REVIEW – For the past decade or so, I have relied solely on laser printers both monochrome and color for all of my printing needs. Prior to that, I tried several Inkjet printers with very mediocre printing results both in quality and efficiency. Apart from the fact that laserjet ink does not dry up, the quality was just always better. Recently, many of my friends have been telling me about the great strides that Inkjet printers have many both in efficiency and quality. I was recently offered the opportunity to test and review the Epson XP-7100 Inkjet Printer. Here is my experience with it.

What is it?

The Epson XP-7100 Printer is a multifunction all-in-one Inkjet printer that offers both wireless and wired connectivity as well as access via multiple platforms including IOS and Android for mobile.

What’s in the box

1 x Expression Premium XP-7100 color inkjet printer
1 x Setup and instruction manuals
1 x CD-ROM containing software and drivers (Windows and Mac8)
1 x AC Power Cord
5 x Claria Premium ink cartridges: 1x 410 Black ink cartridge; 3x 410 color ink cartridges: Cyan, Magenta and         Yellow; 1x 410 Photo Black ink cartridge

Design and features

This Epson Inkjet printer comes in a nice compact footprint measuring just 15 1/4″ x 12″ x 7 1/2′ when the control panel and printer tray are enclosed. It is shipped very securely with the necessary sections taped to ensure that no parts are broken during shipment. On the top of the printer, there is a label that highlights its features and functionality, and the access door that opens and folds out into the top feeding/loading tray for scanning and copying.



On the front of the printer, there is the control panel, an SD card slot, and a USB slot.


On the back of the printer there or 2 slots that you squeeze together to remove the rear paper mechanism to clear any paper jam and for cleaning. On the bottom left there is the AC plug port.


On the rear right of the printer at the bottom, there is a network jack and a USB printer jack.

When you open the top cover of the printer there is the glass that is the “bed” used for copying and scanning documents.

In the main compartment of the printer, there is the printer mechanism and the ink trays.

Performance

Specifications:

Printing Technology: 5 ink cartridges (CMYK, Photo Black), drop-on-demand MicroPiezo inkjet technology
Minimum Ink Droplet Size: 5 ink droplet sizes, as small as 1.5 picoliters
Maximum Print Resolution: 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi
ISO Print Speed: Black: 15.8 ISO ppm Color: 11 ISO ppm
2-Sided ISO Print Speed: Black: 5.4 ISO ppm Color: 4.9 ISO ppm
Photo Print Speed: 4″ x 6″ borderless photo in as fast as 12 sec (Draft Mode)
CD / DVD Printing: Inkjet printable CDs / DVDs
PC-Free Printing: Auto Photo Correction, Select and print photos, Crop, Rotate and enlarge, View and print-by-date, Print your own picture packages, Print passport and photo ID, Select multiple photos to print on a single page, Print your own school papers, College-ruled, Wide-ruled and graph paper, Make personalized notepaper using your own photos, Photo greeting cards, and coloring book pages
Layouts: Borderless, Classic borders, Picture packages, Photo ID, 2-up, 4-up, 8-up, 20-up, Jewel index, Jewel, Upper 1/2, lower ½, CD layouts (single, quarter, variety)
Ink: This printer is designed for use with Epson cartridges only, not third-party cartridges or ink.
Ink Type: Claria Premium Ink (smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant photos)6
Ink Palette: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Photo Black
Ink Configuration: 5 individual ink cartridges
Replacement Ink: 410 Standard-capacity Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Photo Black, 410XL High-capacity Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Photo Black
Ink Yield Information: 410 Ink Yield: ISO pages – Black: 250, Color: 300, Photo Black, 410XL Ink Yield: ISO pages – Black: 500, Color: 650, Photo Black
Fade Resistance / Print Longevity: Up to 200-year album storage
Operating Systems: Windows 10 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 8 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 8/8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista® (32-bit, 64-bit), Mac® OS X® 10.6.8–macOS® 10.13.x8
Operating Temperature: 50 ° to 95 °F (10 ° to 35 °C)
Storage Temperature: -4 ° to 104 °F (-20 ° to 40 °C) [one month at 40 °C]
Weight: 21.5 lb.

