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I knew there had to be something about this printer, considering every shop, both local and online, seemed to be out of stock. I started seeing them turning up on ebay at 20-30 dollars above retail. After I finally tracked one down and installed it, I can understand why. This is one beautiful machine. All of the pet peeves that I had from my older Epson (Stylus Photo 740) are gone. It doesn't take time to warm up, it has a small "footprint" on my desk, it is very quiet, it has 7 separate ink cartridges, you can click a box and print in black and white even when the color inks are dry, and the software is top-notch.

The CD/DVD printing works...well, MUCH MUCH better than I ever imagined. I couldn't believe I was holding a CD-R when I was done. The fleshtones on the photos that I printed were very realistic. I asked my wife to pick which was the photo and which was the printout and she couldn't tell. Used in tandem with my Perfection 2400 scanner, the R300 printer is a powerful tool.

Forget any negative reviews you read about this printer. My only explanation for those reviews is either those people got a defective unit, or they're one of those people who throw their hands in the air and give up if things don't work on the first try. The photos this thing produces (on Epson paper) are great. But enough about that. I bought this printer for one main reason... it's ability to print directly to injet printable cd/dvds. Doing so could not be easier. I will say this READ THE DIRECTIONS. They tell you how to verify the alignment using a cardboard mock CD that comes with it. Also if you slide the CD try all the way in, it won't work. Slide it in until the arrows match up (about 1/4 inch of being in all the way.) Not mentioned in any other reviews here is the software that comes with it for printing to disks called Epson Print CD. If you've ever used Adobe page maker or or MS Publisher, you'll be printing CDs in 10 minutes. Want to change the background? Click Background. Want to add a picture? Click on the icon of a photo, same for text, etc. Plus you can save your design to use again (or modify slightly IE family movies disk 1, 2, etc) For under $200 you can't beat it. A full set of ink (SIX cartriges) will set you back over $70, but that's true with most ink jets. If one COLOR runs out, you can only print in Black and white. If Black runs out, your shut down until it's replaced, but that's true of most ink jets. Buy this printer, then buy stock in Epson. HP better catch up quick.

Prints great and is quiet. Sucks ink like a hungry baby on a bottle.

20 8"x10" prints = $100+ in ink. Epson would give this printer away for free, but they're smart enough to know that buyers would suspect a catch. I know - charge the buyer for the printer AND continually drain there wallets in ink expenses.

Epson doesn't make money on printers- they make money on repeat sales of ink. To make more money on ink they make a printer that blows through it. A WIN-WIN for Epson! Hoo-ray Epson!

Oh....but like I said, it does print nice...but should't it anyway?