The Epson Expression Home XP-4200 is a budget all-in-one inkjet printer designed for home use. It replaces the Epson Expression Home XP-4100. It has identical features to its predecessor but uses different ink cartridges, the Epson 232 and 232 XL (Black only). It only has a flatbed scanner with no automatic feeder or fax functionality. It connects via USB or Wi-Fi, supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, and works with Epson's Smart Panel mobile app. This printer has a variant called the Epson Expression Home XP-4205, which is the same printer but exclusive to Walmart and Target.
The Epson XP-4200 and Epson XP-4205 are decent for family use. It produces high-quality documents, and while its ink cartridges run out quickly, it doesn't cost too much to maintain since the cartridges are cheap. For photo printing, it can produce very fine details and a wide range of colors, although the colors aren't very accurate. Unfortunately, it prints very slowly, which might be an issue if you share the printer with multiple people. The scanner captures fine details but lacks an automatic feeder to process multi-page documents.
The Epson XP-4200 and Epson XP-4205 are mediocre for small and home offices. Although it produces high-quality documents, it takes a long time to initialize and get a single page out, and it prints very slowly at eight or four color pages per minute. It also requires a lot of maintenance because the ink cartridges run out quickly, and the input tray only holds 100 sheets of paper. The scanner produces amazing scans but lacks an automatic feeder, so scanning multi-page documents can be very time-consuming.
The Epson XP-4200 and Epson XP-4205 are decent for students. It has USB and Wi-Fi connectivity and supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, making it easy to connect and get your prints out. It produces sharp-looking documents; the downside is that it's very slow, so it's not the best if you need to print out a long essay at the last minute. Thankfully, even though its ink cartridges run out quickly, it doesn't cost too much to maintain because the cartridges are cheap.
The Epson XP-4200 and Epson XP-4205 are mediocre for printing black-and-white documents. While its print quality for black and white documents is great, it prints very slowly and requires a lot of maintenance, as its ink cartridges run out quickly, and the paper tray only holds 100 sheets of paper. Unfortunately, it only has a flatbed scanner with no automatic feeder or duplex scanning, so you'll have to scan everything manually.
The Epson XP-4200 and Epson XP-4205 are decent for photo printing. It produces detailed and colorful photos and supports various paper sizes and borderless printing. It doesn't have the best color accuracy, but the pictures still look relatively natural. Ink maintenance is the main drawback, as its ink cartridges run out very quickly. Thankfully, they're cheap, so you won't have to spend too much on maintenance.
We tested the Epson Expression Home XP-4200. There's only one variant, the Epson Expression Home XP-4205; it's the same printer but exclusive to Walmart and Target.
You can see our unit's label here.
The Epson XP-4200/Epson XP-4205 is a decent printer overall. Its print quality for documents is comparable to other printers in its class, but it has among the slowest printing speeds and worst color accuracy.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best home printers, the best inkjet printers, and the best cheap and budget printers.
The Epson Expression Home XP-4200 is better than the HP DeskJet 2755e for most uses. The Epson produces higher-quality documents and photos, prints faster, and costs less to maintain. The Epson also supports more photo paper sizes and produces more detailed scans.
The Canon PIXMA MG3620 is better than the Epson Expression Home XP-4200 for most uses. The Canon produces better quality black and white documents, and it doesn't cost as much to maintain because its ink cartridges last longer. For photo printing, it isn't as good as the Epson when it comes to small details, but its color accuracy is significantly better. Regarding connectivity, the Canon doesn't support Wi-Fi, meaning it can't generate its own Wi-Fi signal, so if this is a feature you need, the Epson would be a better choice.
The Epson Expression Home XP-4200 is a newer version of the Epson Expression Home XP-4100. They have identical features; the only difference is that the XP-4200 uses different ink cartridges, which yield slightly more prints. They perform very similarly printing-wise.
The Epson Expression Home XP-4200 is better than the Canon PIXMA TR4720 for most uses. The Epson yields more prints and is cheaper to maintain. The Canon produces better color documents but prints slower than the Epson. For photo printing, although the Canon has a wider color range and is more color-accurate, it isn't as good as the Epson when it comes to small details.