Scanner Specifications:
Scanner Type: Color flatbed (CIS line sensor/Automatic 2-sided ADF)
Optical Resolution: 1200 x 2400 dpi
Maximum Resolution: Max. Hardware Resolution 2400 dpi, Max. Resolution 4800 dpi interpolated
Color Bit Depth: Input: 48-bit color / 16-bit Grayscale & Black/White, Output: 24-bit color / 8-bit Grayscale & Black/White
Scan Bed Size: 8.5″ x 11.7″
Scanner Features: Scan to memory card, scan to computer – Event Manager, scan to PC, PC (WSD), scan to cloud7, auto 2-sided scan with ADF
Automatic Document Feeder Capacity: 30 sheets plain paper
Connectivity: Hi-Speed USB, Wireless 802.11 b/g/n4, Wi-Fi Direct4, Ethernet (10/100/1000) Mbps
Supported Memory Cards: SD/SDHC/SDXC, CF2
Direct Camera Connection: PictBridge® port (cameras)
Mobile Printing Solutions: Epson Connect, Epson Email Print, Epson Remote Print, Epson Scan to Cloud
Epson iPrint App (iOS, Android), Epson Print and Scan App (Windows), Creative Print App (iOS, Android)

Other: Apple® AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Android printing, Fire OS printing, Mopria® Print Service, Easy Photo Scan

Paper Handling:
PC-Free Paper Support: Plain (8.5″ x 11″, A4), Photo (4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 8.5″ x 11″, A4, 16:9 wide), Inkjet-printable CDs/DVDs
Special Media Support: Inkjet printable CDs / DVDs
Paper Sizes: 3.5″ x 5″, 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 8.5″ x 11″, 8.5″ x 14″, A4, B5, A5, A6, half letter, executive, 8.5″ x 47″
Paper Types: Supports plain paper, Epson Bright White Paper, Iron-on Cool Peel Transfer, Photo Quality Self-Adhesive Sheets, Photo Paper Glossy, Premium Photo Paper Glossy, Ultra-Premium Photo Paper Glossy, Premium Photo Paper Semi-gloss, Ultra-Premium Photo Paper Luster, Presentation Paper Matte, Premium Presentation Paper Matte, Ultra-Premium Presentation Paper Matte, Ultra-Premium , Presentation Paper Matte Double-sided, Brochure & Flyer Paper Matte Double-sided
Automatic Document Feeder: 30 sheets plain paper
Borderless Sizes: 3.5″ x 5″, 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 8.5″ x 11″, 16:9 wide
Envelope Types: No. 10
Input Paper Capacity: Main Paper Tray: 100 sheets plain paper
Output Paper Tray Capacity: 30 sheets plain paper
Secondary Paper Tray Capacity: Dedicated Photo Tray: 20 sheets Premium Photo Paper Glossy
Printer Details:
Display: 4.3″ touchscreen with gesture navigation
Printer Language: Epson ESC/P® Raster, ESC/P-R
Software Included: Epson printer drivers, Epson Print CD, Epson Scan, Epson Easy Photo Scan, and User Guide
Supported Digital Camera Technologies: Exit Print
Image Enhancement Technologies: Auto Photo Correction with advanced face detection, preview on LCD, red-eye removal and photo restoration
Color Management: Auto Photo Correction and ICM
See full specification list here.

In terms of functionality, this printer comes with several bells and whistles. The setup is easy and the instructions are clear. I connected the printer via an ethernet cable as opposed to a wireless connection. The basic functionality includes an automated touchscreen control panel that opens when powered on and closes when powered off.

The printer tray is also automated and moves outwards for printing and inwards for the shutdown. Scanning and copying are pretty straightforward and function well. Printing and print quality is where this printer really stands out. The printing function is quiet and relatively quick.

Epson provided a Reviewer’s Kit with several types and sizes of paper/print stock for me to test the printer. In all cases, it printed wonderfully including the CD/DVD printing which is a great feature especially for me and the custom DVDs I like to create for my clients.

