Review: Epson Photo XP-8500 wireless color photo printer

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[letsreviewunique pros_title=”The Good” pros=”Simple setup – No PC required,Prints amazing photos,It’s insanely quiet for a printer,You can print on CD/DVDs” cons_title=”The Bad” cons=”It’s not as compact as the company promises but at the same time it isn’t overly big either,The ink is expensive” accent=”#911d9c” final_score=”90″ format=”2″ skin=”1″ animation=”1″ design=”1″][/letsreviewunique]

I can’t tell you the last time I owned a printer. Honestly, I never really had the need for one. Sure, there were times when I needed to print something up – like a return label or something – but I would usually just have my wife print it from her job. Now, when it comes to printing pictures, now there’s something I could use.

I recently had the chance to review this photo printer from Kodak. To be frank, I wasn’t a huge fan, but I wasn’t incredibly disappointed either. It was alright, but it had a lot of limitations. It was really slow, it would regularly overheat, and at one point I lost a whole printing cartridge due to some unknown error. Again, it did its job, but truthfully, I haven’t used it again.

If you want to print photos plus having a full-fledged printer and scanner/copier, meet the Epson Photo XP-8500. First off, it’s $200, it’s wireless, and it comes packed with a bunch of features that will make your head spin. If all printers were made like this, no one would ever have to repurchase a new printer.

Image: Kevin Raposo / KnowTechie

Right out of the box, this thing is insanely simple to set up. You don’t even need a computer to get this thing up and running. The printer has this sleek touchscreen interface that allows you to set everything up right on the printer. No need for software downloads or having to visit a manufacturer’s website.

I was kind of let down by its size though. Epson claims a “compact, space-saving design.” While it’s not necessarily huge, it’s not really that small either. But when compared to other printers that offer all the same features, this printer is compact in comparison. It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s definitely something worth mentioning.

One of my favorite things about this printer is how well it prints photos. Seriously, the pictures come out immensely exceptional. I printed about ten each of 4″ x 6″ and 8″ x 10″ photos and all of them came out flawlessly. I had a few hiccups with how I put the paper in its tray, but after correcting it, I had perfect borderless photos. Seriously, I can’t stress how good this thing prints photos. I don’t think I’ll ever have to get pictures printed by someone again. I’m looking at you Rite-Aid.

Image: Kevin Raposo / KnowTechie

It’s probably worth mentioning how I printed these photos. I did it all right on my iPhone. Don’t worry, and you can use it on an Android phone too. But what’s even better, you don’t even really need a smartphone at all. The printer is equipped with a USB slot as well as two memory card slots. Plug either or in and control everything through the printer’s touchscreen. No wires, no fuss.

Like I mentioned before, this printer is stuffed with a slew of features. It has a scanner/copier, and they both performed great. One thing I didn’t realize until the end of my testing was this thing could even print on CD and DVDs. So if you’re someone who likes to make family movies, slap a fancy label on top of it to go along with it.

All in all, this thing is an incredible value at its current price point. Honestly, you can’t beat it. You’re getting a printer, scanner/copier, and a bad ass machine that’s capable of printing professional quality photos. My only concern about it is that if you’re using this printer to its full capabilities, you’re probably going to have to restock on ink. The kicker is that you can only use Epson’s ink (the company warns the printer may not function correctly), and to be honest, the ink isn’t cheap. That’s probably the only thing negative I can say about it

But, if you’re looking for the total package when it comes to a printer, this is what you’re looking for. Even if it’s something you don’t see yourself using on a regular basis, it’s worth having something that’s the best as opposed to something you’ll regret owning.

A sample unit was provided to KnowTechie for the purpose of this review.

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.