I can see why Epson has sold over a 100 million EcoTanks. Being the first to bring the refillable concept to market, Epson hasn’t stopped tweaking the design so that the Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series looks like the slickest all-in-one inkjet in the shop.

I’m testing the white ET-4956 variant, but its also available in black and they both come with a feature-set to suit any small business or home-based professional. It can both duplex print and duplex scan as well as offering an improved automatic document feed (ADF) and a faster print speed than its predecessor.

The main attraction is the huge amount of inbox ink (enough to print for three years), but the asking price is rather high, so let’s see if the new model can maintain Epson’s lead in the increasingly competitive refillable 4-in-1 printer category.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Design and build

The redesign looks fresh to my eye, especially in this white livery. The folding front panel ensures the touchscreen display is always visible, while the new status light encircling the top of the ink tank cover makes it easy to see if and how your printer is responding from the far side of the office. The smooth plastic feels sturdy enough and the motorized paper output glides out smoothly every time you’re ready to print.

The paper input tray can hold an adequate 250 sheets of paper up to letter or A4-size, but it’s a pity there’s no second input tray as this means you’ll need to unload the main tray each time you want to print on different media.

The 2.4-inch touchscreen is somewhat small, but big enough to operate and quite sensitive. The cable ports are easily accessible at the left side and the fairly large 70ml ink tanks are well integrated on the other side. It’s a practical design overall and the whole thing feels well made.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Features & specifications

As the top model in Epson’s three-strong range, the ET-4950 series is a four-in-one multifunction device with print, scan, copy and fax functionality, plus plenty of extras. The ADF on top can hold 30 sheets of paper and copy both sides of each page automatically.

That’s something the previous model couldn’t do. It’s using a PrecisionCore print head with 784 inkjet nozzles to achieve a print resolution of 4,800 x 1,200 DPI. WiFi 5 with AirPrint compatibility is built in and it can print on paper up to 300g/m².

It prints quickly for an inkjet with a claimed top speed of 35ppm (pages per minute) with simplex monochrome pages or 23 in color. That’s slightly confusing as the ISO/IEC 24734 is just 18ppm, but suffice to say, that it printed a little faster than its predecessor and compares well with other inkjets in its class. The quoted 8.5-second FPOT (first page out time) is accurate and also PDQ (pretty darn quick).

The only features missing are Bluetooth, NFC, a USB Host port for printing from or scanning to a USB stick and a multi-purpose tray. The first three items I can live without, but a second paper input tray would have really improved the functionality of this printer. Perhaps Epson will include it with the next update.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Setup and operation

The printed quick-start guide is easy to follow. Just remove all the transport tape, load some paper, plug in, turn on and follow the on-display prompts.

I’d recommend downloading the Epson Smart Panel app onto your Android or iPhone first as this makes it easier to add your new printer to your wi-fi network. I’d also recommend printing out the test pages when offered to ensure all your nozzles are aligned and firing correctly.

Filling the ink reservoirs is a quick and clean process as the bottles hold the same volume of ink as the tanks — 70ml for the three coolers; 127ml for black — and each spout is shaped to fit only its corresponding tank so you can’t muddle them up.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Performance

The Epson EcoTank ET-4956 I tested put in a strong all-round performance, printing quickly and cleanly with only one paper jam where I loaded a photograph into the automatic document feed for copying. Where the manual says that it can handle paper up to 300g/m² (my photo paper was only 200g/m²) it means via the main tray and evidently not via the ADF.

That incident aside, I was pleased with my test pages, although I couldn’t honestly see any improvement over the outgoing EcoTank ET-4850 test pages. That’s unsurprising given it’s using the same heat-free inkjet technology and the same hybrid pigment and dye-based inks.

Plain pages of text print quietly in simplex mode and the paper is turned swiftly in auto duplex mode. The pigment black is applied precisely enough, but it’s not as dark as, for instance, the Canon MAXIFY GX4020, which uses a smiler hybrid ink system.

Switching to color test documents plays more to the Epson’s strengths as its dye-based C/M/Y inks are particularly bright and color documents look pleasingly vivid. It also does well with photography for the same reason.

The Epson recognizes a range of coated photo paper types and given premium glossy photo paper, my test photos really popped. This printer manages an enhanced resolution of 4,800 x 1,200, which is enough for photo printing, but dedicated photo printers, like the Canon PIXMA G3270, produce sharper images for less money.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Consumables

The Epson EcoTank ET-4950 comes with five ink bottles containing a total of 464ml of ink. That’s equivalent to around 65 regular ink cartridges and enough, Epson reckons, to print for around three years before needing to buy refills.

Epson’s bottled ink is cheap compared with cartridge ink and there’s nothing to stop you from buying third party ink, which is even cheaper. Put like that, Epson’s claim that this printer is up to 95% cheaper to run than a cartridge printer seems reasonable.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Maintenance

Epson says its heat-free printing tech means you’ll never need to replace the printhead, which is a cost incurred by plenty of other inkjet owners. This printer is also less prone to clogging in the nozzles thanks to some improved engineering.

However, the settings menu includes several anti-clogging cycles that can be run if (or more likely, when) dried up ink stops you printing. Epson includes a one-year, or 100,000-page warranty with this model.

What you may well have to replace is the maintenance box when it eventually fills up with the tiny amounts of excess ink generated by printing and cleaning. A replacement costs around ten dollars and it looks to me like you could save money by emptying and cleaning the existing one.

Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series: Final verdict

The Epson EcoTank ET-4950 and its variants proved that Epson is the brand to beat in this refillable office-friendly mid-price category. I found it easy to set up and operate thanks to the responsive touchscreen and good design and it has all the features I consider essential for the home worker or small shared office.

In other words, it duplex prints pretty quickly, connects readily my 5GHz Wi-Wi and turns out crisp and colorful test pages on all kinds of media. I also appreciated the two-sided scan feature and, of course, the generous amount of inbox ink.

Does Epson still make the best ink tank printers? This category only gets more competitive with new players like the significantly more affordable Brother DCP-T780DW entering the fray, while the excellent HP Smart Tank 7001 comes with larger ink tanks and the Canon MAXIFY GX4020 offers superior print quality.

But with more features than those rivals, and such a strong all-round performance, I can highly recommend the Epson EcoTank ET-4950 series.

For more top-performing models, I've tested the best home printers and the best all-in-one printers.

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000: One minute review

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 is the latest, and least expensive, member of Epson's LS series of projectors. At $3,999 / £2,999 / AU$7,299, this entry-level dedicated home theater projector is notably cheaper than comparable options from JVC and Sony, yet still comes with a bevy of great features and performance to match.

Epson’s Pro Cinema LS9000 follows in the footsteps of the Epson LS12000 model that currently sits a the top of TechRadar’s Best Projectors list. The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 aims to continue this excellence, employing the same 15-element glass VRX lens structure, laser light engine, and 3LCD technology as the LS12000.

Similar to the step-up LS12000, the Pro Cinema LS9000 supports 4K 120Hz signals, has relatively low input lag for gaming, and is compatible with the HDR10+ high dynamic range format. Its motorized lens shift, zoom, and focus make setup adjustments easy, and out of the box in Natural picture mode, it delivers accurate colors and a crisp image.

Even with all the great inclusions, some missing features reflect the LS9000’s entry-level status. The most glaring is a lack of dynamic tone mapping, which is also missing from the other LS series projectors that were originally released a few years ago, but is starting to show up in some less expensive home theater models. With a rated 2,200 lumens brightness (white and color), it’s also best suited for a home theater room with decent ambient light control, as opposed to a multi-purpose living space with light streaming in through windows.

Still, the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 offers incredible performance for the price. It’s a solid projector that’s easy to set up, but still offers the ability to tweak and play with image settings that a new (or frugal) home projection enthusiast is sure to love.