In terms of paper printing, my son had a school project to built a model of his house. Of course, I had to do most of the work (smile), and after building the structure I decided that the exterior should look like the outside of my building. I decided to print images of a brick wall and of windows and cover the model of the house. Here are a couple of photos from what I did:


As a photographer, I am also impressed by the color reproduction of this printer. The following are 2 photographs of my children that I photographed and printed with this printer, and framed as a gift for their Grandad.

I own an iPhone, and setup and printing via the Epson iPrint App was incredibly simple. Here are a couple of App screenshots:

What I like

• The ease of set up
• The amazing color reproduction
• The features and functions
• The small footprint
• The built-in automation

What can be improved

• As someone who stayed away from Inkjet printers for a long time, I have no complaints

Final thoughts

To say that I am impressed by the Epson XP-7100 is an understatement. It is a feature-rich printer that prints, scans and copies and does everything quite well. The color reproduction is outstanding and good enough to reproduce photography work for framing. It will be some time before I can say how long the ink lasts and possibly how quickly it dries out. However, so far it has been great and shows no sign of dring up even after 30 days albeit of regular use. This Inkjet printer gets a very well done from me and two thumbs up!!

Price: $199.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Epson

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Printer

Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 Small-in-One Printer review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 20, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

I remember watching the original Star Trek series on TV as a lad. Every time someone wanted to look at some kind of media, it was always presented on a tablet-looking device. We’re not there yet, but until we get there, a good printer, like Epson’s XP-6000 fills the void nicely

What is it?

Epson’s Expression Premium All-In-One XP-6000 printer is a wireless computer printer, with fax, scanning, photo printing, and dual-sided capabilities. Multiple paper trays allow borderless 4” X 6” and 8-1/2” X 11” printing.

Hardware Specs

• Printing Method:  Epson Micro Piezo print head

• Nozzle Configuration: 360 Nozzles Black, 180 Nozzles per Color

• Minimum Droplet Size: 1.5 Pl, With Variable-Sized Droplet Technology

• Ink Technology:  Claria Premium Ink

• Printing Resolution: 5,760 x 1,440 DPI

• Application: Home, Photo

• All-in-One Functions:  Print, Scan, Copy

• Printing Speed ISO/IEC 24734:  15.8 pages/min Monochrome, 11.3 pages/min Color

• Printing Speed:         32 pages/min Monochrome (plain paper 75 g/m²), 32 pages/min Color (plain paper 75 g/m²),15 Seconds per 10 x 15 cm photo (Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper)

• Colors: Black, Photo Black, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta

• Scanning Resolution: 1,200 DPI x 4,800 DPI (Horizontal x Vertical)

• Scanner type:  Contact image sensor (CIS)

• Number of paper trays: 2

• Paper Formats: A4, A5, A6, B5, No. 10 (Envelope), Letter, 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm, 16:9, Legal, 9 x 13 cm, 13 x 20 cm, 20 x 25 cm, DL (Envelope), C6 (Envelope)

• Duplex: Yes (A4, plain paper)

• Print Margin: 0 mm top, 0 mm right, 0 mm bottom, 0 mm left (Wherever margin is defined. Otherwise 3mm top, left, right, bottom.)

• Multifunction: 100 Sheets Standard, 20 Photo Sheets

• Media Handling: Automatic duplex (A4, plain paper), Borderless print, CD/DVD print

• Energy Use: 18 Watt (standalone copying, ISO/IEC 24712 pattern), 0.7 Watt (sleep mode), 6 Watt (ready), 0.2 Watt (Power off), ENERGY STAR® qualified

• Supply Voltage: AC 220 V – 240 V

• Product dimensions: 349‎ x 340 x 142 mm (Width x Depth x Height)

• Product weight: 6.6 kg

• Noise Level: 4.6 B (A) with Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper / Photo RPM mode – 33 dB (A) with Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper / Photo RPM mode

• Compatible Operating Systems: Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP3, XP Professional x64 Edition SP2

