The smart new Epson SX405
The new Epson Stylus SX405 is a smart and compact all-in-one inkjet printer, scanner and copier that is the next step up from the Stylus SX200 with the addition of a LCD screen and a better paper feeding facility. The SX405 has a cost effective price tag as well as reasonable running costs compared to its competitors as it uses individual printer cartridges, one for each of the four colours and this enables each cartridges to be changed independently. A set of genuine Epson SX405 ink cartridges will set you back around £30 if bought in a multi-pack but compatible Epson ink cartridges are available for it at half the price of the originals. As well as printing the SX405 offers scanning and copying facilities both of which it performs to a high standard. Scanning is excellent with a maximum 1200 x 2400ppi optical resolution creating detailed scans and comes complete with photo editing OCR text recognition software. Copying uses the same scanner unit and is able to create excellent copies but is hampered slightly by the SX405 slow printing speeds. The official spec sheet claims the SX405 is able to print 34 pages per minute but this is nowhere near the reality which is 4ppm in a reasonable quality setting. The printing quality the SX405 produces is not a disappointment however; it’s better than most of its competitors and produces great results for all types of documents. The Stylus SX405 is sure to be popular with those looking for a device with a good balance of features and value for money.
