Epson SureColor SC-P700 Review: The Ultimate Desktop Photo Lab?

There’s a unique kind of disappointment that every passionate photographer or digital artist knows intimately. You spend hours composing the perfect shot, meticulously editing colours and tones, and crafting an image that perfectly captures a moment or a feeling. You hit ‘print’ on your standard home printer, full of anticipation, only to be met with a pale imitation of what was on your screen. The deep, velvety blacks are now a muddy grey, vibrant colours appear washed out, and subtle details in the shadows are lost forever. This isn’t just a bad print; it’s a betrayal of your artistic vision. For years, I relied on third-party printing services, which meant delays, extra costs, and a frustrating lack of control over the final result. The dream was always to have a professional-grade printing lab right here in my studio, a machine that could translate the digital canvas into a tangible piece of art with absolute fidelity. The search for that machine is what led me to the Epson SureColor SC-P700.

What to Consider Before Buying a Professional Photo Printer

A professional-grade photo printer is more than just an office peripheral; it’s a key solution for creatives who need to bring their digital work into the physical world without compromise. It closes the gap between screen and paper, ensuring that the final print is a true and accurate representation of the artist’s intent. The main benefits are unparalleled colour accuracy, tonal range, and archival-quality output that standard all-in-one devices simply cannot achieve. This control over the entire creative process, from capture to final print, is invaluable for professionals and serious hobbyists alike.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing the limitations of consumer-grade printers—photographers preparing for gallery exhibitions, graphic designers needing precise colour proofs, or fine artists creating limited edition runs. If your livelihood or passion depends on the quality of a physical print, this category is for you. However, it might not be suitable for those who primarily print documents, spreadsheets, or the occasional holiday snap. The higher initial cost and specialised, more expensive inks would be overkill. For general home or office use, a standard all-in-one inkjet or a monochrome laser printer would be a far more economical and practical choice.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: While the Epson SureColor SC-P700 is marketed as compact for its class, an A3+ printer is still a substantial piece of equipment. You must account for not only its footprint on your desk but also the clearance required at the front and rear for the paper paths, especially when using thick fine art media. Measure your intended space carefully to ensure it can be accommodated without feeling cramped.
• Capacity/Performance: For a photo printer, ‘performance’ isn’t about pages per minute; it’s about quality per print. Key metrics include the maximum print resolution (5760 x 1440 DPI here), the number of individual ink colours (a whopping ten in this case), and the printer’s ability to handle a wide range of media types and sizes, from standard glossy paper up to thick A3+ fine art canvas and roll paper.
• Materials & Durability: A professional printer is a long-term investment. Look for a robust build quality that feels solid and doesn’t flex or creak. The internal components, particularly the print head and paper feeding mechanisms, should be engineered for precision and longevity to handle thousands of prints and a variety of heavy paper stocks over its lifespan.
• Ease of Use & Maintenance: A complex machine shouldn’t require a complex workflow. Features like a large, intuitive touchscreen, reliable wireless connectivity, and straightforward driver software are essential. Consider the long-term maintenance, including the cost of ink, the process for replacing cartridges, and any routine cleaning cycles the printer needs to perform to keep its nozzles clear and performance optimal.

Keeping these factors in mind, the Epson SureColor SC-P700 stands out in several areas. You can explore its detailed specifications and features here.

While the Epson SureColor SC-P700 is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: A Sleek, Understated Powerhouse

Unboxing the Epson SureColor SC-P700, the first thing that struck me was its design. Professional photo printers of the past were often beige, utilitarian behemoths that dominated any room they were in. This model, however, is different. It’s finished in a sleek, modern black with clean lines and a refreshingly understated aesthetic. As one user who upgraded from the older Epson R3000 noted, it’s significantly narrower, making it feel much more compact and manageable in a home studio environment. Despite its smaller footprint, the unit feels dense and substantial, weighing in at 12.6 kg, which speaks to a quality build.

The star of the show upon powering it on is the 4.3-inch colour LCD touchscreen. It’s bright, responsive, and a massive leap forward in usability. It elegantly guides you through the entire setup process, from connecting to Wi-Fi to installing the ten individual UltraChrome Pro10 ink cartridges. This intuitive interface immediately signals that this is a premium, user-focused machine designed to get you from unboxing to printing beautiful photos as painlessly as possible.