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Price & release date

• Release date: July 2025
• Price: $3,999 / £2,999 / AU$7,299

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 made its debut in July 2025 at the Audio Advice Live show in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s the least expensive of Epson’s Pro Cinema laser projectors, coming in at $3,999 / £2,999 / AU$7,299. For comparison, the Home Cinema LS11000 retails for $4,499 (up from $3,999 when released) and the LS12000 now goes for $5,999 (up from $4,999 at release).

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Specs

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Design & features

• Motorized zoom, focus, and lens shift
• 4K 120Hz support
• Motorized lens cover

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 shares the same look as its bigger siblings, the Pro Cinema LS12000 and Home Cinema LS11000, and the high-lumen Epson QB1000 released in late 2024. The chassis is large and a bit heavy (the Sony Bravia Projector 7 weighs less, but the JVC DLA-NZ5 weighs a little more), but I find the design and its black color to look sleeker than its heft lets on. All connections are on the back panel alongside touch controls if the remote is misplaced.

The look is not where the similarities to the LS11000 and LS12000 end. Inside, the LS9000 uses the same VRX lens with a 15-element glass structure and has Epson’s 4K 3LCD design architecture with three 0.74-inch LCD panels.

As is the case with all Epson projectors, the LS9000 uses pixel-shifting technology to achieve a 4K resolution from 1080p chips. Some enthusiasts complain about this not being “True 4K” and as lesser than the use of native 4K chips, but the 4K image from the LS9000 (and every other Epson that uses pixel-shifting technology) is detailed and crisp, especially from a normal viewing distance. The chip also allows for a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

The laser light source is specified for 2,200 lumens of both color (IDMS rated) and white (ISO rated) light output and has up to 20,000 hours of life in all modes. This is where the LS9000’s performance separates from the LS11000 and LS12000, which are rated at 2,500 and 2,700 lumens, respectively, and partially accounts for the difference in pricing. The blue laser diode array emits light through a fixed yellow phosphor (first released with the LS12000), as opposed to a phosphor wheel, to create white light, and the laser light source and fixed phosphor allow it to run silently.

The lower lumen output makes the LS9000 more suitable for a dark room – or at the very least, a light-controlled room — than the more expensive, higher light output projectors. But as I’ll discuss below, it still delivers enough brightness for daytime viewing.

There’s a generous +/- 24% horizontal and +/- 96% vertical powered lens shift on the LS9000, along with powered zoom (a ratio of 1-1.2) and focus that can be controlled from the remote to make setup adjustments easy. The projector’s throw ratio is 1.35-2.84:1. There’s also vertical and horizontal keystone correction (+/- 30 degrees), but with the amount of lens shift available, keystone correction likely won’t be necessary (and should always be avoided, if possible, as it can negatively affect the picture).

The LS9000 is compatible with an anamorphic lens kit (sold separately) and third-party options. A memory feature allows you to save image adjustments and lens positioning for different aspect ratio setups, and the lens is also protected by a motorized lens cover that opens and closes with the power cycle.

The LS9000 supports HDR10, HLG, and HDR10+ high dynamic range, and has two HDMI 2.1 inputs that support 4K 120Hz. While that’s great news for gamers, the projector doesn’t support ALLM, so you’ll need to manually switch the image processing from Fine to Fast for the lowest input lag. HDMI2 also supports eARC, so if you decide to connect a streaming stick directly to the projector, you can send out audio including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Master Audio, and DTS:X formats.

One thing missing from the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 is dynamic HDR tone mapping. Instead, there’s an HDR Dynamic Range slider that allows you to manually adjust the brightness of the HDR image.

The projector’s remote is a bit chunky, but the keypad is backlit and has all the necessary buttons to make easy adjustments while viewing. There are dedicated buttons to call up features like Fine/Fast (for gaming), different lens memory positions, signal information, lens adjustment, and color modes.

• Design & features score: 4.5/5

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Picture quality

• Accurate image in Natural picture mode
• HDR10+ support
• No dynamic tone mapping

The LS9000 has five different picture modes — Dynamic, Vivid, Bright Cinema, Cinema, and Natural — and they are the same for both standard and high dynamic range sources. Each mode produces a watchable image out of the box, although all of them have some degree of blue tint to the grayscale, with Natural being the most accurate choice for both SDR and HDR.

The default color temperature setting of 6500K is still slightly on the blue side, but switching it to 6000K causes the color temperature to be a little too red. If you choose to do a professional calibration, you can use two different picture modes – one for SDR and one for HDR – and save them with the Image Memory setting.

Out of the box SDR measurements in Natural picture mode had an average Delta E of 2.8, with some grayscale reaching above 4 because of the blue bias. A calibration can get all dE down below 2.1, with many under 1. UHDA-P3 color gamut coverage measured 90.25%, while BT.2020 came in at 66.86%.

Brightness in Dynamic mode with my unit was 2,062 lumens, but that’s still within the measurement tolerance of ISO lumens, and due to the positioning of my projector, the image was zoomed in a bit, which causes the brightness to come down. It’s enough brightness for a watchable image in a room with ambient light (even with Natural picture mode, which is visibly less bright than other modes), but there’s a loss of shadow detail due to the light reflecting on the screen.

Where the projector really excels is when the lights are off. Colors look accurate and inviting, detail in both SDR and HDR is sharp, and the projector exhibits great contrast and shadow detail with the Dynamic Contrast setting at High Speed. The contrast isn’t as impressive as on the LS12000, which I evaluated a few years ago, but for the price, the LS9000 does an excellent job.

The HDR image does require some tweaking at times. Occasionally, bright highlights can cause some clipping — such as when the shark cage is lowered into the water in The Meg, and we can see the bright sun refracting through the ocean water. In this instance, I adjusted the dynamic range slider from its default of 8 to 10 (which slightly backs off the scene brightness).

Through most of my viewing, I played around with the slider, not just to address high brightness clipping, but also to see its effect on image depth. Generally, I found myself setting it between 8 and 10, with the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Return of the King at 8 and day scenes during Mad Max: Fury Road at a 9 for a bit more depth. None of the adjustments were life-altering, and I wouldn’t suggest changing the dynamic range slider mid-movie, but you’ll learn your preferences. This is where dynamic tone mapping is missed.

Home theater projectors have historically struggled to provide input lag low enough for gaming, but with two HDMI 2.1 ports that are capable of 4K 120Hz, the LS9000 is screaming to be used as a gaming projector. The Image Processing menu allows you to select a setting of Fine or Fast (which provides a lower input lag). With the Fast setting and a 4K 60Hz signal, the lag measured at 20ms (it’s 44ms with the Fine setting). Unfortunately, there’s no ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), so you’ll need to manually switch the setting when you game or watch content.

Input lag is low enough on the LS9000 to satisfy a non-competitive gamer (my son still enjoyed his time playing Minecraft). During my second playthough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which relies on dodge and parry reactions during combat, I was able to still make it through combat without issue. Someone who regularly plays first-person shooter games will likely feel a difference between the LS9000 and one of the best gaming TVs, but for the vast majority of us, the Epson will deliver a great gaming experience.

• Picture quality score: 4.5/5

Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 review: Value

• Great performance for the price
• Solid gaming projector
• Missing an important home theater feature

The Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 is not only the least expensive model in the LS series, it’s one of the most affordable premium home theater projectors – the JVC DLA-NP5, which is a lamp-based model, retails for $6,000, as does the Sony VPL-XW5000ES, which came out three years ago.

Not only is the LS9000 brighter than both of those projectors, it also has a collection of features neither of them has, including a high-quality laser light engine, HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K/120Hz and eARC support, an excellent lens with motorized adjustments and lens cover, zoom and image memory, and 2,200 lumens of brightness.

