In this printer shootout, we compare two of the latest entry-level color printers--the Canon S200SP and Epson Stylus C50--putting them through a series of tests to find out which one offers a better deal.

Round One: Print Quality

Click here for the full review of the Canon S200SP

Where quality of prints was concerned, there was hardly any difference in normal black text prints between the two inkjet printers. The text prints were relatively sharp with very slight bleeding. In the fastest economy mode, we did notice that prints from the Epson printer were a tad lighter than those take from Canon's.

In terms of color photo prints, those from the Canon printer were slightly sharper (naturally, since the maximum print resolution was higher) and the colors reproduced turned out more vibrant. However, some of the brighter colors tended to suffer from minor over-saturation and shades had poor tonal gradation. On the other hand, the Epson C50 produced photo prints with better tonal gradation and color accuracy but we noticed a certain degree of posterization in some of the light color shades

Verdict: For higher color accuracy prints, Epson pips Canon in this category. But if you prefer higher-resolution prints, Canon's the better choice.


Round Two: Print Speed

Click here for the full review of the Epson Stylus C50

From the specifications given for both printers, it is clear the print speed for the Epson C50 is faster with its eight pages per minute (ppm) monochrome print and 3.9 ppm color print. Canon, on the hand, claims the S200SP can print at up five ppm for black and three ppm for color. (Again, it should be noted that the print resolution of the Canon printer is higher at 2,880 x 720dpi.)

That said, when comparing the printers in normal mode, the difference in speed was less distinct. In fact, when printing color photos, the Epson C50 took a little more time than the Canon S200SP.

Verdict: Epson has the upper hand when it comes to faster printing speed. But under normal settings, both devices perform just as well.

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