Epson Expression Home XP-4100 Printer Review

This printer has a passable design. The body is made of plastic that feels nice, but the output tray and extender are quite flimsy. The rear paper input also doesn't keep dust from accumulating on your paper. While the scanner lid can stay open on its own, the hinges don't extend to let you scan thicker documents on the flatbed. The printer also needs to be turned on to access the ink cartridges. On the upside, the power cable is replaceable.

The Epson XP-4100 is a compact multipurpose printer that's quite lightweight. This makes it suitable for use in a dorm room or small home office.

This printer has an adequate display screen. The buttons around the screen are used to navigate within the menu, and the home button provides a quick exit back to the main display. The buttons are pretty flush on the panel but aren't touch-sensitive, so they need to be pressed. The screen is responsive and easy-to-read when you're looking straight at it. The display panel can swivel up and down for better visibility at different vertical viewing angles; however, it's harder to see clearly when viewing from the sides.

• User manual
• Epson 212 starter cartridges
• 1x 212-I Black
• 1x 212-I Cyan
• 1x 212-I Magenta
• 1x 212-I Yellow
• Installation CD
• Power cable

The Epson XP-4100 has a poor inkjet cartridge system. Its page yield is quite bad, and the printer stops printing entirely if just one color cartridge runs out. The black page yield is especially terrible, so you'll likely need to change the black cartridge fairly often. On the upside, it has multiple color cartridges, meaning you don't have to replace colors you don't use as often, and there are high-yield cartridges available.

This printer accepts third-party cartridges, but using them may void the warranty.

This printer has mediocre scanner features. Since it doesn't have a sheetfed scanner, you can only scan one side of a single document at a time. On the upside, the scan resolution and color depth should be high enough for most uses. If you prefer a sheetfed scanner to process multi-page documents quickly, check out the Brother MFC-J895DW.

The Epson XP-4100's cost-per-print is alright. The cartridges don't last very long, but they're also not too expensive, which helps keep the cost-per-print fairly reasonable. That said, the more you print, the more you'll end up spending in total. Also, keep in mind that even if you print only in black, most inkjet printers continue using their color cartridges for servicing tasks, so they'll likely need replacing at some point as well. If you want a printer with a lower cost-per-print, check out the Canon PIXMA TS8220.

The printing speed is passable. While the first page of a black-only document doesn't take too long, it can still take a few minutes to print longer documents since the following pages don't come out much faster. The color printing speed is even worse, and you can expect to wait well over a minute for a single 4" x 6" photo. The input tray is also quite small, holding only 100 sheets of paper.

The Epson XP-4100 has bad color accuracy. While it's unlikely to be a problem if you just print documents from time-to-time for personal use, it keeps professional documents like business reports from looking their best. If color accuracy is important for you, check out the HP ENVY 5014 instead.

The Epson XP-4100 has decent photo printing quality. Details are good, and there isn't too much banding. However, colors have a flat, blue-ish tone, and the black contrast could be better. The Epson Expression Premium XP-7100's photos are grainier but have more vibrant colors.

This printer has a paper input in the back with an adjustable slider to accommodate different paper sizes.

The Epson XP-4100 has decent connectivity options. You can connect to it wirelessly either via Wi-Fi Direct or by setting it up with your home's wireless router. You can also print directly from your mobile device through AirPrint or Mopria. Unfortunately, it doesn't support Bluetooth. If that's something you need, check out the Canon PIXMA TS5320 instead.

When we tried to connect the Epson EX-4100 to the Epson iPrint app, our device prompted us to use the Epson Smart Panel app instead. This app is outstanding. It allows you to print many file types and scan documents directly to your phone. You can also check the printer's ink levels, initiate routine maintenance tasks like print-head cleaning, and order more ink, which is quite convenient. Take note that while it doesn't print .txt files natively, it automatically converts them to a PDF to print.