There are still some compromises that must be made. Its biggest flaw is a lack of dynamic tone mapping, which we’re seeing in projectors half the price of the LS9000, like the Valerion VisionMaster Pro2. The LS9000 also doesn’t have 3D support, isn’t as bright as the step-up options from Epson, and is missing ALLM for gaming. But even so, the projector delivers a detailed picture with accurate color, which looks very engaging in a dark room. Also, the 20ms input lag time and 4K 120Hz support make gaming a joy on the big screen.

• Value score: 4/5

Should I buy the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000

• Evaluated under various viewing conditions
• Measured and calibrated with professional software and hardware
• I am ISF-certified and have years of experience reviewing projectors

The Epson LS9000 laser projector was connected to my ceiling mount, approximately 11 feet from an Elite Screens CineTension 3 ISF-certified CineWhite screen. Using the Epson’s zoom and lens adjustment controls, the image was adjusted to fit the 100-inch diagonal screen.

I watched a wide range of content with both ambient light from the sun and ceiling lighting during the day and a dark, light-controlled environment at night. Movies and TV shows were streamed with an Apple TV 4K from the Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu apps. I also used a Kaleidescape Strato V for high-quality movie playback, along with 4K Blu-ray discs played on an Oppo UDP-203 disc player. Games were played on an Xbox Series X.

For objective measurement testing, I used an X-rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer, Murideo Seven-G 8K pattern generator, Konica Minolta LS-100 luminance meter, and Calman calibration software by Portrait Displays. Input lag tests were made with a Leo Bodnar 4K lag tester.

I’ve been testing projectors and other displays for a couple of decades, and am an ISF Level III certified calibrator.

• First reviewed: November 2025
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

• Epson has announced five new Lifestudio projectors
• The budget-priced lineup includes four portables and one ultra short throw
• All models feature Google TV for streaming and Sound by Bose built-in speakers

Epson has been busy lately working on a refresh of its portable projector lineup. That effort has yielded five new Lifestudio models, ranging from a compact 4K ultra short throw to a $679 Full HD projector.

The big news here is Epson’s collaboration with speaker and headphones maker Bose to create the first projectors with Sound by Bose. Along with making the new projectors an all-in-one theater-at-home solution, they will have four 'tuned with Sound by Bose' modes – Cinema, Dialogue, Music, and Standard – to adapt the sound output for a range of content.

Each new projector in the Lifestudio lineup features Google TV, a smart TV platform that's increasingly being added to the best projectors, built in for streaming.

Another first that comes with the Lifestudio lineup is that the Epson Projection Studio app is available for Android and iOS devices. This will let viewers control projector functions, such as adjusting settings and volume, and will let multiple users easily contribute to slideshows for parties and other events.

The setup of each Lifestudio projector is made easy with EpiqSense 2.0 auto-setup, which automatically adjusts focus and image alignment, along with color balance when projecting on surfaces other than a white screen or wall.

Lifestudio Grand Ultra Short Throw projector

The crown jewel of Epson’s Lifestudio lineup is the Lifestudio Grand Ultra Short Throw projector ($2,699.99). This 4K model delivers powerful brightness for the price, with a rated 3,600 lumens of white and color brightness.

The Lifestudio Grand can project a 120-inch picture from a 15.2-inch distance from the wall, and features HDR10 support and 120Hz gaming at 1080p resolution.

Lifestudio Flex Plus portable projector

Epson’s most advanced new portable projector is the Lifestudio Flex Plus ($999.99). This 4K model beams pictures with 1,000 lumens brightness and features ALLM (auto low latency mode) for gaming. It also has a swivel and tilt stand, built-in mood lighting, and a USB-C port to power the projector from a portable charger.

Other models in the Epson portable lineup include the Lifestudio Flex ($849.99), which is a Full HD portable with 700 lumens of brightness and the same swivel base as the Flex Plus. While the Lifestudio Pop Plus ($849.99) and Lifestudio Pop ($799.99) are 4K and Full HD models, respectively, both have 700 lumens of brightness.

Epson Lifestudio projectors are now available on Epson.com and at select retailers. A lineup of accessories, including adjustable floor stands and wireless mics for karaoke, is also available.

Lifestudio is grand

Epson is not a newcomer to the portable projector world – the company released its EpiqVision Flex back in 2023, and followed up with the EpiqVision Mini EF22 in 2024. Both options provided viewers looking for a compact, portable projector in the under-$1,000 range with a reliable Full HD option, and both featured built-in streaming and speakers.

But the company has really stepped things up with its new Lifestudio offerings, adding 4K options, along with built-in Google TV (with Netflix!) across the board for streaming.

A $1,000 projector with 4K resolution isn’t something I’ve seen before aside from the LG CineBeam Q, a laser projector that’s high on style and features, but low on brightness, with a specified 500 ANSI lumens. The new Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus, while priced around the same as the LG, doubles the brightness at 1,000 lumens. With Google TV built in, it will also be an excellent option for streaming.

Gaming performance was an area we found needed work in our Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review, and the Lifestudio Flex Plus with its ALLM feature should provide an improvement on that front. The EpiqVision Mini EF22’s built-in speakers were also found to be lacking, and I expect the addition of Sound by Bose to the new Lifestudio lineup will have a transformative effect on audio quality.

As intrigued as I am by the Lifestudio Flex Plus, the Lifestudio Grand Ultra Short Throw projector is the one I’m more excited about. This 4K model is priced well below much of its UST competition, while offering 4K resolution and a stunning 3,600 lumens brightness.

At that price, the Lifestudio Grand will provide a more affordable alternative to the Epson LS800, the best for sports option in our best ultra short throw projectors guide, a great all-around projector that’s otherwise hampered by a dated Android TV platform and Wi-Fi 5 for streaming.

You might also like

• The 7 coolest projectors at IFA 2025
• Back-to-school portable projector guide
• Epson’s new laser projector with 4K 120Hz support is its cheapest gaming projector yet

• Four new 3LCD projectors for up to 300-inch images
• Two Home Cinema models and two Pro
• One of each comes with AirPlay on board

Epson has launched four new projectors, and two of them will be of particular interest to Apple users. That's because for the first time, Epson is delivering AirPlay compatibility for retail home cinema projector purchasers – something that's been available in the likes of LG's Cinebeam range for some time.

The four projectors are all 3-chip 3LCD models and they're divided into two products: Home Cinema projectors, and Pro projectors. The AirPlay models also support Miracast.

The Home Cinema projectors are the Home Cinema 1100, which has AirPlay, and the Home Cinema 980, which hasn't.

The Pro models are the Pro EX9270 wireless projector, which is the AirPlay model, and the EX3290, which isn't.

Epson's new projectors: key features and pricing

The $899 (so around £660 or AU$1,370) Home Cinema 1100 with AirPlay is rated for 3,400 lumens of color and white brightness, and the $799 Home Cinema 980 is rated for 4,000 lumens.

Both deliver 1080p Full HD resolution at sizes up to 300 inches, both have picture skew sensors, and both have two HDMI ports. They feature Epson's 3-chip 3LCD technology that delivers "outstanding" images in a wide range of lighting conditions.

The $999 Pro EX9270 with AirPlay is rated for 4,100 lumens and the $649 Pro EX3290 is rated for 4,000. Like the Home Cinema projectors they too feature the 3LCD system and can throw images up to 300 inches; the EX9270 is full HD and the EX3290 is WXGA. There are twin HDMI ports, an image skew sensor and built-in speakers, and the Pro EX9270 also has 1.6x optical zoom.

All four projectors are available now directly from Epson and from authorized retailers.

