6 best MFPs by Epson

*Review of the best according to the editorial board. About the selection criteria. This material is subjective, not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to purchase. You should seek professional advice before buying.

Almost all people in the civilized world without exception repeatedly had to resort to the services of printing text, color and black and white copying of documents and other services of operational printing. As for the office, even the most modest one, you have to print and copy almost every day. The optimal technological solution for such tasks is a multifunctional device (MFP) that combines the capabilities of a printer, scanner and copier with a whole set of additional functions.

Today’s rating-review, made according to Expertology experts’ recommendations, is dedicated to MFPs of Epson brand, which performed their best in work. For the purpose of this particular review, we will exclusively consider devices with piezoelectric inkjet technology in full color.

Best MFPs Epson ranking

Features common to all the models listed are as follows:

1. A4 size limitation (except WF-7720DTWF);
2. desktop installation;
3. Automatically activated duplex mode;
4. photo printing function;
5. Four basic ink colors;
6. contact scanner sensor (CIS);
7. The maximum format of the scanned original is the same as the maximum print format;
8. LCD for displaying information;
9. fax function.

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-R5690DTWF

Rating: 4.9

Let’s start with the most functional and expensive solution from Epson – WorkForce Pro WF-R5690DTWF. The conditional performance of the device is about 45 thousand. copies per 30 days, which meets the needs of small and medium offices.

The unit dimensions are 664x472x435 mm, weight 27.15 kg. Draws up to 22 watts of mains power in operation, up to 8 watts in standby.9 W. Produces noise not higher than 52 dB. Equipped with a 4-dia. color TFT display.3 in.

The printer feature has the following characteristics. The maximum image detail is the same for all colors – 4800x1200dpi. Prints 34 copies per minute in B/W, 30 copies per minute in color. First print is made after 7 seconds in any color.

The scanning module is a flatbed type with a resolution of 1200x2400dpi. Equipped with a 35-sheet capacity single-sided ADF unit. Scans at speed 4.5 originals per minute in color and 6.3 originals in B/W (256 grayscale).

MFP specifications as a copier are as follows. Maximum image detail – 600x1200dpi in any color. Speed – 19 copies per minute for b / w and full color. Allowed changes in scale from 25 to 400% in increments of 1%.

Features fax: memory – 550 pages; transfer via telephone line at speeds up to 33600 bps; there is a function of PC Fax (sending documents from the application to the PC as standard faxes).

General specifications MFP: trays – 580 sheets in automatic feeding and 150 in output; recommended paper – 64 to 256 g / sq. meter; each ink cartridge is designed for a conditional 20,000. 35-sheet auto document feeder; USB, twisted-pair and Wi-Fi connectivity; AirPrint support; optional PostScript support available at point of sale.

Advantages

• Minimal cost of printing;
• large touch screen control panel;
• ink life;
• easy setup;
• stable quality;
• Paper jamming is extremely rare.

Disadvantages

• overpriced.

Epson WorkForce WF-7720DTWF

Rating: 4.8

Now let’s take a look at a special MFP from Epson. Expertology specialists put it in the rating not least because of the maximum A3-format, since there is a very considerable percentage of users who consider A3 printing as a must-have.

Dimensions of the device – 567x418x452 mm, weight – 22.2 kg. Draws 19 watts of mains power when printing, 1.7 W. Equipped with a large touch screen display with a diagonal of 4.3 inches on the control panel. In terms of productivity this model is designed to cover the work needs of small offices – about 20 thousand. 30 days of equivalent pages.

In printer mode the device can print images with 4800x2400dpi detail in any color. Borderless printing supported. Runs at 20 pages per minute in color and 32 pages per minute in B/W.

Scanner Tablet-type pulling reads the original image with a nominal resolution up to 1200×2400 dpi and 48-bit color depth. There is a mode of enhanced resolution – up to 9600x9600dpi. Equipped with a 35-sheet single-sided auto-original feeder.

This model also has markedly better than all of the above MFPs, fax specifications: memory – up to 550 pages; support for full color mode, the limit of image detail – 1200x600dpi; there is a PC Fax; transmission speed – 33600 bps.

In the copier mode the MFP of this model is capable of reproducing images at up to 1200x1200dpi in any color. The scale can be changed from 25 to 400% in increments of 2%.

General MFP features: 500-sheet ADF tray, 125-sheet output tray; recommended paper 64 to 256 g/sq. meters; color cartridges 300 equivalent pages each, black cartridge 350 pages; twisted-pair, USB and Wi-Fi connectivity; AirPrint and direct print support; native web interface; PostScript not supported.

