Epson P50 review

Released: May 2009
Print Resolution: 5700x1440dpi
Engine: Six-colour Micro Piezo head; 1.5pl droplet
Ink r-fill cost: £63
Paper Cost: £10
Interface: USB 2.0
 Build Quality: The design is a combination of black and grey with silver 
trim and, although you can pick up a P50 for 
as little as £72, the build quality is surprisingly good. It’s moving parts don’t feel too fragile 
and the printer lid boasts a refined textured surface, making this printer feel a touch more expensive than it is. In terms of dimensions, 
the P50’s footprint is a little larger than the Canon iP4850, although there’s not much in 
it and both will take up roughly the same amount of space on your desk.

Ease of Use: Set-up was easy enough and with three controls (On/Off, Ink and paper feed) the P50 isn’t difficult to use either. The print driver interface is intuitive with the Main tab offering all the basic options to configure your print. The Advanced tab also features Colour Controls, a series of Photo Enhance Scene presets and the ability to use custom ICC printing profiles, too.

Features: The P50 uses Epson’s Claria Photographic five-ink system, which is designed to produce a wide colour gamut and durable fade-resistant prints. Connection to a computer is via USB only – there’s no WiFi or ethernet – and the P50 doesn’t feature any memory card slots or a PictBridge port for direct printing either, so a computer is essential. There’s also only one paper tray, which is top loading, so you’ll need to get into the habit of changing the paper yourself before pressing print. The P50 will print onto CD/DVDs using the supplied tray which feeds into the machine at the front. Although this sounds tricky, it isn’t difficult once you’ve done it a couple of times.

Print Speed & Quality: It took the 
Epson 5 minutes and 17 seconds to produce 
an A4 borderless photo, which is sluggish by current standards. With a maximum print resolution of 5760x1440dpi, the P50 has a 
lower resolution than the Canon single-
function iP4850, but print quality was good 
with nice colour graduations and sharpness. Printing using the Auto Scene Correction presets produced good colours although 
skin tones tended to look a little orange.

Verdict:
If it’s simply reasonable photo print quality you’re looking for, the P50 does the job, but slow print times and a lack of features mean it is starting to show its age.
Build quality: 4/5      
Ease of use: 5/5      
Features: 3/5    
Print speed & quality: 4/5
Overall: 4/5