You might also like

• The best projectors, tested and reviewed by our experts
• The best 4K projector: top home theater beamers
• Best portable projector of 2025: Watch anywhere this summer

• Epson has announced the LS9000, an entry-level model in its Pro Cinema projector lineup
• The LS9000 has a specified 2,200 lumens of white (ISO rated) and color (IDMS rated) brightness
• The LS9000 features dual HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support for gaming

Epson today announced the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 4K 3LCD Laser Projector. The new lower-cost entry in the company’s Pro Cinema projector lineup is making its debut this week at the Audio Advice Live show, which takes place August 1-3, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Priced at $3,999 (around £2,995 / AU$6,135), the Epson LS9000 provides a more affordable alternative to the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 ($5,999), currently the top pick in our best projectors guide. Like that model, the new LS9000 is a 4K 3LCD model with HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG support. It also uses a laser light source rated for 20,000 hours and has a motorized lens with powered zoom, focus, and +/- 96% vertical and up to +/- 24% horizontal lens shift.

With 2,200 lumens of white (ISO rated) and color (IDMS rated) brightness, the LS9000 isn’t as powerful as the LS12000, which is rated for 2,700 lumens of white brightness. But like that model, it features 4K 120Hz support on its dual HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming (eARC and ARC are also supported).

Epson’s ZX Picture Processor performs real-time frame interpolation and picture enhancement on the LS9000, which also features a powered lens cover that slides into place when the projector is powered off. A memory zoom option lets you use the projector with ultra-wide 2.35:1 screens, and it also supports third-party anamorphic lenses for use with the same.

A cheaper Pro Series? We’ll take it

At CEDIA Expo 2024, Epson debuted the Epson Q-Series, a trio of 4K laser projectors aimed at the high-end residential market. What distinguished these from other Epson projectors was the Q-Series’ high brightness specifications, starting at 3,300 lumens for the QB1000, with up to 10,000 lumens for the flagship Epson QL7000.

Such high light output makes the Q-Series a perfect option for open-format media rooms or living rooms, where some degree of ambient lighting is preferred.

With 2,200 lumens of brightness, the new LS9000 is aimed more at traditional dark-room home theaters, where the projector’s two-speed Dynamic Contrast adjustment will allow it to project crisp 4K movies with powerful contrast (Epson’s contrast ratio specs cite over 2.5 million to one).

The LS9000’s dual HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support also make it a great option for gaming with next-gen consoles or PCs. And at $3,999, Epson’s latest is a more reasonably priced gaming projector than other models in its lineup, and it’s also one that should capably do double duty for movies.

You might also like

• The best 4K projector: top home theater beamers
• Back-to-school portable projector guide
• The 7 best projectors at CES 2025

The most exciting news of the past few days for the TechRadar team is that the launch date for what we expect will be the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has been officially revealed.

The device is set to be announced at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on May 12, (that's 1am BST and 10am AEST on May 13). We're sure you're on the *ahem* Edge of your seat waiting to hear all about the new handset but, if you can't wait that long to discover some of the latest, greatest tech, we've rounded up some of our favorite reviews from the week below.

• Read all of our previous Review Recaps

There's a whole heap of reviews for you to dive into. First off, we tested Bang & Olufsen's beautifully built new Bluetooth speaker and marveled at its mellifluous yet meaty sound. On top of this, we put Epson's blazingly bright 4K laser projector through its paces, and considered whether Honor's latest pro smartwatch lives up to its 'Ultra' moniker.

1. Bang & Olufsen A1 3rd Gen review

2. Epson QL7000 review

3. Honor Watch 5 Ultra review

4. Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 review

5. De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Next review

Epson QL7000: two-minute review

The Epson QL7000 is a projector designed for situations where you normally wouldn’t use a projector: well-lit rooms free of the dark furniture and gray walls typical of home theater environments.

What makes the Epson QL7000 uniquely qualified for such situations is its brightness, which goes far beyond what you get with the best projectors and even matches some of the best TVs. The QL7000 has a specified 10,000 lumens brightness, where a typical home theater projector tops out in the 2,500 to 3,000 range. That’s one of the reasons why the QL7000 costs $29,999 (around £22,400 / AU$47,000), though there are other good reasons as well.

The QL7000 is a 'body-only' projector that needs to be outfitted with a separate lens. Epson offers a range of special lens options, including long-throw ones that let you position it far from a screen, and ultra-short-thow ones that let you install it super-close. This level of installation flexibility is unique for a consumer-grade projector, especially one as small and lightweight as the QL7000. It also has an attractive case design that will let it fit in with your living room’s decor.

The QL7000 uses a laser 3LCD light engine, along with pixel-shifting, to display 4K images. Epson’s 32-bit QZX Picture Processor is used for upscaling and other types of processing, and it supports the HDR10 and HLG high dynamic range formats (but not HDR10+, a format we’re seeing increasing support for in projectors).

A pair of HDMI 2.1 ports on the QL7000 support 4K 120Hz and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), making Epson’s projector, which also has a low 19.6ms input lag, a great option for gaming. But the real draw of the QL7000 is watching sports – its super-bright picture can easily hold up in rooms with the lights on, and games of all sorts have an incredibly immersive quality on a big screen (up to 300 inches max, in this case).

The QL7000 also looks great when you dim the lights for movie time, and with a variable laser light output adjustment, you can create a separate picture mode optimized for more traditional theater-style viewing. Epson’s high-lumen projector lacks the black level refinement seen in some of the top 4K projectors, but with such powerful brightness reserves aided by a dynamic contrast feature, movies watched on the QL7000 pack a strong visual punch.

Ultimately, the QL7000 is a specialized projector designed for multi-use environments, and it serves that purpose brilliantly. Between the projector itself and the separate lens, you’ll pay quite a bit to experience its stunning brightness in your home, but for some, it will be well worth the cost.

Epson QL7000 review: price and release date

• First available: March 2025
• Price: $29,999 (around £22,400 / AU$47,000)
  

The flagship model in Epson’s Q Series projector lineup, the QL7000 lists for $29,999 (around £22,400 / AU$47,000). Prices for Epson projectors generally remain consistent over time, though discounts are occasionally tied to sales events. This price is for the QL7000 projector body only, with four lens options available at extra cost.

Other Q series models include the Epson QL3000 (6,000 lumens, $14,999) and Epson QB1000 (3,300 lumens, $7,999).

Epson QL7000 review: Specs

Epson QL7000 review: design and features

• Compact and stylish for a high-lumen projector
• Multiple lens option, including ultra-short-throw
• Dual HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz and ALLM support

The Epson QL7000 represents a departure from the massive, industrial look of typical high-lumen projectors. It’s not only smaller and lighter than such models, but it has a stylish, angled case that’s available in black or white. This sets it apart as a projector that can blend in with a living room setting rather than dominate.

The QL7000 is a “body-only” projector that requires a separate lens. Epson sells a range of lenses, which allow for everything from long-throw to ultra-short-throw installation options. For this review, the company sent me a middle-throw option with a 1-1.6 zoom, +56 to -56 vertical shift, and +16 to -16 horizontal shift.

A laser 3LCD light engine in the QL7000 uses separate red, green, and blue imaging chips and employs pixel shifting to display a 4K image. Light output is specified at 10,000 lumens (white and color), around four times as high as typical home theater projectors, and the QL7000 also supports Epson’s contrast-enhancing UltraBlack technology.

The QL7000 uses Epson’s proprietary 32-bit QZX Picture Processor for upscaling, frame interpolation, and dynamic HDR tone mapping. HDR support includes HDR10 and HLG, but not the HDR10+ format supported by some home theater projectors, including the Epson QB1000.

Gaming features on the QL7000 include two 40Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). A 3.5mm audio output is also provided (like other high-end projectors, the QL7000 lacks built-in speakers), along with dual USB-A, Ethernet, and RS-232C ports. There is also support for Crestron, Control4, and other home automation systems.

