Epson Stylus Photo 750

It should come as no surprise to find that in terms of overall print quality, the 750 is superior to HP's offering. What's more difficult to discern, however, is whether or not there's any difference between the output of the 750 and the 740. In fact, looking at our standard A4 photographic test, I couldn't tell the difference as far as detail capture was concerned, although the colour balance of each image was slightly different. Closer examination revealed fractionally more halftoning in the output of the 740, especially in lighter areas. There's also a hint, close-up, of slightly cleaner reproduction of some of the finer image details. Business graphics were dealt with effortlessly, as you'd expect, and text quality on both plain and coated paper was just as impressive as the 740's, although it still didn't have that laser printer feel.

Epson may not have achieved a dramatic technology advance in the Stylus Photo 750, but it has raised the standard, albeit by the smallest fraction. It may cost a little more than the HP DeskJet 880C - and there's no denying that the 740 is the better compromise of speed and quality - but the quality of the 750's output pushes it to the front of the inkjet pack.

Author: Jonathan Bray