Print quality is important when choosing a printer. The Epson CW-C6500 and Afinia L701 are both high-resolution 8-inch color label printers, but there's a 400 dpi print resolution difference between the two, and they each use a different ink type. Here's a quick look at the print quality differences between these two printers.

Print Quality Considerations

In general, the higher the dpi (dots per inch), the better the print quality. That's because with more dots, you can print finer details and text. The Afinia L701's 1600 dpi print resolution gives it a definite edge over the Epson CW-C6500's 1200 dpi resolution.

The Epson CW-C6500 uses pigment inks, which are great for printing durable industrial labels and barcodes. With a maximum print resolution of 1200 dpi, the Epson CW-C6500 can print decent labels with fine details and text, but the print speed is a dismal 0.20 inches per second at the highest print quality setting.

The Afinia L701 uses dye inks, which are ideal for printing photo-quality food and beverage labels and various product labels. Dye inks are much more vibrant than pigment inks, so the label colors will pop more with the Afinia L701. The maximum print resolution of 1600 dpi also allows for very fine details and text on labels. However, as a Memjet-based color label printer, the Afinia L701 is dramatically faster than the Epson CW-C6500, printing at speeds up to 6-to-8 inches per second at the highest print quality setting.

Thus, not only do you get a better print quality with the Afinia L701, but you also get faster print speeds. So if you need high-quality labels printed quickly, the Afinia L701 is the better choice, especially if you run a small-to-midsized business. If you don't mind sacrificing some print quality and dealing with slow print speeds for a slightly lower purchase price, especially if you run a home-based business, then the Epson CW-C6500 may be a better option for you.

Which Printer has the Better Print Quality?

Hands down, the Afinia L701 has the better print quality due to its higher 1600 dpi print resolution and vibrant dye-based inks. Not only can it print very fine details and text on labels, but the dye inks produce much more vibrant colors than the pigment inks used by the Epson CW-C6500.

See for yourself by sending us your design file and requesting free printed label samples. We’ll print your design on each of the printers and send you the printed labels so you can see how much better the print quality is on the Afinia L701.

Which Printer is Faster?

The Afinia L701 is also much faster than the Epson CW-C6500, printing at speeds up to six to eight inches per second compared to the CW-C6500's dismal 0.20 inches per second. This is due in part to the fact that it uses Memjet technology, which allows for high print speeds without sacrificing print quality. The Epson's serial print technology, which moves a print head slowly back and forth across the width of the label, simply can't keep up with the Afinia L701's blazing fast print speed.