A Deep Dive into the Epson SureColor SC-P700’s Performance

A professional photo printer lives and dies by the quality of its output. It can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but if the final print doesn’t sing, it’s failed in its primary mission. Over several weeks, we put the Epson SureColor SC-P700 through its paces, testing it with everything from standard glossy photos to heavyweight, textured fine art papers. The results were, in a word, breathtaking. This isn’t just a printer; it’s a precision instrument for creating art.

The Heart of the Matter: Uncompromising Print Quality

The magic of the Epson SureColor SC-P700 lies in its 10-channel MicroPiezo print head and the accompanying UltraChrome Pro10 pigment ink set. This isn’t the simple four or six-colour system you find in consumer printers. Here, you have Photo Black, Matte Black, Cyan, Light Cyan, Yellow, Vivid Magenta, Vivid Light Magenta, Grey, Light Grey, and a new Violet ink. This expanded set is crucial for two reasons. Firstly, the Violet ink expands the colour gamut, especially in the blues and purples, allowing for more accurate reproduction of difficult tones like deep twilight skies. Secondly, the dedicated grey and light grey inks are transformative for black and white photography, enabling incredibly smooth tonal gradations without any hint of colour cast—a common problem when printers try to create grey by mixing colours.

The most significant innovation, however, is the Carbon Black Driver Mode combined with the Black Enhance Overcoat technology. For photographers, the depth of the black tones (DMAX) is the holy grail. On glossy and semi-gloss papers, we found the Epson SureColor SC-P700 produced some of the deepest, richest blacks we have ever seen from a desktop printer. It lays down a layer of light grey ink over the black areas, which smooths the surface and dramatically reduces gloss differential and bronzing, resulting in a print that feels deeper and more detailed. When we printed a high-contrast nighttime city scene, the blacks were absolutely profound, allowing the vibrant lights to pop with incredible clarity. This feature alone elevates the printer into a class of its own. It’s a game-changer for anyone who loves printing high-impact, contrast-rich images.

Design and Usability: A Modern Workflow

Epson clearly put a great deal of thought into the physical design and user experience. The compact chassis is a welcome change, fitting neatly onto a desktop without completely taking over the workspace. But the true hero of the daily workflow is the 4.3-inch touchscreen. It’s fully customizable and provides clear, animated instructions for everything from loading paper to troubleshooting. Checking ink levels is a simple tap away, and initiating a nozzle check or print head cleaning cycle can be done directly from the printer itself, without ever having to open a piece of software on your computer. This level of on-device control streamlines the printing process significantly.

Media handling is also impressively flexible. There are three paper paths: a primary top-loading feeder for up to 120 sheets of standard paper, a single-sheet front-loading path designed for thick, fine art media up to 1.5mm thick, and an integrated spindle-less roll paper adapter. We tested the front feed with a heavy 308gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper, and after guiding it into place, the printer took over and fed it through flawlessly. The ability to easily switch between a stack of glossy 6×4 photos, a single sheet of A3+ canvas paper, and a roll for panoramic prints makes the Epson SureColor SC-P700 an incredibly versatile tool for any creative project. To have this level of professional media flexibility in such a compact design is a truly remarkable feat of engineering.

Setup, Connectivity, and a Noteworthy Quirk

Getting started was remarkably straightforward. We confirmed the experience of one user who reported a total setup time of about 30 minutes. The process involves unpacking, removing all the blue protective tape, installing the ten ink cartridges, and then waiting for the printer to perform its initial ink charge. It’s important to note that this initial charge consumes a significant portion of the “starter” cartridges, so it’s wise to have a full set of replacement inks on hand. Connecting to our studio’s Wi-Fi network via the touchscreen was simple, and downloading the necessary drivers and software from Epson’s website was quick. For those who prefer a wired connection, both Ethernet and USB ports are available.

During our extensive testing, we did encounter one peculiar issue, which was also highlighted in user feedback. When printing on A4 fine art paper, we experienced several prints being inexplicably cancelled mid-way, with the printer reporting a paper misalignment. After some investigation, we discovered this was caused by a default setting in the driver called “Detect paper meandering.” This feature is designed to be a fail-safe against misaligned paper, but we found it to be overly sensitive with heavier stock. Once we disabled this single setting, the problem vanished entirely, and the printer produced perfect A4 prints consistently. While it’s an easy fix, it’s a frustrating quirk that new owners should be aware of to avoid wasting expensive paper and ink. Once resolved, however, the performance was flawless. If you want to achieve truly professional results at home, you can see if the Epson SureColor SC-P700 is the right fit for your studio.

