Epson are no stranger to the multi-function market, the have produced numerous models previous to there latest offer the Stylus SX218 so they should be able to get it right. The stylus SX218 uses the same four colour ink system seen previously in Epson multifunction printers which helps produce excellent results but this comes at a price if you’re using genuine Epson ink cartridges, a multi-pack of four ink cartridges will set you back £30 but there are compatible Epson SX218 ink cartridges for around half that price. There’s more to the SX218 than printer ink cartridges however, it’s performance looks impressive on paper and it delivers in the real world too. As well as a printer the SX218 is also an A4 scanner and photocopier both of which it performs very well at and although they are not quite as good as a standalone machine they are perfectly adequate for most people’s needs. It hard to find fault with the SX218 because its purchase price is so reasonable but one thing that is a disappoint is the printing speed, Epson claim on the spec sheet that printing 34ppm is possible but this is far from the truth, the real figure is more like 4ppm. Slow printing speeds is not enough to take away the credit to the SX218 for being a great value for money, versatile device.