The QL7000’s setup features include horizontal and vertical lens shift, keystone correction, and point correction. Since I installed the projector on a table for my testing, the setup was simple, with the trickiest part being inserting the lens into the projector’s front. Four adjustable feet are provided for leveling the projector during setup, though most QL7000 installations will use a ceiling mount.

A full-size, fully backlit remote control comes with the QL7000. The buttons are large and well arranged, but the functions seem mainly aimed at installation, with no controls to make quick adjustments to basic picture settings like brightness and contrast.

• Design and features score: 5/5

Epson QL7000 review: picture quality

• Incredibly bright HDR images
• Impressive HDR tone mapping
• Very low input lag for gaming

First, let’s look at some measurements. With the QL7000 set to Natural mode (the most accurate picture preset) and a 100% laser light output setting, it measured 1,005 nits on a 10% white HDR pattern. It also measured 1,340 nits in Dynamic mode, which is the one I ended up using for most of my picture evaluation after calibrating the grayscale and color points. For the sake of comparison, the DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives, a theater industry trade group) digital cinema specification calls for 300 nits brightness for projectors to properly display HDR.

Contrast ratio in Dynamic mode with Dynamic Contrast on and the laser light output set to 30% was 68,000:1. With laser light output set to 100%, that number was boosted to 253,600:1, an excellent result that many competing projectors, particularly DLP-based ones, would struggle to match.

The QL7000’s UHDA P3 color space coverage was 83.7% in Natural mode, and BT.2020 coverage was 61.8% in the same mode. Those numbers aren’t nearly as impressive as high-end home theater projectors like the JVC DLA-NZ800, which is capable of full P3 coverage, or certain triple-laser ultra-short-throw models like the Hisense PX3-Pro that can fully cover BT.2020. Even so, colors looked punchy on the QL7000.

Input latency tested with a Bodnar 4K Input Lag meter was 19.6ms with the QL7000’s Image Processing menu option set to Fast. That’s an excellent result for a projector, and combined with the QL7000’s ALLM feature, it sets the QL7000 apart as a great option for big-screen gaming.

The most exceptional aspect of the Epson QL7000’s picture is its stunning brightness. Even when watching in a bright room with light streaming in from windows, the crisp, clear 4K image beamed by the QL7000 had a true window-on-reality quality.

A main benefit to all that brightness is getting to watch sports on a very big screen. When I first saw a demo of the QL7000 at the 2024 CEDIA Expo, Epson had paired it with a 200-inch screen in a well-lit room, and the football games they were showing looked clear and bright. For my setup, I used a much more modest-sized 92-inch matte white, 1.1 gain Stewart Filmscreen Cima screen, with the projector’s lens surface situated at a 10-foot distance.

As luck would have it, both the NBA playoffs and the Stanley Cup playoffs were happening during my time with the QL7000. No shortage of sports to watch! Viewing in the daytime with room lights on, the QL7000’s exceptionally bright picture made a Pacers vs Bucks match look incredibly realistic, with the Pacers players' bright yellow uniforms retaining their rich yellow hue even in my brightly lit room. With a typical home theater projector, the same image would have had washed-out-looking colors, but that was not at all the case with the QL7000.

The same held for a Capitols vs Canadiens match, with the large, bright projected image giving me a rink-side seat. The red hue of the Montreal players’ uniforms popped against the rink’s icy, white surface, and the QL7000’s excellent motion handling made fast-action plays look completely solid.

With the lights in my room dimmed for movie viewing, the projector’s picture benefited from reducing its laser light output to 30%, which provided more balanced contrast. Watching a 4K Blu-ray of Dune, in a scene where Paul Atreides is tested by the Reverend Mother, her veil came across as a solid black, and there was good overall detail in the dark background.

The projector’s somewhat elevated black level – not unexpected in a model designed for high light output – caused some shadow details to be obscured. However, both lowering the gamma setting to -1 in the Advanced menu and setting black level to 0% in the Dynamic Contrast menu helped somewhat in this regard.

Watching a reference scene from the Bond film No Time to Die that I use to test motion handling, a panning shot across a craggy hillside cemetery showed only minimal judder and motion blur. With the QL7000’s Frame Interpolation mode set to Low, those artifacts completely disappeared, and there was only a slight motion smoothing penalty seen in the picture.

As a final test, I watched a few scenes from The Elephant Man on 4K Blu-ray. The QL7000 presented the film’s black-and-white image with excellent uniformity – there was no sign of tinting or variable brightness across various sections of the screen.

• Picture quality score: 4.5/5

Epson QL7000 review: value

• Provides a larger picture than biggest-screen TVs
• Picture brightness a match for some TVs
• Unique option for bright-room viewing

At $29,999 (around £22,400 / AU$47,000), the Epson QL7000 crosses over into the money-no-object realm for projectors, making value almost a moot point. Its main benefit is in projecting a 4K image onto screens as large as 300 inches, and with a level of brightness that’s so powerful you can watch during daytime hours with room lights on.

You can now buy super-bright mini-LED TVs in the 100-inch range for substantially less, a reality that would put something of a dent into any consideration of the QL7000’s value. But 100 inches pales in comparison to 300 inches, and yes, people actually exist who want screens that big.

• Value score: 4/5

Should I buy the Epson QL7000?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if… 

Also consider...

How I tested the Epson QL7000

• Tested at home, in a room with controlled lighting
• Measurements were made using Calman color calibration software
• A 1.1 gain Stewart Filmscreen Cima matte white projection screen was used for evaluation and measurements

When I test projectors, my first step is to use them for casual viewing to assess the out-of-box picture presets. The next step is to select the most accurate-looking preset (typically labeled Movie, Cinema, or, in the Epson QL7000's case, Natural) and measure the white balance (grayscale), gamma, and color point accuracy using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software. The resulting measurements provide Delta-E values (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen) for each category, and allow for an assessment of the projector’s overall accuracy.

Along with those tests, I make measurements of peak light output (recorded in nits) for both standard high-definition and 4K high dynamic range using a 10% white window pattern. Coverage of DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color space is also measured, with the results providing a sense of how faithfully the projector can render the extended color range in ultra-high-definition sources. The final measurements are contrast ratio, which is the ratio of the brightest white to the darkest black that the projector can display, and input lag, which is measured using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI input lag tester.

First reviewed: May, 2025

• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

If Epson’s EcoTank ET-2830 was a normal inkjet we’d be bemoaning its high price and taking aim at a relatively basic specification. We’ll come back to the latter, but the first is explained by this MFP’s refillable ink tanks. The ET-2830 arrives with about 6,000 pages’ worth of bottled ink – enough to see out a year or two of light use in the home. It’s better value out of the box than a comparable entry-level, cartridge-based device.

And entry-level the ET-2830 is. It’s a three-in-one, able to print, scan and copy, yet there’s no display, no USB port and no memory card slot. Instead, you get a few buttons and LEDs, and a reasonably appealing and uncluttered design. It offers just a single rear paper feed, and a basic scanner with no ADF. The printer can’t flip over pages for double-sided prints, although the driver will help you do it manually.

The ET-2830 arrives with blue tape holding down every conceivable flap. Remove that and it’s time to flip open its ink tanks and empty the supplied black and color inks into the relevant nozzle – they’re physically keyed to prevent a disastrous misfuelling. This is usually the bit where we gripe about waiting for the one-off ink priming to complete, but Epson’s new Smart Panel app lets you join the MFP to a wireless network and get on with installing software while you wait. We found its verbosity annoying, but it worked perfectly and turned out to be a time-saver overall.

Once set up, this MFP offers no real surprises. Despite its basic nature, it will happily get on with regular household or micro-office duties, leaving printed pages in a neat stack. As you might expect, it’s not especially fast, managing only 12.3ppm on our 25-page black text test. However, with the print quality dropped to draft it reached 17.2ppm – significantly more than Epson’s stated 15ppm.

