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Epson’s Expression Photo XP-760 needed to be special, as you can pick up a good wireless inkjet multifunction peripheral (MFP) for half the price. It gets off to a good start, with a high specification and a classy, compact design. It is controlled through a large colour touchscreen, with a few extra context-sensitive, touch-sensitive buttons. There’s support for wired and wireless networks, as well as automatic duplex (double-sided) printing.
As its name suggests, the XP-760 targets keen photographers and other creative users. There’s no fax modem or automatic document feeder, but there is a high 2,400×4,800dpi scan resolution and Epson’s six-ink print engine – long one of our favourites for photo prints. You can print shots directly from a camera’s SD card, or from an Android or iOS device using Epson’s iPrint app. A second tray holds up to 5×7″ photo paper and engages automatically when needed.
For the most part the XP-760 is easy to use, but it can be fiddly to load paper in the photo tray or the shallow main paper tray below it, despite being motorised. The touchscreen is responsive and easy to use, though not without its foibles: when copying we’re not sure why you have to tap black or colour, then a start icon, rather than simply having black and colour start icons.
Nit-picking aside, this is an excellent MFP. The scanner is quick, previewing an A4 sheet in 10 seconds and capturing it at 300 dots per inch (dpi) in 17 seconds. At 600dpi it could scan a 6×4″ photo in just 20 seconds, while the same job took 77 seconds at 1,200dpi. Although the printer is optimised for photos, it’s no slouch on office jobs, printing text at an acceptable 8.7ppm, and delivering our colour graphics test at a swift 6.2ppm. A single photocopy took 15 seconds in black, or 22 seconds in colour.
Predictably, print quality on plain paper was so-so: acceptable for the occasional letter or web page, but not a patch on a good office inkjet. Load up glossy paper, however, and the XP-760 reveals its true potential. Photos were better than those we’ve had back from some labs, with superb colour accuracy, remarkable levels of detail and a crispness that was particularly noticeable in our black and white test image. Much the same can be said for images captured by its scanner, which demonstrated a superb dynamic range, easily capturing and distinguishing the full range of colours and shades in our test pattern.
At about 9.4p per A4 page of text and graphics, the XP-760 isn’t particularly cheap to run. If you want a general-purpose wireless inkjet MFP with good results, save your money and choose Canon’s PIXMA MG5650. If you want peerless photo quality, however, the XP-760 does justify the extra outlay. It’s a Best Buy. If neither of those suit your needs then check out our reguarly-updated Best Printers.
