What happens when you take a six-color photo printer, and then wrap it in a housing that contains a high-quality scanner? The answer is the Epson Expression Photo XP-860 ($300). It provides all of the utility of a multifunction printer (MFP), like scanning, copying, and faxing, but at its heart, it’s a photo printer capable of impressive quality output. The XP-860 looks identical to its cousin, the XP-820. They both measure 15.4 x 13.3 x 7.5 inches, and weigh 21.5 pounds. They also have the same 4.3-inch color touchscreen on a tilting front control panel, memory card slots, and USB/PictBridge port. But the XP-860 costs $100 more, so, what gives? The major difference is the number of inks each uses. The XP-820 is a versatile five-color MFP that can print photos, but the XP-860, which uses six inks, is actually designed specially for printing photos, but can also handle other basic prints (although at fewer pages per minute, or ppm). This is also reflected in their names: the XP-820 is c...
Excellent photo output quality; Variety of media handling; Auto duplexing; Loads of connectivity options;
Paper tray awkward to use; Pricier than similar XP-820;