- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Updates
- Comparison
- Best Printers
- Conclusion
- Discussions
Epson is a company that makes a variety of printers to suit the needs of most common households, as well as small and big businesses. Aside from their specialty printers such as label printers or disc printers, their consumer-level all-in-ones are mostly inkjets, as they've stopped making laser printers for several years now. That said, they have a stunning number of inkjet printers for nearly any type of use, with the WorkForce, Expression, and EcoTank line being the most popular.
Updates
- 01/28/2021 Epson EcoTank ET-2720 updated
- 12/03/2020 Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 EcoTank reviewed
- 11/27/2020 Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840 reviewed
- 11/13/2020 Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830 reviewed
- 10/30/2020 Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 reviewed
Best Epson Printers
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Best Epson Printer For Small/Home Office
Type All in OneTechnology InkjetWireless YesColor YesSuperTankYesThe best Epson printer for small or home offices we've tested is the Epson EcoTank ET-3760. This all-in-one inkjet printer is very cost-efficient thanks to its outstanding supertank ink system, which yields an extremely high number of pages before the tanks need refilling. When you do need to refill them, the ink bottles aren't too expensive, so it won't make much of a dent in your wallet. It has great connectivity options, letting you print via Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet, and even directly from your mobile device. Also, it's compatible with the excellent Epson iPrint app, which allows you to not only print, scan, and copy directly from your smart device but also to perform maintenance tasks like nozzle checks and verifying ink levels.
Unfortunately, although black-only pages print out somewhat quickly, color documents are much slower, and you need to wait even longer for photos. On top of the printing speed, it isn't great for photos as the color accuracy is unremarkable, and the pictures look grainy, especially in shades of gray. It should be fine for casual photos, but you might be disappointed if your work relies on precise colors and details. Although it has very good scanner features, such as a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder, and a photocopy option, there isn't duplex scanning, so you'll have to manually scan double-sided documents. Overall, this is an impressive inkjet printer and one of the best office printers we've tested.
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Best Epson Family Printer
Type All in OneTechnology InkjetWireless YesColor YesSuperTankNoThe best Epson printer for home use we've tested is the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840. While the WorkForce line is designed for work purposes, this all-in-one is versatile enough for family use. It has outstanding scanner features, including a large flatbed scanner with high resolution, integrated fax, and an automatic document feeder that can perform double-sided scans. Produced photos look a little grainy, but otherwise, they're decently detailed with impressively accurate colors. While the cartridge system is only okay, the cost-per-print is great for both black-only and color documents, as well as for photos, but the costs may add up quickly if you print in color a lot. It has good printing speed, and while the first page takes some time to come out, the subsequent pages are much faster.
Unfortunately, it doesn't yield many pages for black-only or color documents, so you may need to replace them frequently, especially if you print a large number of pages often. On the bright side, higher-yield versions of the cartridges are available, which should last you longer. Also, it doesn't support Bluetooth, but at least there many other connectivity options to choose from, whether you prefer wireless or wired connections. All in all, it has many great features for a variety of uses, which make it an impressive printer for home use.
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Best Epson Printer For Photos
Type All in OneTechnology InkjetWireless YesColor YesSuperTankNoThe best Epson printer for photos we've tested is the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830. Although the WorkForce line isn't necessarily designed for photos, this model is an excellent option thanks to its very good color accuracy and well-detailed photos. Although some banding is present in dark areas and blacks look a bit faded, images still look good. This excellently-built printer has two paper trays that can accommodate different paper sizes, and it provides easy access to paper jams and ink cartridges. It features a flatbed scanner with high resolution and an automatic document feeder that can easily scan double-sided documents. It has a great cost-per-print for both color documents and photos, but it can add up quickly if you print large amounts frequently. While it doesn't support Bluetooth, you can connect to it via Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or USB, and it also supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service.
Unfortunately, it can't print 2" x 3" sized photos, but it can print 4" x 6" and 5" x 7". It's also somewhat slow at printing color documents and photos. Its ink cartridge system is just okay, with its black page yield being disappointingly low. On the bright side, the yield for color cartridges is good and should last longer depending on how much you print in color. This is a very good option if you're looking for something to print casual photos while still having many features useful for work-related tasks.
Compared to other brands
- Diverse lineup. Epson has a very diverse lineup that includes printers for home and business use, and they also have printers that are dedicated for printing photos, labels, discs, etc. They also make a good number of dot matrix printers.
- EcoTank. Epson's EcoTank ink system has one of the best yields for inkjet printers and can even compete with laser printers.
- Monochrome inkjet printers. Epson is one of the few companies that make monochrome inkjet printers.
- No laser printers. Epson no longer makes laser printers.
- Photo printing quality isn't as good as other brands. Although Epson has dedicated photo printers, the photo printing quality of their general all-in-one printers isn't as good as other brands.
Although Epson printers are very popular, they tend to get overshadowed by other brands, as their performance tends to be more middle-of-the-pack. Like other manufacturers, they have a diverse lineup, but Epson is the only one that doesn't produce any laser printers. Since inkjet printers generally have slower printing speed, they're less desirable for businesses that perform high-volume printing regularly. Their EcoTank printers are extremely successful, though, and are usually among the best in terms of page yield.
Lineup
Epson has a diverse lineup that caters to different needs and they're generally separated into the two categories below. Although the EcoTank line is a separate line of its own, the EcoTank designation is also used in conjunction with some of the models below to indicate the use of a refillable ink tank system. Epson makes enterprise-grade printers as well, which are only available for businesses.
For Work:
- WorkForce: High-performance printers for small or home offices.
- WorkForce Pro: High-yield printers for small or home offices.
- Point-of-Sale: Receipt printers for small businesses.
- ColorWorks: Commercial label printers.
- Pro Imaging: Wide-format photo printers.
- Impact: Dot matrix printers.
- DiscProducer: Disc printers.
For Home:
- Expression: All-in-one family printers.
- PictureMate: Photo printers.
- LabelWorks: Label printers.
- SureColor P-Series: Professional-grade photo printers.
Notable Mentions
- Epson EcoTank ET-4760: The Epson EcoTank ET-4760 is almost identical to the EcoTank ET-3760, but it comes with fax capability and a touchscreen display. See our review
- Epson WorkForce WF-7720: The Epson WorkForce WF-7720 is a great family printer, but it may be hard to find since it's been discontinued. See our review
- Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3720: The Epson WorkForce WF-3720 prints decent-looking photos with good color accuracy, but it may be hard to find since it's been discontinued. See our review
Conclusion
Epson is one of the top brands when it comes to printers, and they offer a variety of printers to suit most needs. Aside from their hugely popular EcoTank printers, the rest of their lineup don't stand out very much. It's also a bit disappointing that they no longer make any laser printers since a lot of small offices still rely heavily on the printing speed and efficiency of laser printers.
For other options, you can check out our recommendations for the best home printers, the best photo printers, and the best laser printers.
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