Cheaper inkjets often make a meal of our challenging 24-page colour graphics test, but the ET-2830 chugged along at a steady 4.5ppm – more competitive than it sounds. It wasn’t even that slow when printing larger photos, needing about three minutes for each 10 x 8in shot printed onto A4 paper. Unfortunately, it only offers borderless prints on 10 x 15cm paper, on which it took a beard-lengthening 14 minutes to deliver six prints. Color photocopies provided another opportunity to grow facial hair, with a single copy needing 35 seconds. At least mono copies, at 14 seconds each, were relatively brisk.

The ET-2850’s scanner didn’t hang about at lower resolutions. It completed a preview in 12 seconds, and in the same timeframe could capture an A4 document at 150dpi. At 300dpi, the same job took 22 seconds. Things got slower at middling resolutions, with the scanner needing 37 seconds to capture a 10 x 15cm photo at 600dpi. However, scan speeds remained competitive at 1,200dpi, with the same document needing just less than a minute.

Delightfully, there’s nothing especially entry-level about the quality of this MFP’s prints, scans or copies. Draft text was quite faint, but Normal quality produced crisp and dark results. Colour graphics weren’t the boldest we’ve seen, but they were free of banding, and comfortably good enough for home and internal business use. Photocopies faithfully reproduced the originals – although colour copies were a touch less saturated.

This MFP’s photo prints were a highlight of our tests, combining surprisingly crisp details with vivid colors and realistic skin tones. Only our black and white photo presented a challenge, with the ET-2830 adding a slight green tint and failing to preserve the darkest shade details. We were also very impressed with its scan quality, which combined excellent color accuracy with a wide dynamic range, making the most of office documents and photographs.

The EcoTank ET-2830 may be basic, but it’s not unduly slow, and it does everything well. Yes, it’s missing duplex printing and other helpful features, but it’s about as cheap as refillable inkjets get. Once you’ve used up the generous bundled ink, its ongoing running costs are less than 0.5p per color page. Don’t be fooled by the purchase price: the ET-2830 is a bargain.

We've also rated the best small business web hosting providers.

Epson QB1000: two-minute review

The Epson EH-QB1000 is a fantastic projector, and in terms of performance, specifications and features, no other beamer comes close at this price.

The QB1000 uses a three-chip LCD design and laser light source that’s capable of producing an incredibly bright 3,300 lumens, which is higher brightness than many of the best 4K projectors can manage. In addition, thanks to excellent out-of-the-box accuracy the resulting images are not only bright but also naturally saturated. There’s a very low input lag, 4K 120Hz high frame rate support, and even HDR10+ high dynamic range support, making this beamer a cracking all-rounder.

The SDR performance is clean and detailed, with good motion handling and great accuracy. The HDR images are even better thanks to the dynamic tone mapping that gets the most out of the specular highlights and expanded shadow detail. The result is a rich and nuanced image with plenty of visual pop. The same goes for HDR10+ content, with its additional dynamic metadata.

Epson includes a host of higher-end features that are often absent from competing projectors. These include fully motorised lens controls and up to 10 lens memories for those using a ‘Scope ratio (2.35:1) screen. The menus themselves are comprehensive but simple to navigate, plus there are also extensive picture controls if you fancy getting your new beamer professionally calibrated.

The build quality is excellent, with a solid chassis and a choice of matte black or white finishes. There’s an extensive selection of connections, including two HDMI 2.1 inputs, along with a well-designed remote control that has a very useful backlight. There’s even a motorised lens cover to keep out dust, which is important because the light path on an LCD projector isn’t sealed.

Aside from the possibility of dust blobs, the only other limitation is the black level, which could be deeper. It’s also worth pointing out that the Epson isn’t native 4K, but can still produce higher-resolution images thanks to pixel-shifting technology. So when you add it all up, you really won’t find a more highly specified or better performing 4K HDR home cinema projector for the money.

Epson QB1000 review: price and release date

• First available: December 2024
• Price: £4,799 / $7,999
  

The EpsonQB1000 is the new entry-level model in the brand’s range of Premium Residential projectors and is available now in a choice of matte black or matte white finishes. The QB1000 currently retails for £4,799 in the UK but costs more in the US, where it will set you back $7,999.

Epson QB1000 review: Specs

Epson QB1000 review: design

• Fully motorised lens controls
• 10 lens memory positions
• Backlit remote control

The Epson QB1000 looks identical to the earlier Epson LS12000, with the same matte black or white chassis and central lens flanked by large forward-firing cooling grilles. The bodywork is solid and well-built, the motorised lens cover is retained, and there are basic controls at the rear, along with a removable cover to keep things tidy. There’s also an optional ceiling mount if required.

Setup is simple thanks to a generous throw ratio and motorised lens controls that include 10 lens memories for those using a 2.35:1 screen. The QB1000’s increased brightness makes it ideal for rooms with lighter-coloured walls, and as a bonus, the weak contrast ratios won’t be as obvious. There are also various picture modes, along with extensive calibration controls.

The connections are located in a long recess at the rear of the unit, where you’ll find two HDMI 2.1 inputs with support for 4K 120Hz, eARC, HDCP 2.3 and HDR10+, alongside regular HDR10 and HLG. There are also three USB ports, a 12V trigger output, an Ethernet port and RS-232C serial connector, along with support for various integrated control systems when used in a custom installation.

• Design score: 5/5

Epson QB1000 review: features

• Dynamic HDR Tone Mapping
• Support for 4K 120Hz high frame rate
• Support for HDR10+ with dynamic metadata

The Epson QB1000 incorporates the same 3LCD design the brand uses on all its projectors, and this particular technology is limited to Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels). However, the QB1000 can accept and display 4K content (3840 x 2160 pixels) by using pixel-shifting technology that literally shifts each pixel diagonally to increase the perceived resolution and create more detailed images.

Despite using the same laser light source as earlier models it has a claimed peak brightness of 3,300 lumens, which is massive, and an average lifespan of 20,000 hours. As with all beamers that use LCD display technology the black levels are poor, with the QB1000 producing a claimed native contrast ratio of 5,000:1, although the dynamic laser feature can boost this to 5,000,000:1.

New this year is dynamic tone mapping that analyses HDR10 content and optimises the image, allowing the QB1000 to deliver improved performance with HDR compared to the earlier LS12000. As with the earlier model there is also support for HDR10+, which means the QB1000 can use the format’s dynamic metadata to deliver an image optimised to its inherent capabilities.

The QB1000 has improved motion handling and upgraded frame interpolation. As a result, it can deliver smooth and detailed motion with sport, although I’d recommend leaving the frame interpolation off when watching film-based content. The Epson also supports higher frame rates up to 4K 120Hz, which makes this beamer a great choice for any next-generation gamers.

• Features score: 5

Epson QB1000 review: picture quality

• Incredibly bright HDR images
• Impressive HDR tone mapping
• Very low input lag for gaming

The Epson QB1000 impresses right out of the gate, with the kind of bright, detailed and saturated picture that makes big-screen projection so enjoyable. With quality content, primary colours are punchy, while the uniformity of the LCD chipset is good with no signs of patchiness, banding or dust blobs. The latter can be an issue with LCD due to the light path not being sealed.

The out-of-the-box accuracy is excellent in the Cinema mode, with whites that aren’t awash in blue. The same goes for the skin tones, which look suitably natural, while the image itself is pleasingly sharp thanks to effective 4K upscaling and the three LCD panels being well-aligned.

Despite its inherent brightness, the QB1000 is surprisingly quiet, although the noise levels will increase if you use the higher laser settings. However, there’s so much brightness available that you don’t need to move the power up too high to illuminate even a large projection screen.