Advantages

• A3 format;
• design;
• The large color touch screen display;
• Expanded fax capabilities;
• Scanner enhanced resolution mode;
• Affordable, as for this format, cost.

Disadvantages

• The expressed disadvantages have not been revealed.

Epson L6190

Rating: 4.8

The second number in the rating of the best inkjet MFPs Epson from Expertology is the model L6190. This machine is already many times cheaper than the previous, as well as all subsequent ones, while in terms of functionality is almost no loss.

MFP dimensions are 375x231x347 mm, weight – only 6 kg against almost 30 at the previous solution. MFP consumes considerably less power of the electric network – 12 W. Equipped with a compact LCD display with a diagonal of 2.4 inches for the display of information.

Let’s list the technical characteristics of the printer function. Upper image detail limit – 4800x1200dpi at any color. There is a possibility of borderless printing. The intensity of the prints production – 33 copies in b / w and 20 copies in color.

Flatbed scanner reads the image of the original at a resolution up to 1200×2400 dpi and 24-bit color depth or 256 grayscale in b / w mode. Auto Document Feeder with 30-sheet capacity.

In the copier mode the device reproduces copies with the upper limit of detail of 1200x2400dpi in any color. You can change the scale in the range from 25 to 400%.

Specifications fax: memory – 180 pages, full color mode, the resolution limit – 200x200dpi, data transfer – up to 33600 bps over the phone line, there is a function of PC Fax.

MFP general characteristics are as follows: trays – 250 sheets of autofeed, 30 sheets of output; acceptable paper – from 64 to 256 g / sq. m. meter; there is a CISS and a replaceable tank for spent ink; color CISS tanks are designed for 6 thousand. conditional pages, black – for 7 thousand.Twisted-pair, USB and Wi-Fi connection; AirPrint printing; external flash memory support; web interface; no PostScript support.

Advantages

• compact and lightweight;
• there is a CISS;
• Photographic quality of the prints;
• low noise.

Disadvantages

• No PostScript support (the percentage of complaints about the lack of this feature is very low).

Epson L7160

Rating: 4.7

Now let’s look at the super-popular with Russian consumers, which has earned the highest ratings and status of “Buyer’s Choice” on Yandex.Marketplace. This success can be easily explained by a combination of high print and scan quality, productivity and reliability. The price in 2020 is also quite acceptable, and the complaints of some users are not too objective.

The quality of printing in this MFP is expressed in several factors at once. First of all, it is the print resolution itself. The print module resolution limit is 5760×1440 dpi, applies to both B&W and color printing. It also implies photo printing, for which it is recommended to use the proprietary Epson photo paper. Photoprinting is also of exceptional quality, color rendering is more than decent, and the fact that it uses the whole 5 cartridges with ink plays an important role.

Finally, a point that many users miss – the stability of print quality. For example, you want to print a whole mini circulation of the same image, say, invitation cards. And often users in such cases notice that the first print and the conditional hundredth differ significantly in quality and naturalness of colors, and this with full cartridges. Epson L7160 doesn’t have such a phenomenon – the printer provides stable quality.

There is, however, in this model and the drawback, which appears after some time after the purchase and a certain number of printed copies. For some users the printing part of the MFP starts to “streak” from time to time. It’s not a sentence, and it doesn’t happen very often, plus only at the “standard” quality setting and when fast printing is on. In most cases, the issue is solved by temporary or permanent increase in quality and cancellation of the fast print mode.

The printing speed of this model is more than decent – 32 A4 pages per minute for normal printing in b / w and color, and 10-13 images per minute when printing images (not photo mode), and the photo printing speed – 20 seconds one color photo of standard size 10×15 cm.

The big advantage of this model is the presence of automatic reverse mode, when the printer itself turns the sheet to print on the reverse side. It works only in A4 print mode with margins, but is still a real asset if you want to print a small number of brochures.

And another big plus is that the device works wirelessly over Wi-Fi. To connect via USB, too, can be without problems, but for some strange reason, the manufacturer does not complete the MFP USB-cable. There is also a slot for an SD memory card.

Advantages

• top print resolution;
• stable quality for printing relatively large runs;
• card reader for SD memory cards;
• wireless connection Wi-Fi;
• high speed;
• automatic reverse (two-sided printing);
• Reliability and dependability;
• no nozzles dry up for a long time, and if they do, they are automatically cleaned without any problems;
• autonomy – print from smartphone, flash drive, camera, card without connecting to a PC.

Disadvantages

• no USB cable included;
• after a few months of intensive use, the cartridge may start to “fade” slightly – this can be corrected by increasing the print quality settings.

