Epson Stylus Photo R285: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Epson Stylus Photo R285 right for you?

The Stylus Photo R285 was a popular European six-colour A4 photo printer from 2007 with Claria dye inks and a CD printing tray, known as the R280 in the US. It was cheap, fast and produced vivid glossy photos, which is why many households kept one long after it was discontinued. USB-only and screen-less, it needs a legacy driver and the T0807 Hummingbird cartridges, and most survivors are at their waste pad limit.

Best for: Households with a cheap six-ink photo printer from the late 2000s

Setting up the Epson Stylus Photo R285

Install the archived driver from epson.co.uk/support before connecting by USB. Use the Epson Print CD utility for disc printing. If colours print with streaks after storage, run one cleaning cycle and a nozzle check, then wait an hour before repeating.

1. Unbox and prepare. Remove every piece of shipping tape and packing material, install the ink cartridges, and load paper in the tray.
2. Join your Wi-Fi. Keep the printer close to the router for setup. Most printers only connect to the 2.4GHz band, so if your router broadcasts one merged network name you may need to split the bands temporarily. See our Wi-Fi guide if it will not join.
3. Install the setup app. Use Epson's official app rather than a driver you found on a search result — third-party driver sites are the most common source of printer malware.
4. Add the printer. On Windows 11: Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › Add device. On macOS: System Settings › Printers & Scanners › Add Printer.
5. Print a test page and run a scan if this is an all-in-one, so you find any problem now rather than when you are in a hurry.

Ink, toner and supplies

The Epson Stylus Photo R285 uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• Epson T0807 Hummingbird multipack (Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Light Magenta)

High-yield (XL) versions almost always cost less per page if you print regularly. On third-party ink and toner, read our honest assessment first, and note that some manufacturers push firmware that rejects non-original chips.

Full specifications