• Included Software: Epson Easy Photo Print, Epson Print CD

• Interfaces: WiFi, USB, Wi-Fi Direct, USB host

• WLAN Security: WEP 64 Bit, WEP 128 Bit, WPA PSK (TKIP), WPA PSK (AES)

• Mobile and Cloud printing services: Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Epson Connect (iPrint, Email Print, Remote Print Driver, Scan-to-Cloud, Facebook print)

• Housing Color: Black

• LCD screen: Color, Diagonal: 6.1 cm

• Memory Cards: SD, SDHC, SDXC, MicroSD*, MicroSDHC*, MicroSDXC*, MiniSD*, MiniSDHC* (* Adaptor required, not included)

• Features: Red-eye removal, Photo Enhance, Direct print from USB, Wireless PictBridge

• Warranty: 12 months Carry-in

What’s in the Box?

• Individual Ink Cartridges
• Printer
• Power Cable
• Setup Guide
• Software CD
• Warranty Card

Design and features

Epson has been a household name in printing for many years. In fact, my first color printer was an Epson some 20 years ago.

The XP-6000 printer arrived in a full-color, well-padded box with hand grips in the sides –always helpful for the bulky gadgets. Epson was gracious in including several types of paper for this review.

I removed what seemed like dozens of blue tape tabs to secure the printer during transport, unwrapped and installed the ink cartridges and plugged in the printer for its maiden voyage.

The printer starts with a number of print quality and head alignment tests which took about 10 minutes.

Several pages were printed which asked me to provide answers to my preferred printed squares, blocks, and colors. Connecting the printer to WiFi was a bit cumbersome scrolling through alpha-numeric screens using the keypad cursors and “ok” button.

The printer is very “boxy” with not very many protrusions in its resting state. I like this clean unencumbered design.

To start printing, the front of the printer must be opened and the collection tray extended. This might pose a problem if someone sent data to the printer, but didn’t make sure the collection tray was not extended. With the tray closed, the printer is very compact and quite sexy (can I use “sexy” to describe a printer?)

I loaded plain paper and 4 X 6 photo paper and selected a few images from my iPhone. The printer isn’t a speed demon, but the output was sharp and clear, I was particularly impressed with the subtlety in the greys in the photo of my daughter’s pet bunny.

A few more printed 4 X 6 and 8 X10 photos were proof enough for me that the printer is very capable. Like all inkjet printers, ink can be expensive and has a limited shelf life. Inks for the XP-6000 are comparably priced with others on the market. It’s worth noting this printer has four colors, black, cyan, magenta, yellow and photo black that can be purchased in multi-packs.

Next, I chose a two-sided color text document on plain paper. Output was quick and quiet, with only short delays between pages.

I installed the included software on my computer to gain access to the scanning and CD printing capabilities and found the software to be intuitive and easy to use. There are separate apps for CD Printing, scanning and a very comprehensive user guide.

The printer also boasts direct-to-disk printing for CD/DVD/Blu-ray an SD card slot (micro SD cards will need an adapter that isn’t included) and a USB port.

The CD print tray is cleverly housed under the 8-1/2 X 11 tray. The CD printing app works well with lots of options. I’m big on home video so I might have to re-burn all my discs to give them a more polished look.

Computer-free printing is as simple, pop in a USB or SD card, and work through the menus – select the photos, number of prints, finish quality and, poof – done, just don’t forget to extend the output tray.

What I like

• Attractive styling and compact size
• Plenty of print options
• CD printing and tray included
• Great performance
• Reasonably priced

What needs to be improved?

• The ink alignment and head cleaning process can take a while and uses precious ink.

Final thoughts

Epson’s XP-6000 All-In-One printer is solid, offering a great design, CD, two photo sizes and plain paper printing. The apps are well designed and easy to use. Since this printer lacks a document feeder, it’s more geared towards the casual user. The pull-out trays are a bit quirky to get accustomed to, but not onerous. Overall, I really liked the XP-6000 and give it a solid recommendation. It’s not Star Trek yet, but with a snazzy printer like this, I can wait.

Price: $89.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Epson.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Printer

Epson Expression Premium XP-6000 All-In-One Printer review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 19, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.