Epson L5190

Rating: 4.6

The next Epson MFP in our review is also highly appreciated by users and independent testers, and just like the previous model, it is distinguished by the honorable status “Buyers’ Choice” on the largest Russian marketplace Yandex.Marketplace. In terms of price, it is noticeably cheaper, and, accordingly, it is deprived of some “superpowers” inherent in the previous variant.

Let’s go over to the back of the line and firstly point out what this model doesn’t have in comparison with the previous one. Namely, there is no duplex printing, the print is 4-color instead of 5-color, the speed of printing photographs is much lower – 69 seconds for one photo 10×15 cm.

From the above mentioned, the most noticeable is only the lack of duplex printing, and that only for those who often use this function, which is not the majority. But this model has not only USB and Wi-Fi connection, but also the possibility of wired connection to Ethernet through the most common RJ-45.

The rest of the functionality is generally comparable to the older model. The print quality in terms of maximum resolution is the same – 5760×1440 dpi for color and b / w. There is a fax function, although who needs it in 2020 is a question, but if you suddenly need it, Epson L5190 will solve all problems. Users and experts note the convenient and intuitive operation – the control panel with LCD-screen on the body are localized in Russian, the web-interface – too.

Users praise this MFP’s “super feature” such as Wi-Fi connectivity and especially the ability to print from an android smartphone. For owners of Apple devices, AirPrint support will be a valuable feature.

From the review of a trusted Yandex user.Market “Vladimir O.”with the status of “Level 2 Gadget Inspector”: “In addition to the quality of printing, I liked the seamless connection to the wifi router and the ability to print directly from an android-smartphone via google’s service”.

Another advantage of this model can be considered its relatively compact size and weight. MFP weighs only 5 kg against the 8 kg of the L7160 and the dimensions are really desktop – 375x237x347 mm.

Among the disadvantages that users encounter most often are possible driver failures due to compatibility problems with operating system updates. That is why specialists recommend not to use regular drivers from the CD set when installing MFP, but to download the latest versions from the official site of Epson.

Advantages

• high print resolution;
• A fairly high printing speed;
• Wi-Fi connection;
• Ethernet wired network connection;
• AirPrint support;
• convenient refilling;
• easy management through the control panel and web interface;
• Relatively compact and lightweight.

Disadvantages

• Only one-sided printing;
• there may be inconsistencies with the drivers.

Epson L3100

Rating: 4.5

Rounding out the review is Epson’s most inexpensive multifunction device. Reviews, ratings and the number of purchases determined the high status of the device on Yandex.The “Buyer’s Choice” in the Marketplace. In addition to print quality, this model gets a lot of positive feedback for speed and scanning quality.

Let us immediately clarify the points that evoke the most tangible approval from users and testers. The thing is that the printing quality is no worse than that of the above mentioned L5190, and the price is not much less – half as much. You’d think there was a catch, but there isn’t. The set of ink is the same – standard 4 cartridges, the same piezoelectric principle of inkjet printing, the same high resolution 5760×1440 dpi. What’s more, even the print speed is exactly the same for black and white, at 33 ppm. per minute, and for color photo printing – the same 69 seconds for a standard photo 69 s. And only a full sheet of A4 in full color, this printer prints much slower than the previous model – 15 sheets per minute.

The reason for such an affordable price with high quality printing lies in the simplifications that the MFP has undergone in other areas. For example, some users may be deceptively confused by the fact that the maximum scanner resolution here is 600×1200 dpi, whereas the previous model has twice as much. In fact, this resolution is more than enough for most tasks. Rarely makes sense to scan at a resolution over 300 dpi. And not even every computer can “handle” the maximum resolution simply because of the huge files of “pictures” that can be many gigabytes in size. But the scanning speed is actually noticeably faster with this simplification.

Another simplification is a cyclic work of MFP in a copier mode. So, this model is able to print 20 copies in one cycle compared to 99 in the previous model. It seems to be a big difference, but it is definitely worth its role in such a dramatic price reduction.

Plus, it has a maximum paper size of 256 g/sq. For example, the scanner’s maximum resolution is 600×1200 dpi, while the former model “digests” much heavier and heavier media up to 300 g/sq. m. meter.

Finally, another point that finally solved the issue of pricing – the way of connecting. This model can only be connected to a PC via USB, no wireless connection by definition, no memory card support. For some strange reason, this model also does not come with a USB cable to connect to a computer. That can be somehow explained for Wi-Fi models, but in this strictly wired MFP such economy looks doubly strange.

Advantages

• high resolution and print quality at an affordable price;
• high scanning speed;
• A4 print speed in b/w;
• reliability and durability;
• photo printing;
• convenient and clear control.

Disadvantages

• No computer connection cable included;
• no wireless connection.