Epson WorkForce 610 Review – Cut Above the Contest

We loved:

One of the biggest assets of Epson WorkForce 610 is its ability to print rapidly text and graphical documents both. On the top of it there is Ethernet networking, Wi-Fi, ease to set up and that all packed in a striking design is there to fetch immense consumers from market.

We hated:

Some of the things that we didn’t liked about the Epson WorkForce 610 were its sluggish photo printing speed, huge footprint, absence of automatic duplexer a number of wireless setup glitches and the chaotic console.

Introduction:

Epson WorkForce 610 basically is a restrained reconstruct of Epson’s WorkForce 600 from last year, with the only difference of an efficient onscreen menu layout. The WorkForce 610 for $200 gives you a wide assortment of features including the auto document feeder at the top of the printer giving hands free copying, faxing and scanning of about 30 sheets of paper, wired networking, wireless and a complete control panel which gives access to some of printer’s exceptional features. Though, Epson deserves applauds for its easy printer setup and fast-paced output speeds, but the absence of an auto-duplexer in WorkForce 610 certainly leaves us disappointed. Though the exclusion of an add-on which could print on both sides of paper isn’t a deal breaker, but it is something that buyers expect from a $200 printer.

The best thing that Epson WorkForce 610 brings is plethora of customizable buttons for controlling a handy memory card reader and voluntary creative software, to make the work life easy for the buyers. But where the Epson WorkForce 610 lets the consumers down is the fact that it is not a photo printer and if you have this function in mind while buying the printer then it isn’t the perfect choice for you.

Build and Design:

If you are an admirer of Epson WorkForce series then you immediately will understand the difference between the 600 and 610 models and at the same time will also be able to figure out the similarities between the two WorkForce models. Except for a little help button at the left of the display, the 610 is a Xerox of 600. The main control panel and the side of the printer only have a slightly mirrored finish, while the rest of the body gets a professional lusterless black. If you have an office with limited space, then the 18.3 pound Epson WorkForce 610 just isn’t the ideal choice for you. Measuring around 18 x 14 x 9.3 inches (Length x Width x Depth) is a bulky machine, with its size and weight attributed to the auto-document feeder located on the top of the scanner. Taking out the loading try again will cost you little desk space, so be prepared for that.

The control panel of Epson Work Force 610 in comparison to cheaper Epson WorkForce 310 is more vigorous. And putting some extra bucks on the desk will get you the 610 with a new convenient 2.5-inch full-color LCD display which will show you all the necessary print information, cartridge information, graphic displays of remaining ink levels, and wireless setting instructions, and much more. A great deal of this information is simulated onscreen, courtesy Epson printer driver, but for the wireless users like us the autonomy of it being displayed on the unit is a real winner. The entire control panel of 610 rotates to provide you several viewing angles.

The control panel of the printer from left to write contains, a four way shortcut pad, power button, a customary directional pad, help and zoom buttons, and the number keys for the telephonic functions of the fax machine. The controls of the machine are comprehensive and straightforward in use, though we suppose it would have supported the user customizable hot keys. The other noteworthy feature on the control panel is a media card reader which offers inputs for MS, Compact Flash, SD memory cards and XD. Given below is a PictBridge USB port to save images directly and print them from a PictBridge companionable USB thumb drive.

On the top of the control panel is two hinged bays exposing the 1200 by 2400 dpi ink cartridge and scanner glass repository. The scanning function facilitates saving image in three ways, firstly to a particular file folder, secondly as an attachment in an e-mail and finally as a PDF files in a folder. The 30-sheet automatic document feeder is again an advantage for the WorkForce 610 buyers, as it picks individual sheets from the tray.

Specifications:

Weight: 18.3 lbs
Dimensions (W x D x H): 18.1 x 13.6 x 9.3 inches
Inkjet Technology: Epson Micro Piezo
Ink Type: Epson DURABrite Ultra inks
Max Printing Resolution: up to up to 5760 x 1440 dpi (color) / 5760 x 1440 dpi (mono)

Scan Element: CIS
Interpolated Resolution: 9600 x 9600 dpi
Optical Resolution: 2400 x 2400 dpi
Color Management Features: Epson Vivid Color, Adobe RGB, and Windows Image Color Management (ICM)

PC Connectivity: Yes
PC Connection: Hi-Speed USB, USB host, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b, Ethernet 10 Base-T/100 Base-TX and IEEE 802.11n (draft)
Operating System: MS Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Apple Mac OS X 10.4.x, Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9, Apple Mac OS X 10.5.x
Software Included: EPSON Web-to-Page, EPSON Scan, and Presto! Page Manager, Drivers & utilities and ArcSoft Print Creations

Max Document Reduction: 25 %
Max Document Enlargement: 400 %
Maximum Copies: 99
Copier Type: Digital
Max Copying Speed: up to 38 pages/min (color) and up to 38 pages/min (mono)
Ink Cartridge Configuration: 4 cartridges (1 each: magenta, cyan, yellow and black)

Performance:

Though the build quality and the design of WorkForce 610 are pleasing, but were even bigger fan of Epson’s ability to bring in an increase in speed of its inkjet printers. The Epson Workforce 610 delivered an impressive 7.31 pages per minute of text printing, but for the plain black pages it gets to 13.24 pages per minute, and the results were netted same for the presentation and graphics tests, though there was a significant drop in output speed in our photo output. When printing the photos, its speed dips down significantly and with one page per minute, 610 hardly makes it past last place by edging, HP Office jet J6480 by merely 0.06 page per minute. But as the 610 comes under Epson’s WorkForce line, lightning fast speed is certainly not expected of it. Though, this is something that you should keep in mind if your business is of printing photos.

Support and Service:

Epson WorkForce 610 is backed by a limited one year warranty including toll-free customer support from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT on weekdays, by Epson. Further, there also is support available online through a model-specific troubleshooting guide, FAQ’s, driver updates, e-mail support and document downloads. You also can buy additional coverage at $20 for an additional year or with $30 for two years.

Expert Comments:

The Epson WorkForce 610 successfully accomplishes the need of both home and businesses offering decent performance for both. If you are shopping for a proficient and reliable all-in-one printing device, then the Epson Work Force 610 is just the perfect choice for you. Be it the printing, copying, scanning and faxing this Epson is a lot ahead of the league.