This printer feels fairly sturdy, similar to its predecessor, the Epson Expression Home XP-4100. The power cord is detachable, making it easy to replace it if it gets damaged. However, there are a couple of design elements that aren't very user-friendly. You can only access the sheet rollers through the rear panel (when duplex printing) or the maintenance bay, and the latter is limited in space, so it may be hard to reach in if you have large hands. Also, the lid dampener isn't very good, as it doesn't slow down the speed at which the lid closes and only prevents it from slamming shut. Lastly, the scanner's background is only a thin sheet with no foam backing, and the lid's hinges can't extend to accommodate thicker items like textbooks.
Like most inkjet printers, the printheads can clog if you don't print regularly. Even a few days of inactivity can cause clogging. There are maintenance functions built-in to help resolve any clogging or print quality issues, like printhead cleaning, printhead nozzle check, power cleaning, printhead alignment, and paper guide cleaning. Unfortunately, you'll have to replace the cartridges often because they run out quickly. Replacing the cartridges is easy; you just need to ensure the printer is on and select the Ink Cartridge Replacement function to access the cartridge bay. As mentioned in the build section, you can access the sheet rollers through the rear cover (when duplex printing) or the main maintenance bay. As for the input tray, it only holds 100 sheets of paper and will likely need frequent refilling.
You can see the user manual here.
The display is okay. It's small but bright and easily visible whether you're sitting or standing. You can also tilt the panel to make it easier to see. The horizontal viewing angle isn't as good, though, so it's harder to see from the side. The buttons feel tactile but a little cheap, and you can't press them too quickly, as the printer won't register some button presses. The user interface has large, easily identifiable icons and is easy to navigate.
This printer has very low page yields, meaning you'll have to replace the ink cartridges often. The printer alerts you when ink is low. For black and white printing, it continues printing even if the quality degrades, and it continues if one of the color cartridges is empty. For color printing, it stops as soon as the ink level is too low or if one of the cartridges (black or color) is empty. There's a high-yield black ink cartridge (232XL) that'll last longer, but there aren't any high-yield color cartridges.
This printer only has a flatbed scanner, so scanning multi-page documents or double-sided sheets can be extremely time-consuming. It has an optical character recognition feature that lets you save scans as searchable PDFs, but it's software-based, meaning you need to install the Epson Scan 2 application to use it. It works well most of the time; it only makes mistakes when there are special characters and symbols.
The scanner produces outstanding scans. It captures almost everything perfectly. It boosts the contrast and color saturation to make the scan look more vibrant, which is good for text because it makes it easier to read; however, it might not be ideal if you're digitizing photos and expect the scan to be as close to the original photo as possible.
The print quality for black-and-white documents is great. Everything looks sharp, and finer elements are present. There are some vertical lines at times due to overlapping print lines, but it's not too bad. The printer will allow you to continue printing temporarily in black and white if a color cartridge runs out; however, it's unclear how long this temporary status lasts.
The print quality for color documents is good. Text looks clear, and finer elements come through. However, the colors look a little washed out, and colored areas look grainy.
The cost-per-print is decent. Although you have to replace the ink cartridges often, the cartridges are relatively cheap, so your maintenance cost won't rise too quickly.
This printer has slow printing speeds. It takes a long time to initialize and get a single page out, and it's slow to print multi-page documents and photos.
Although you can print on A5 paper, you can only do so by setting a custom size, as there isn't a preset for this paper size. You can set custom sizes from 3.5" x 5" to 8.5" x 47.2" (89 mm x 127 mm to 215.9 mm x 1,200 mm).
This printer has a decent color gamut. It reproduces bright, saturated tones well, but it struggles with lighter shades of blue and darker shades of green and yellow. Color transitions look relatively smooth; they're a tad grainy, and there's also a little bit of banding.
This printer has poor color accuracy. Most colors look different from the original, especially blues and greens. Skin tones still look relatively natural, though.
This printer is outstanding at reproducing small details. Fine elements look clear; it's mainly distant objects that get blurry due to the use of halftones (dot effect).
The Epson Smart Panel mobile app is very feature-rich. You can use it to print, scan, copy, check the printer's ink levels, view the user manual, and perform maintenance tasks like printhead cleaning. It also has a feature that lets you copy both sides of an ID card into a single page. The app has Google Classroom integration, so you can easily print assignments. The app also contains links to the Epson Creative Print app and the Epson Gallery website. The Creative Print app lets you create collages and artwork, and Epson's Gallery website contains patterns and images you can use for crafts.