In fact, the QB1000 has sufficient brightness to handle rooms with light-coloured walls, and the option of a white finish also lends it to more lifestyle-friendly installations. The reflected light in this kind of setup has the added advantage of disguising the Epson’s poor contrast performance.

Black levels are the QB1000’s big weakness, with the contrast ratio only measuring 4,300:1 in my tests. To be fair at least this is close to the 5,000:1 Epson claims in its marketing, but it does mean blacks look more like a dark grey. You can use the dynamic laser feature to improve the contrast performance but in reality this only helps with fades to black and the rest of the time the blacks remain the same.

One area where Epson has improved the performance is in terms of motion handling, even with the frame interpolation turned off. When it’s engaged this feature results in smoother motion, which makes it very effective when watching fast-paced sports. However, make sure it's switched off for movies and TV dramas, so they don't end up looking like cheap video.

The inclusion of HDMI 2.1 inputs means the QB1000 can support frame rates up to 4K 120Hz. This makes it a great choice for gamers, and this appeal is only enhanced by the inclusion of ALLM (auto low latency mode), which automatically selects the Game mode when a console is detected. In Game mode the input lag measures a very impressive 19ms, with only Sony’s VPL-XW5000ES projector measuring lower.

The QB1000 supports high dynamic range, and really impresses with a bright and detailed image where the highlights pop and the shadows reveal more subtleties. The QB1000 doesn’t use a colour filter, which means it only covers 88% of the DCI-P3 wide colour gamut. However, thanks to the increased brightness and new dynamic tone mapping the results are often excellent.

For example, the Alfred Hitchcock classic North by Northwest was shot on the larger VistaVision film format and the resulting 4K disc is stunning. The QB1000 expertly delivers the sumptuous images, fleshing out the fine detail and rich colours with skill. The crop-duster attack is a particular treat, with the Epson’s increased brightness helping to bring the Indiana cornfields vividly to life.

Furiosa is the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road and enjoys the same epic desert vistas and insanely detailed production design as the earlier film, along with a deliberately stylised colour scheme. The QB1000 handles all these visuals perfectly, while the excellent motion handling ensures all the frenetic vehicular action is delivered smoothly and without any annoying artefacts.

The WW1 thriller 1917 is about a mission across no-man’s land and boasts superb photography and HDR10+ encoding. As a result, the QB1000 can render all the detail in the native 4K image, as well as deliver bright and clean daytime vistas. The nighttime scenes are more of a challenge, and while the blacks could be better, the bright flares really cut through the darkness.

• Picture quality score: 4/5

Epson QB1000 review: value

• Fantastic value for money
• Cheaper than any direct competitor

The Epson EH-QB1000 is fantastic value for money value, especially when compared to its direct competitors. The Sony VPL-XW5000ES is currently £4,499/$5,999, and while it might be native 4K it doesn’t have motorised lens controls, dynamic HDR tone mapping, or HDR10+ and 4K 120Hz support. The JVC DLA-NZ500 is more expensive at £6,499/$5,999 and while it is native 4K, has better blacks levels and does include motorised lens controls, lens memories and HDR10+, it still lacks support for 4K 120Hz and doesn’t have a Game mode, so it’s not the best choice for gamers.

• Value score: 5/5

Should I buy the Epson QB1000?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if… 

Also consider...

How I tested the Epson QB1000

• Measured with Calman calibration software
• Evaluated using SDR and HDR content
• Reviewed in a dedicated home cinema

As with all my TV and projector reviews I use a combination of subjective viewing and objective measurements against the industry standards. For projectors, I also do all my testing in a dedicated home cinema with a completely blacked-out environment and high-quality screen.

The subjective testing is based around watching a variety of familiar scenes, primarily sourced from 4K and 1080p Blu-rays, plus the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K disc. Any test scenes have been specifically chosen to evaluate a display’s black levels, contrast performance, colour accuracy, upscaling, image processing, motion handling, and HDR tone mapping.

For the objective testing, I measured the QB1000’s brightness, greyscale and colour gamut in SDR, before doing the same in HDR. I also evaluated the accuracy of the HDR tone mapping, along with the colour gamut coverage for DCI-P3. To do this I used a pattern generator and colour meter combined with Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software. I measured the QB1000’s input lag in milliseconds using a specialised Leo Bodnar tester.

First reviewed: January, 2025

• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22: One minute review

Epson’s smaller, portable EpiqVision home projector models were long overdue for an update, and that’s just what it has done with the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22. This introduces the tilting, swiveling stand design that’s proven so popular with many other recent projectors, and it packs in Google TV for streaming, which helps bring the EpiqVision Mini EF22 closer to parity with its competition. Add in a pair of stereo speakers and the EpiqVision Mini EF22 proves an effective all-in-one system.

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 beams a laser through its 3LCD projection system, providing respectable brightness near 1,000 lumens. It makes for a decent picture, though it doesn’t manage quite the exciting color gamut of triple-laser options like the JMGO N1S Pro. Its 1080p resolution will also have you sticking to smaller projection sizes than you might otherwise opt for with the best 4K projectors like the BenQ X300G or even the older Xgimi Horizon Pro.

While the EpiqVision Mini EF22 is a simple and effective little home theater projector selling for a reasonable $999, it struggles to contend with the market it’s entering. Not only are there many great new projectors in the $1000-$2000 range but there’s also a sea of slightly older models that have come down in price. It’s a good projector, but I’m hard-pressed to find a reason to choose it over the alternatives. I’d snag myself a BenQ X300G or Xgimi Horizon Pro instead, both of which have been seeing some impossible-to-ignore discounts.

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Specs

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Prices & release date

• Release date: October 2024
• Price: $999

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 launched in late 2024 with a starting price of $999 (£799, AU$1,599). It has seen some discounts since then, though these tend to come and go. The EpiqVision Mini EF22 comes in a variety of colors, giving you more options. You can find it in Stone Blue, Opal Green, Quartz Rose, Onyx Black, and Diamond White.

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Design & features

• Built-in stand makes setup easy
• Google TV and automatic image adjustments
• Built-in 2x 5W stereo speakers

Like many of the new consumer projectors in 2024, the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 comes with a stand built in. This makes it easy to adjust the vertical tilt and horizontal angle of the projector, even supporting vertical projection up toward the ceiling. This provides a simpler setup, though anything but a perfectly lined-up projection will result in some digital corrections that detract from the usable image.

The EpiqVision Mini EF22 makes automatic vertical and horizontal keystone adjustments very quickly, letting you shift the projector around and see the image change shape in real time. It’s also quick to focus automatically. It has an optional setting to avoid obstacles when projecting, and this proves effective, but it is a slower process than the other automatic corrections, taking a few seconds. The EpiqVision Mini EF22 rounds out its smart projection features with eye protection that dims the projector when it detects someone in front of it.

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 is plenty compact, proving not dramatically different in size from the JGMO N1S I recently tested. That said, projectors can certainly come smaller, as LG showed with the LG CineBeam Q. It’s hard to have small projectors get very bright or offer solid audio, though, and those aren’t sacrifices the EpiqVision Mini EF22 made. It features stereo speakers and is rated to hit 1,000 ISO lumens. It also comes with Google TV. Unfortunately, Epson didn’t make the most of the projector’s size, as it opted to include just one HDMI port (with ARC), a USB-A port, and a 3.5mm audio output jack. It’s providing options, but not many. The focus of the EpiqVision Mini EF22 really is on being a standalone device that doesn’t call for external connections.

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 comes with a simple remote. It’s all plastic with rubber buttons and nothing too elegant, but it’s effective. It has simple navigation controls, a Google Assistant button, a shortcut to the HDMI input (making the input selection button a bit redundant), dedicated volume and brightness controls, and shortcuts for projection settings, auto-focus, as well as YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video. None of the buttons have backlighting, making it a bit hard to use in the dark, but at least some of the buttons are white, and it’s easy enough to feel out the volume buttons.

