Finding a great all in one printer can be a very confusing expedition. This is particularly true when it comes to trying to find one that is sufficient for a small business. Fortunately, I was able to find an outstanding value in the Epson Workforce 600. This all in one printer had every single thing that I was looking for in a small business printer.
When I first started looking for my printer, I was looking for something that was not going to break me. The Epson Workforce 600 fit that bill and jumped out at me immediately. The price point was exactly what I was looking for at under 300 bucks. For everything that this printer was saying it could do, I had to wonder if it would actually perform up to standard. In spite of my reservations, the power of the potential refund pushed me forward with the purchase.
The printer set up process was relatively smooth, though it does not include a USB cable in the box. Short of that, I found installation to be a breeze on the Epson Workforce 600. In particular, the WiFi feature was much easier than I anticipated. This was a pleasant surprise as it was an anticipated nightmare.
The on-screen programming was an absolute breeze to set up the settings on my Epson Workforce 600. I was able to set up the entire thing in a very short period of time, and all of the functions were up and running.
The real question was, would the Epson Workforce 600 be as good as advertised when I tested out the features? What follows are the features that I find important, and what I thought of the Epson Workforce 600 performance in each of them:
Printing - The print speed for the Epson Workforce 600 blew me away. This printer is ultra fast, and the copy comes out looking very professional. This was an awesome surprise as the speed from my previous printer was doubled. Also, the option to print front and back is great and saves on a ton of paper.
Copies - Similar to the print speed, the copy speed was outstanding. Bright, vivid colors came to life for the flyers that I printed out. Each of them were uniform in coloration without any smudges or bleeding of the colors. You can also enlarge up to 400 percent.
The ink cartridges for the Epson Workforce 600 are also pretty impressive. The ink cartridges are built to last. The black cartridge can be purchased in extra high capacity for extra long life. Amazingly, the pricing for these cartridges are reasonable as well ranging from 19.95-39.95. Each of the colors are bright and vivid and seem to last quite well for the time I have had the printer.
Fax - The fax works perfectly, and has plenty of memory to handle multi-paged faxes that are incoming. The fax is not as fast as some on outgoing faxes, but much better than most. The speed dial allows up to 60 numbers to be programmed in. The ability to fax in color is another great feature of the Epson Workforce 600.
Scanner - As mentioned with the flyers earlier, the scanner is absolutely top notch on this all in one printer. It scans evenly and clear, and is super easy to use with a great surface to work with. I can truly save myself time and money by printing up my own calendars, flyers, and newsletters. This scanner is more than capable of putting out your basic office needs.
Memory Card Slots - This was a huge feature for me, as I like to print pictures on a regular basis. The memory card slots makes it super easy, and saves me a ton of time. Just pop in the memory card and go to it. The pictures came out vivid and vibrant. The only real knock on this feature was the lack of a real gloss to the pictures. They seemed just a bit flat, though this could have been due to my ink getting low. PictBridge is built in as well to make printing pictures a breeze.
Warranty - The warranty for the Epson Workforce 600 is about average as printers go. It is two years limited. In all the ways that matter, however, the warranty is quite serviceable. They also offer a 2 year toll free support line as well with registration of the product. A test call to this phone number did connect me with a real live person and not a computer. This was nice to hear after talking to computers with most support lines.
WiFi - This was one of the coolest features on the Epson Workforce 600 as it allows for networking built right in. Multiple computers are a must in most small businesses, and the Epson Workforce 600 makes it easy. This was set up quite easily in about 1 to 2 hours. The included set up disc was a great help. This feature is compatible with Windows Vista.
The absolute bottom line for my Epson Workforce 600 is that I love this printer. It is amazingly quiet and efficient even when I am forcing a ton of work through it. The amazing thing to me, is that it seems to be running so smoothly. As fast as the Epson Workforce 600 runs, it would seem as though it would make a lot more noise. This comes in handy in an office where customers are nearby.
When you consider the price of the Epson Workforce 600, you would be hard pressed to justify spending the extra money for a laser printer. This all in one costs less than $300 and can do most everything that any laser printer can do. The best thing about the Epson Workforce 600 is definitely the value that it brings to the table in this way.
All in all, the Epson Workforce 600 is a great small business all in one printer. The networking capabilities make it a real bargain as well. Regardless of how many computers are being hooked up, the speed, color, and flexibility of this printer is tough to beat. If you are considering a printer for your small business, you would do well to check this one out.
I was never a fan of epson printers. They never seemed to last more that 6 months without chewing up paper. They have beeng etting better over the last couple of years thank god.
Comment by Dave Devery — March 2, 2009 @ 5:37 pm