What Other Users Are Saying

Our findings are strongly corroborated by the experiences of other users. The overwhelming sentiment is positive, with many, like the reviewer upgrading from an older Epson Stylus Photo R3000, praising the exceptional print quality as a clear continuation of Epson’s dominance in this space. This same user highlighted the easy 30-minute setup, the more compact design, and the vastly improved touchscreen interface, all points that we confirmed in our own testing. It’s clear that for those familiar with older pro-photo printers, the Epson SureColor SC-P700 represents a significant step forward in both usability and design.

However, the journey isn’t without its potential bumps. The most prominent issue we found, which was detailed in another user’s multi-part update, is the “Detect paper meandering” function causing failed prints, particularly on A4-sized fine art paper. This user’s frustration, which they experienced across both Mac and Windows machines, is completely valid. Thankfully, as both we and they discovered, the solution is as simple as disabling the feature in the print settings. This feedback is crucial because it highlights a specific software quirk that could otherwise lead to immense frustration and wasted materials for a new owner.

How Does the Epson SureColor SC-P700 Compare to Alternatives?

The Epson SureColor SC-P700 occupies a specialist niche, and it’s important to understand how it stacks up against other types of printers you might be considering. The alternatives listed are not direct competitors in photo quality, but they represent different priorities and use cases.

1. Brother MFC-L2835DW All-in-one Mono Laser Printer 2-Sided Print

The Brother MFC-L2835DW is built for a completely different purpose: office productivity. As a monochrome laser printer, its strengths are speed, sharp text document printing, and a low cost-per-page for black and white output. It includes scan, copy, and fax functionalities, making it an ideal workhorse for a home office or small business that deals primarily with text-based documents. Someone would choose this over the Epson for its efficiency and document-handling features. It cannot, however, print in colour, making it entirely unsuitable for any kind of photography or graphic design work.

2. Canon PIXMA MG2550S All-in-One Printer

The Canon PIXMA MG2550S represents the entry-level, budget end of the all-in-one market. Its primary appeal is its extremely low initial purchase price. It can print, scan, and copy in colour, making it suitable for a student or a family with very infrequent printing needs, such as printing a school report or a concert ticket. However, its photo quality is basic at best, with a limited colour range and high ink costs in the long run. Anyone serious about photo quality would find the MG2550S’s output profoundly disappointing compared to the rich, detailed prints from the Epson SureColor SC-P700.

3. Canon PIXMA TS5150 All-in-One Printer

The Canon PIXMA TS5150 is a solid mid-range home printer. It’s a step up from the ultra-budget models, offering wireless printing from smartphones and better overall print quality for documents and casual photos. It’s a good all-rounder for a family that needs to print a mix of homework, web pages, and the occasional holiday photo. While its photo output is perfectly acceptable for a family photo album, its five-ink system cannot compete with the ten specialised pigment inks of the Epson. It lacks the colour gamut, black depth, and archival longevity required for professional work.

Final Verdict: Should You Buy the Epson SureColor SC-P700?

After extensive use, it’s clear that the Epson SureColor SC-P700 is not just another all-in-one printer; it is a dedicated, specialised tool for creators. Its performance is nothing short of exceptional, delivering gallery-worthy prints that are vibrant, incredibly detailed, and boast some of the deepest blacks available from a desktop printer today. The modern, compact design and the intuitive touchscreen interface make the professional printing process more accessible and enjoyable than ever before.

This is not a printer for everyone. The high initial investment and the ongoing cost of its ten ink cartridges place it firmly in the prosumer and professional category. However, if you are a serious photographer, graphic designer, or fine artist for whom the final print is an integral part of your creative expression, the Epson SureColor SC-P700 is a phenomenal investment. It empowers you with total control over your work and delivers results that will consistently astound you. For those who demand the best, this machine delivers in spades.

If you’ve decided the Epson SureColor SC-P700 is the right fit for your creative workflow, you can check its current price and purchase it here.