Epson ET-8550 Price, UV A4 Direct-to-Object Printers, and the msvcr80dll Error: An FAQ From Someone Who's Made the Mistakes

I've been handling custom printing orders for six years. In that time, I've personally made and documented about 14 significant mistakes—roughly $18,000 in wasted budget. Now I maintain our team's checklist so others don't repeat my errors. This FAQ covers the questions I hear most: Epson ET-8550 shopping, UV A4 direct-to-object printers, the 'inkjet printer printer' confusion, and that 'msvcr80dll is missing' error.

1. What should I actually compare when I search for an Epson ET-8550 best price?

I can't tell you the single best price because it changes weekly. But I can tell you what the phrase hides. I almost bought an ET-8550 from a listing that looked about $95 cheaper than my normal vendor. The unit was a regional variant—no US warranty, no included EcoTank ink bottles, and a power supply I'd need to replace. The upside was $95 saved. The risk was a $250 paperweight if something failed. I passed.

Per FTC guidelines (ftc.gov), marketing claims have to be truthful and substantiated. Marketplace listings can still omit things legally. So ask: what's NOT included? Warranty? Ink bottles? Power cable? Shipping? Import fees? A vendor who lists all fees upfront—even if the total looks higher—usually costs less in the end. Prices are as of this writing; verify current rates.

2. What is a UV A4 printer, and what does 'direct to object' mean?

A UV A4 printer is a flatbed printer with a print area around A4 size. It uses UV-curable ink, and the printhead fires directly onto rigid items—phone cases, keychains, pens, small boxes. 'Direct to object' means you're printing on the object itself, not creating a decal and applying it later. That's the UV printer direct to object workflow people search for.

Here's the part I didn't know when I started: in my experience, 'A4' only tells you the bed size, not the object height. Some machines only accept items up to 15mm thick. Others have a Z-axis lift that handles 100mm or more. I once bought a compact UV printer without checking maximum thickness, and my pen blanks didn't fit. That was an assumption failure: $1,400 of equipment that needed an extra accessory. Measure your item before you compare beds.

3. Can I use a regular Epson printer for UV direct-to-object printing?

No. This is the surface illusion: it looks like any other inkjet printer, so people assume with the right ink or driver, it can print onto objects. The reality is UV-curable ink is a different chemistry. It's designed to stay liquid until hit by UV light, then cure immediately. A standard Epson EcoTank printer—like the ET-8550—uses pigment or dye ink for paper and photo media. Some models can print on CD/DVDs, but that's not UV direct-to-object.

'Can I just refill an EcoTank with UV ink?' Don't. The ink will cure in the printhead, and you'll get a repair bill that makes the cheap conversion idea look ridiculous. If you want UV direct-to-object printing, buy a printer designed for it.

4. What should I check before buying a UV A4 printer?

After my pen blank mistake, I built a pre-check list. It has caught 47 potential errors in the past 18 months—mostly in quotes, not finished prints. In no particular order:

• Max object thickness and height
• Actual printable bed size (A4 is nominal; usable area is usually smaller)
• Ink cost per milliliter and expected ink life
• UV lamp replacement cost—not just the printer price
• Ventilation requirements
• Head cleaning process and frequency
• What the quoted price excludes

That last one is the transparency point: I've learned to ask 'what's NOT included?' before 'what's the price?' A machine that shows a low price and then adds $800 for a lamp, software dongle, and shipping was not cheaper. It was just a different number.

5. Why do I get 'msvcr80dll is missing' when installing Epson printer software?

That's the Windows Visual C++ 2005 runtime. The full file name is msvcr80.dll—not msvcr80dll; 'dll' is the extension. Epson's older driver installers call that runtime, and if it's missing or quarantined, Windows shows the error.

Fix it the safe way: download the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (x86) from Microsoft's official website. Install it, restart, then uninstall and reinstall the Epson software. Don't grab 'msvcr80.dll' from a random DLL download site—that's how you get malware. The official runtime is small and fixes the error without side effects.

If it still appears, check your antivirus quarantine. One of my customers had the AV flag the runtime installer and delete it mid-install. We restored it, and the Epson driver installed fine.

6. What does 'inkjet printer printer' even mean?

Maybe you've typed 'inkjet printer printer' into a search box. It's usually a duplicate-word typo, but it points to a real question: there are desktop inkjet printers and production inkjet printers, and they're not the same.

A desktop inkjet printer, like the ET-8550, handles paper, photos, and documents. A production inkjet printer is built for commercial settings—labels, boxes, or rigids on a line. The word 'printer' isn't enough. You have to check duty cycle, media path, ink system, and support costs. My rule: if the vendor can't tell you the monthly recommended print volume in pages or square meters, they're selling you a box, not a system.

7. Why is a 'cheap' inkjet printer more expensive in the long run?

I'm a walking example. I saved $80 by choosing a budget desktop printer over the model I actually needed. Three weeks later, the printhead clogged mid-job. The reorder cost $400, plus a lost weekend. Net loss: $320 plus one unhappy client. The 'budget' choice looked smart until I saw the redo invoice.

People think expensive printers are just a higher sticker price. Actually, the printer that costs more up front can be cheaper to own when the ink pricing, support, and reliability are clear. The causation runs in reverse: reliable machines can charge more because they cost less over time. For Epson EcoTank printers, the upfront price is higher because the ink bottles are included and the cost per page is lower. That's a transparent model—you know what you're paying for. To be fair, cheap printers are fine for light use. But for production work, the real cost shows up after the sale. At least, that's been my experience with production jobs.