Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Review, Pros & Cons

There’s a sizable selection of all-in-one printers but the Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 is the one that draws my attention. The fact that it is produced under the renowned Epson brand, there is so much to expect from this printer device. Rumor has it that the XP-8600 can be the best printing partner both for photo enthusiasts.

The Expression Photo XP-8600 is Epson’s hot product. Specifically designed as an all-in-one printer, the XP-8600 delivers similar capabilities to its predecessor, the Premium XP-7100. Aside from offering a superb quality of photo printing, this printer comes with outstanding features that make it worth the money. Let’s get to know more about the XP-8600!

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Design and Layout

I just cannot find the right words to express the design of the XP-8600. This small-in-one printer looks elegant yet classy, thanks to its glossy cover with a slight matte area concealed under the top and front lid. The printing machine measures by 7.2 inches high by 13.7 inches wide by 20.7 inches deep and weighs 14.8 pounds, allowing the device to fit your small desktop.

The unique layout becomes another aspect that makes this printer worth-choosing. The XP-8600 is designed with tilt front lid opening, thanks to the hinged front cover that enables you to open and close the lid whenever needed.

The Expression Photo XP-8600 also features a 4.3 inches LCD touchscreen that helps you manage and monitor the printing tasks. The wide touchscreen also gives access to all the control panels you need to set up or print the document. The screen is embedded in the front lid next to the power button that looks futuristic in a white circle.

Epson XP-8600 Features

Epson has launched a number of small-in-one printers, each of which offers distinct features to enjoy. The Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 is designed as a versatile printer that is ideal for a home environment or small business. It delivers a wide array of features and specifications to improve your printing experience.

1.  Multipurpose printing machine

As with the typical all-in-one printers, the XP-8600 comes with three main functionalities—print, scan, and copy. Coming with 5700x1400dpi print resolution, this printer is able to provide you with superb print quality. Meanwhile, the scanner resolution is 1200×4800 dpi to give you a clear and legible document on the computer.

This printer gives emphasis to the photo quality. It supports borderless photos as well as other creative projects such as cards, stationery, and CD photo albums. To benefit from this feature, you need to install specific software.

2. Paper handling

This Epson printer features a 120-sheet input tray capacity that consists of the main drawer and secondary tray. The main drawer is able to hold up to 100 sheets of plain paper or 10 if you want to print using envelope paper size. The secondary tray is located at the back of the printer and is able to hold up to 20 sheets of glossy photo paper. For the output tray, the XP-8600 can handle up to 30 pages.

3. Ultra-fast printing

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 is an exceptional printer with considerably fast print speed. This device boasts lightning-fast photo printing with the capability of delivering 4 x 6 inches photos only in 10 seconds. In addition, it can handle borderless photos up to 8 x 10 inches. This feature makes the XP-8600 a great choice to print family photos or creative projects.

When it comes to ISO print speed, this printing machine can be categorized as a moderate. The XP-8600 is able to print up to 9.5 pages per minute for monochrome printing. The speed slightly reduces to 9.0 pages per minute for color printing. Though it is not the fastest print speed, the XP-8600 is sufficient for the home environment.

Epson XP-8600 Print Quality

The Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 just looks good so far, thanks to the versatile features that help improve your photos and documents printing experience. But how about the output quality? I am excited to deliver the good news that the XP-8600 can give you outstanding output quality, especially photos.

For monochrome printing, this device is able to handle well-shaped black texts. It also works well for display and decorative printing, giving you a print quality close to a laser printer. Not only can it offer a superb print quality, but it also gives high-quality results for scanning and copying.

Compared to other devices in its class, the XP-8600 is a noticeable device with superb print quality. It delivers high performance both for monochrome and color print to simplify your everyday printing task. Nevertheless, noticeable banding is found in the gradient background, especially for green to black color gradient.

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Connectivity and Software

Connectivity becomes an important aspect to take into account. As it allows you to connect with other devices as well as support PC-free printing, choosing the one that offers complete connectivity support is necessary. Thankfully, the XP-8600 features Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi direct that enables the printer to build connections with your smartphone or tablet.

