The Epson WorkForce WF-2850 is an all-in-one inkjet printer designed for home offices. It has the same features you see on other office printers, like a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder, and a built-in fax. That said, since it's a budget printer, it has a few shortcomings. Even though the cost of its three color cartridges is a bit cheaper than the cartridges of similar models, the printer's page yields are low. This means you'll be spending a lot of money on cartridge replacements, resulting in a high cost-per-print. Also, it's slow at printing, whether you're printing a one-pager or a multi-page document.
Our Verdict
The Epson WF-2850 is okay for family use. Its cartridges are relatively cheap, but the printer doesn't print many pages, which means you'll need to buy new ink cartridges often. If you like to print a lot of pictures, you'll be satisfied with the quality, though there is some graininess around the edges when you print borderless. While colors look off from their originals, they look okay for most casual uses, like custom stickers, craft projects, or small photos.
- Good photo printing quality.
- Has flatbed scanner and ADF.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Poor color accuracy.
- Slow printing speed.
- Low page yields.
The Epson WF-2850 is bad for small or home office use. While the cartridges are relatively cheap, the printer doesn't yield many pages before the cartridges are empty. This means you'll be spending a lot of money on ink if your job requires you to print hundreds of pages a week. Also, you'll have to wait a long time for your reports to print out, whether they're color or just black and white. On the bright side, it has an automatic document feeder, though it can't duplex scan.
- Has flatbed scanner and ADF.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Low page yields.
- No duplex scanning.
The Epson WF-2850 is mediocre for students. Although its cartridges are fairly cheap compared to similar models, the printer doesn't yield many black or color pages. This means you'll be spending a lot of money on cartridge replacements, especially if you're printing out multiple assignments every week. Also, it takes some time to get your document in hand, whether it's a single page or a longer document. On the bright side, it has a flatbed scanner and an ADF, and it has many wireless connection options.
- Has flatbed scanner and ADF.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Low page yields.
- No duplex scanning.
The Epson WF-2850 is inadequate for high-volume black and white printing. The black ink cartridge runs out quickly, so you won't get out many pages before you need to spend money on cartridge replacement. It doesn't let you print with empty color cartridges, so you'll need to make sure those are always full, even if you only print in black and white. Also, it prints slowly, whether you're printing a long document or just a single page.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Low page yields.
- No duplex scanning.
The Epson WF-2850 is decent for photos. While colors look a bit off from their originals, it's fine if you're printing some photos for custom stickers, a school assignment, or a craft project. The photo printing quality is good, though there is some graininess around the edges if you print borderless pictures. That said, it prints a wide range of colors, so gradients and highly saturated colors (like in sunsets or sunrises) will look very good.
- Good photo printing quality.
- Prints most photo sizes.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Poor color accuracy.
- Slow printing speed.
- Can't print 2" x 3" photos.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
- Decent range of connection options.
- Slow printing speed.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated May 15, 2023: Added link to the Epson WorkForce WF-2930 in the Scan Quality section of the review to provide an alternative that outputs higher quality scans.
- Updated Apr 05, 2023: We've changed the Height When In Use measurement to 9.4" (24.0 cm) in the Dimensions section. The previous measurement of 10.4" (26.5 cm) was incorrect. This change doesn't affect the score.
- Updated Sep 21, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 01, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Epson WorkForce WF-2850 is available in black only, and there are no other variants. You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Printer Comparisons
The Epson WorkForce WF-2850 is an all-in-one home office printer in the budget range. Its retail price is cheaper than many other similar models with three separate color cartridges; however, it doesn't print many pages before its cartridges run out of ink, so its cost-per-print is only mediocre. This means any money you saved upfront will be quickly spent on cartridge replacements. Also, it prints slower than many office-oriented models, and it can't automatically scan double-sided sheets, which may be important for your business.
See our recommendations for the best cheap printers, the best home printers, and the best office printers.
The Epson WorkForce WF-2850 and the Epson WorkForce WF-2860 are both inkjet printers designed for home office use. Overall, the 2860 printer is better. It has a paper cassette that protects your paper from dust, unlike the 2850 model, which has an exposed rear input tray. The 2860 printer also has a touchscreen, making it easier to type in passwords since you won't need to press as many buttons. Also, even though both printers' cartridges cost almost the same, the 2860 printer can print many more pages, making each print cost less.
The Brother MFC-J1205W is better than the Epson WorkForce WF-2850 for most uses. The Brother produces higher-quality documents, yields significantly more prints, and is much cheaper to maintain. However, the Epson has an automatic feeder and supports automatic duplex printing. It also has a better display, making it easier to navigate the settings menu. For photo printing, the Epson can produce a wider range of colors, but its color accuracy isn't as good as the Brother's.
The Epson WorkForce WF-2830 and the Epson WorkForce WF-2850 look nearly identical and perform similarly. However, the biggest difference is the display screen: the one on the 2850 model is larger, making it easier to read. Otherwise, both are budget printers with low page yields and slow printing speeds.
The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830 performs better than the Epson WorkForce WF-2850. While it's much bulkier, the WF-4830 has a dedicated paper cassette, so your paper won't collect dust and debris like it does on the WF-2850. The WF-4830 has more office features, like automatic duplex scanning, faster printing speed, and Ethernet connectivity. It also has a higher page yield, resulting in a lower cost-per-print, and produces better quality scans and prints sharper-looking documents. The WF-4830 has better color accuracy, but its color range isn't as wide as the WF-2850.
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