Advertised print speeds don't always tell the whole story. To get an idea of how fast the Afinia L701 and Epson CW-C6500 really are, we put them to the test and timed how long it took to print an 8" by 4" colour label at each printer's highest print quality setting. After all, when printing labels for your business, you want them to look their best.

While the Afinia L701 and Epson CW-C6500 colour label printers are comparably equipped in many ways, there is one key difference that sets them apart: print speed. With its Memjet technology, the Afinia L701 can print at speeds of up to 40 feet per minute at high resolution. The Epson CW-C6500 doesn't even come close.

In our test, we found that the Afinia L701 printed 90 8"x4" labels in 60 seconds while the Epson CW-C6500 managed to print just 3 of the same labels. Watch the video below to see the print speeds in a side-by-side comparison.

But what about print quality? Do the Epson's labels look better since the printer took so much longer to print them? Not at all. While the Epson's labels look good at 1200 dpi, the Afinia L701's labels look even better with bolder colors and crisper details at 1600 dpi.

The Afinia L701 uses Memjet technology to print at resolutions up to 1600x1600 dpi. This means that your labels will have more detail and sharper images than with the Epson CW-C6500, which only prints at 1200 dpi.

We should also mention that the two printers use different types of inks, which affects the print quality as well. The Afinia L701 uses dye-based inks, while the Epson CW-C6500 uses pigment inks. Dye inks have brighter colours than the muted colours of pigment inks.

When it comes to printing colour labels, the Afinia L701 is superior to the Epson CW-C6500 in both print speed and print quality. If your business in Canada intends to print a lot of labels, the Afinia L701 is the obvious choice. If you run a home-based business or have a very low volume of labels to print, the Epson CW-C6500 might be a good option for you as speed is less important.

To see the print resolution and colour differences for yourself, request a free sample pack from us. We'll send labels printed on both the Afinia L701 and Epson CW-C6500 so that you can see what 1200 dpi vs 1600 dpi looks like as well as determine whether you prefer the vivid colours of the L701 over the muted colours of the CW-C6500 before you make a buying decision.