The presence of Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi direct boasts a mobile printing feature that lets you print directly from the smartphone or tablet. Simply connect the printer device with your smartphones and the document is ready to print. Needless to say, direct printing is also available through a memory card slot located behind the hinged front lid or USB 2.0.

Moving to the software, the XP-8600 is among modern printer devices with excellent software support. Thanks to Epson Creative Print mobile application that enables you to design and print creative projects. You can also benefit from Epson Easy Photo Scan that works across platforms to convert your text to any formats.

A number of mobile options are also available to improve your experiences such as Epson iPrint App and Epson DocumentScan. Supposing that you need some additional mobile apps, Fire OS, Apple AirPrint, Mopria, and Google Cloud Print are ready to install.

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Ink Cartridge

While other printers typically use four colors (CMYK), the XP-8600 gives you more. This printer device comes with six colors that include standard colors (CMYK) plus Light Magenta and Light Cyan as additional inks. The presence of these additional inks helps broaden the color palette, at the same time reduce color graininess. Long story short, more inks give you better photos.

The XP-8600 uses dye-based 6-color Claria Photo HD 312 Series inks that are ideal for glossy paper, allowing you to get superb photo print quality. The result just gets better when you use Premium Glossy photo paper from Epson. This paper is available at different sizes to meet your needs.

And when it comes to print costs, the XP-8600 might not be a cheap option that you can find. With an assumption that the two additional inks (Light Magenta and Light Cyan) are only used as needed, I came to a conclusion. This printer costs around 4 cents per page for monochrome printing and it raises up to 15 cents per page for color.

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Pros and Cons

The Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 comes with a variety of features to simplify your everyday printing tasks. Despite all the conveniences, there’s a number of drawbacks that should be taken into consideration. Whether you want to purchase or not, it might be necessary to figure out the plus and minus of this printer device. Get yourself informed!

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Pros

• Ultra-fast performance

The XP-8600 is obviously among the fastest all-in-one printers I have ever found. The ability to print photos in 10 seconds makes it an extraordinary printer to opt for. The ISO print speed is also competitive with other printers in its class, allowing you to promote work-efficiency.

• High-quality output

The Expression Photo XP-8600 is able to deliver high-quality output, especially photos. Thanks to the 6-color inks that offer a broader color palette and graininess reduction. This feature helps produce high-quality photos as well as sharp text and vivid color graphics.

• Compact design

Everybody agrees that the XP-8600 has a compact design, allowing the device to fit your narrow desktop. The clever hinged front lid where the control panel is located gives an additional point to its design, while the big touch screen accentuates its modern look. All in all, the XP-8600 can be a nice addition to your workstation.

• Elongated photo print

Your XP-8600 uses 6-color Claria Photo HD inks that go beyond the typical CMYK inks. Not only does it deliver stunning photo print quality, but it also elongates the archival rating. Claria inks make your photos stay up to 300 years, in a condition that you put the photos in an album. Let’s say that you can make your memories last longer.

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 Cons

• Expensive printing cost

Supposing that you have bulky documents to print, the printing cost can be a bit bothersome. The XP-8600 costs you around 4 cents per page for black printing and 15 cents per page for color. This amount can raise over time, depending on the usage and type of document that you print. If you are looking for a printer with cheap printing costs, the XP-8600 might not be an ideal choice.

• Overly vivid auto-correction

Photo enhancement and auto-correction typically can help you get the best photo result with the right color. But you need to be careful when using the XP-8600. I noticed that auto-correction and photo enhancement make the photo end up with overly vivid colors and eliminate its natural look. You might need to ditch the photo editing stage to get the color that you want.

Verdict

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 is a compact all-in-one printer that offers a wide array of features. If you are looking for a printer specially tailored to meet your photo-printing hobby, the XP-8600 could be it. The device features 6-color Claria inks that produces high-quality photos with a long archival rating of up to 300 years. But if you prefer a printer with cheap printing costs, the XP-8600 is surely not the one.

Have you made a decision? Finding a good printer is none of the easy tasks as you have many things to take into account. But knowing the reviews as well as pros and cons will help you make a better decision. Do you think XP-8600 is ideal for you?