Celebrating Mom: Epson Artisan 835 All-in-One Printer {Review}

If there is one thing that I'm constantly hearing from nearly every member of my family, it's that they want to see more pictures of the girls.

I can't help it that Big Sister E and Little Sister B are just so darn adorable that they want to see them all the time, now can I?

But, I'll admit. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Other than this blog, I'm pretty slow (i.e. lazy) at getting pictures emailed, posted, or printed for everyone to enjoy. It's not that I don't take the photos, because I bring my camera nearly everywhere, it's just that once they are uploaded onto my computer, that's where they stay.

My excuse has always been a lack of time, as the idea of having to sort through photos to pick the best ones and then upload and order them is just too far down on my to-do list to ever make it to the top. Now, if I could just do it quickly, easily, and right from home, well... that would be another story. No driving anywhere or having to submit my choices in the nick of time before the store closes...

When the Artisan 835 All-in-One Printer from Epson arrived, I was pretty sure my days of delaying my picture-sharing were over.

A leader in printing innovation, Epson America and their line of Artisan All-in-One printers are perfect for the personal, photo, and creative projects in our lives. With great print quality, fast photo printing times, and an innovative feature to fit every aspect, there is an Epson printer to meet all of your needs.

When it comes to the Artisan 835, as soon as I had it out of the box, I knew it was going to be exactly what I needed for more than just printing my photos, this 5-in-1 with Wi-Fi also has the ability to print, copy, scan, and fax!

Measuring 18.3" x 18.0" x 7.8", the Epson Artisan 835 is larger than a standard printer - but that makes sense, considering it does the job of five different machines! Right away I liked the sleek, modern design and the contemporary look that this has and the fact that whether it was to sit in a home office or just right out on a shelf, it wouldn't detract from the decor.

After checking out the various items that came with the Artisan 835...

...I turned to the clear, easy to follow instructions to get things started. I was happy to see just how simple it was to prepare and insert the ink cartridges and get the setup for the printer (date, time, etc) entered.

And part of the reason that it was so easy to get the Artisan 835 ready was the innovative smart 7.8" touch panel, something that I have never used with a printer before... but now think is essential!

With a quick push of the unlock button, you can adjust the screen to the angle that works best for you and makes it possible for anyone (no matter if you are knowledgeable about gadgets or not) to use all of the features of this printer with a few taps of their finger.

Although it took me no time at all to get this Epson printer connected to our wireless network (how handy!), I did have to try a few times to get the software installed onto my computer... which I'm pretty sure had to do with the fact that my laptop is a hunk of junk.

Once I was ready to go, I found that not only is the Artisan 835 and the touch panel easy to use, but it can do just about everything! Due to the unique double-layered paper tray, once I had standard paper as well as the included photo paper in their correct places, I was ready to create.

When it comes to printing photos, I was skeptical that Epson had really found a way that I could have lab quality results that wouldn't smudge, scratch or fade right at home.

But not only does the 835 print beautiful images in seconds, it gives you so many options as to what you'd like to do with them. View, edit (things like photo correction and red-eye removal as well as crop, rotate, etc) restore faded photos, print CDs, DVDs, photo IDs, personalized notepaper using a picture, photo greeting cards... the list goes on and on!

We've tried a few of the various projects and our favorites have easily been the high quality photos and the coloring pages. Both are so simple to do, yet the results are great! I can easily pop my camera's memory card right into the front...

...and I hardly have time to blink before the bright colors and professional look of the photos appear.

But, as much as my daughters adore seeing the actual photographs of themselves, they were especially amazed when we were able to take a picture, place it right on the scanner, and tap a button or two and have it turn into a page from a coloring book.
The pages aren't super-detailed, but they're still very cool! The girls get so excited to get to color themselves in!

Having an easily accessible scanner, copier, and fax at home is something that I have really enjoyed already, as now I don't have to worry about sending something with my husband to work or getting the kids and I to a store or business that offers it. The intuitive controls and that great touch panel make it a breeze to get things done whenever I need them.

Overall, the Artisan 835 has proven itself to be an excellent choice for taking care of just about anything that I could have asked for. The fact that it has made it possible to print, scan, copy, fax, and print photos so quickly and easily is amazing and, due to the Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking capabilities, I can use this machine from any room of the house... you can even print to it from your mobile device!

No more hooking up cables and looking for power cords, Epson has taken an entire office worth of machines and gadgets and condensed them into this one convenient package. Retailing for $299.99, the Artisan 835 All-in-One Printer would make an amazing Mother's Day gift and will have the mom in your life (or you!) ready to do standard, traditional printing all the way up to creative, one-of-a-kind projects in no time.

For more information about this and all of Epson's top-of-the-line products, visit their website, become a fan on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter. And, to hear more about just what Epson can do and how great their products are, visit A Mom's Balancing Act and see what Jenna thinks of the Epson Artisan 725 All-in-One Printer!

(Other than the Artisan 835 All-in-One that I received from Epson to facilitate my review, I was not provided with anything or enticed to do this review in any way. This review is solely my opinion of this company and their products.)