by David Nagel
Executive Producer
dnagel@digitalmedianet.com

Epson has announced a new four-color inkjet printer based on the Stylus Color 777, but with styling to match iMacs and Power Mac G4s. The Stylus Color 777i, priced at $99, offers 2,880 DPI resolution and four picoliter droplets, as well as 8 page per minute printing in black and white. Text and color prints can come out at six pages per minute.

The new model ships standard with an "ice" exterior case and an "indigo" lid. Additional lids are available for $9.95 in ruby, sage, graphite and purple.

Epson says it has also written the printer software for greater saturation and better shadow and highlight detail to give the best print quality, and printing photo quality images is a standard feature out of the box with no other ink cartridges to buy. The Stylus Color 777i uses Epson's new "Intelligent Ink" cartridge technology that enables users to remove and replace a cartridge that may be low on ink in order to complete larger print jobs. Later the original cartridge can be reinstalled for smaller print jobs.

This new printer is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms and has both USB and parallel connectivity. It also includes a software bundle that features Epson Film Factory for collecting and organizing digital photos and Corel Printhouse 2000 for publishing and photo editing.

Epson didn't say when the new printer will be available. For more information, visit http://www.epson.com.