum size of the ink droplets and offers up to 5,760 x 1,440dpi optimised resolution. The scanner's top resolution is the usual 1,200 x 2,400dpi.

The resulting print quality is sharp, vibrant, authentic and detailed, but it still takes a good 5 minutes to produce a high quality, A4-sized colour print at highest resolution. A simple 10 x 15cm photo can be printed in around 90 seconds at the most basic setting and black text pages have a top rated speed of 25ppm.

The quality of colour print copying is disappointing, though, with a pinkish wash compared with the original. You might do better to copy directly from the memory card slots (which accommodate all the standard formats like Compact Flash, xD-Picture Card, SD and Memory Stick Pro) or from the PC.

Once set up, the fax has a few additional features like international colour to colour communication, both auto and manual answering modes, a 180-page memory and speed dial for up to 60 addresses.