Macworld - USA (2020-04)

APRIL 2020 MACWORLD 93

Expression Photo
XP-8600 (go.
macworld.com/
ep86) is relatively
compact as inkjet printers go,
especially considering everything the
hardware does. Despite the XP-8600’s
diminutive size, the main tray holds up to
100 sheets of letter-sized plain paper (or
10 envelopes), with another 20 sheets of
up to 5 x 7 photo paper in the smaller tray
above. Although maxing out at 8.5 x 11
inches, the main tray can be temporarily
extended to accommodate several legal-
sized pages; a rear paper feed allows for
longer sizes up to 44 inches.
In addition to cranking out crisp, clean
monochrome or color documents and
vivid photos on average, this so-called
“small-in-one” also prints directly on CD
and DVD discs. This trick is performed by
opening the bottom paper tray, pulling out
the disc tray on the right side, raising the
control panel, and inserting a disc into an
optical media slot until the arrows line up.

Like many recent models, XP-8600

uses six included Epson 312 cartridges—

cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan,

light magenta—providing high-quality

prints in as little as 10 seconds. In tests

with the unit idle, full-coverage 4 x 6

photos in Fine mode land in the output

tray about 30 seconds after hitting the

Print button.

WIRELESS VERSATILITY

Like other printers, the XP-8600 can be

connected to Mac or PC with an optional

USB cable. The all-in-one also has a larger-

than-normal 4.3-inch color touchscreen on

the front that makes it super easy to copy,

print, or scan using an SD card or USB

thumb drive. The touchscreen also makes it

Dual paper trays allow for 20 sheets
of smaller photo paper to be loaded
alongside 100 sheets of plain paper,
while a large 4.3-inch touchscreen
control panel enables computer-
free printing and scanning.