• Design & features score: 4/5

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Picture & sound quality

• Decent brightness
• No unsightly motion smoothing
• Color could use a boost

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 provides an overall good-looking image, but it’s not the most impressive I've seen in this projector category. While natural content looks solid, with the projector offering a great presentation for Dune, it can struggle elsewhere. In the extremely colorful Mind Game, it didn’t keep up with some of the triple-laser options on the market, like the JMGO N1S, and I noticed some banding in color gradients. That said, the 3LCD technology avoids some of the unsightly swimming-pixel artifacts I’ve seen from DLP projectors displaying large monotone regions, as well as DLP rainbow artifacts.

The EpiqVision Mini EF22 doesn’t keep up with some of its 4K competition either. BenQ’s X300G may have originally been much more expensive, but it’s come down considerably in price, and it has the chops to really threaten the EpiqVision Mini EF22.

I took a rough measurement to overall brightness in the Dynamic profile, which achieved 959 lumens with an ANSI test pattern and a matte white screen. There again, it’s just decent. Competitors like the Dangbei Atom and JGMO N1S offer as much, and slightly more expensive options from BenQ and JMGO take it to another level.

Gaming on the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22, I found the projector added considerable latency if it had any sort of processing going on (i.e., keystone correction or digital zoom). With these disabled, the projector still had a tangible delay between actions and on-screen effects, but it wasn’t significant enough to slow me down as I worked my way through numerous encounters in Hades. Oddly enough, there’s no specific picture profile for gaming that would disable the projector's processing automatically, so you’ll have to manage these settings on your own.

With two speakers on the rear of the EpiqVision Mini EF22, it works reasonably well whether you set the projector up in front of you or at the back of the room. They provide a bit of stereo separation, which adds a touch of depth, though they’re no substitute for a dedicated audio system. They get reasonably loud for a small, quiet room, but the sound gets a bit muddled at higher volumes, making it hard to pick out everything that’s going on in a song, for example. You’ll get clear enough mids and a bit of bass, but higher frequencies tend to suffer when the volume is cranked.

To the EF22’s credit, it doesn’t mess around with any unsightly motion smoothing. Right from the jump, it provides good, clear motion.

• Picture and sound quality score: 3/5

Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Value

• Effective all-in-one package
• Comes up short next to the competition

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 puts plenty into one package. It’s a decent projector, providing a bright image that can handle impromptu movie nights or let you settle in to binge the next hot series, as long as you turn the lights off. With Google TV, it’s ready to stream a great variety of content with no external sources. And it packs in a good enough set of speakers to make do in quiet, intimate viewing conditions. The built-in stand also proves helpful, making it that much easier to set up in various places without the need to stack up a pile of books or go buy a separate stand.

The biggest thing holding the EpiqVision Mini EF22 back in the value department is the competition it faces. You can get much brighter projectors and ones that offer 4K or provide more vivid color for the same price or just a little more. Compared to these, the EpiqVision Mini EF22 ends up feeling lacking.

• Value score: 3/5

Should I buy the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22

• Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
• Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
• I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance concerning its price and competition from other models that I and my colleagues at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

• First reviewed: January 24, 2025
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

• New TechRadar Pro survey shows many people don't own a printer
• Despite this, HP has cornered a significant portion of the market
• Japanese brands are the most popular to own

The role of home printers might seem to be diminishing to many, as cloud storage, document sharing, and mobile devices, are quickly replacing the many tasks once reliant on physical prints.

However, for millions of people, printers remain an essential tool for everything from school projects to remote work and small business operations.

A recent survey conducted across our WhatsApp community revealed intriguing insights into printer ownership trends. With a sample size of 3,676 respondents across nine brands, the survey’s single question — “What printer do you have?” — yielded both expected and surprising results.

HP and Japanese brands lead the pack

HP emerged as the clear leader in this survey, with 38% of the total sample stating that they own a printer made by the company.

HP’s sheer market dominance is particularly interesting when compared to those who do not own a printer, which accounted for 21% of respondents. While HP has cornered a significant portion of the market, a growing number of people are either opting for alternatives to personal printing or simply choosing not to own a printer at all.

What’s perhaps even more intriguing is the dominance of Japanese brands within the top four. Brother, Canon, and Epson collectively account for 37% of the total, showing the significant influence that Japanese technology has in the global printing market.

Brother in particular commands 11% of the total share, with Canon at 14%, and Epson close behind at 12%. The remaining brands, Kyocera, Oki, Ricoh, Xerox, and Lexmark, collectively make up less than 5% of the responses. This indicates that these brands have their niches but have limited awareness or availability among respondents.

The number of people forgoing printer ownership might also reflect urban living conditions where access to printing services is readily available through libraries or office supply stores. In such environments, individuals may find it unnecessary to invest in personal printers.

Furthermore, high ongoing costs associated with ink cartridges and maintenance might deter potential buyers from investing in printers.

Another recent survey by TechRadar Pro reveals that while the shelf price of many printer cartridges is less than $20, in the long run, printer owners will have to spend between $5,000 to $10,000 per liter of ink.

You might also like

• HP wants you to rent printers like cars
• These are the best small business printers to keep your SMB going
• 73,000 days, that's how long Canon says its printer printouts will last without fading

In spite of the push to go paperless, SMBs still rely heavily on printers for their day-to-day operations. Choosing the right printer can significantly impact your productivity, budget, and even your environmental footprint.

But with so many options available, how do you know which is the best small business printer for you? Do you need a laser printer for high-volume text documents, or would an inkjet be better for your colorful presentations? Should you invest in a multifunction all-in-one printer, or stick with a single-function printer? And what about those new bulk-ink models - are they worth considering?

These are just a few of the questions you might be grappling with as you search for the perfect printer. The choice can seem overwhelming, especially when you're trying to balance performance, cost, and long-term value.

We'll talk about the various types of printers suitable for SMBs, discuss key features to look for, and provide you with essential questions to ask before making your purchase. By the end of this article, you'll be equipped with all the knowledge you need to choose a printer that will serve your business efficiently and economically for years to come.

We’ve also covered the best small business printers.

Types of SMB printers

When it comes to choosing a printer for your SMB, the underlying technology plays a crucial role in determining its suitability for your specific needs. Let's take a closer look at the main types of printers available:

• Inkjet Printers: These versatile printers are a popular choice for many SMBs. They work by spraying tiny droplets of ink onto paper, making them excellent for producing high-quality color documents and photos. In my experience, inkjet printers are particularly well-suited for businesses that need to print a mix of text and graphics, such as marketing agencies or real estate offices. Modern inkjet printers have come a long way in terms of speed and efficiency, with some models rivaling laser printers in these aspects.
• Laser Printers: If your SMB primarily prints text documents in high volumes, a laser printer might be your best bet. These printers use a laser beam and toner to create sharp, crisp text at high speeds. They're typically more expensive upfront but can be more cost-effective in the long run for businesses with high print volumes. I've found laser printers to be particularly useful in legal offices, accounting firms, and other businesses that produce a lot of text-heavy documents.
• LED Printers: Similar to laser printers, LED printers use light to create an image on a drum, which then transfers toner to paper. They're often more compact and energy-efficient than traditional laser printers, making them a good choice for SMBs with limited space or those looking to reduce their energy consumption.
• Solid Ink Printers: Although less common, solid ink printers are worth considering for SMBs that need high-quality color printing. These printers melt solid ink sticks and apply the liquefied ink to paper. They produce vibrant colors and are generally more eco-friendly than other printer types, as they generate less waste.
• Multifunction Printers (MFPs): Also known as all-in-one printers, these devices combine printing, scanning, copying, and sometimes faxing capabilities in a single unit. For many SMBs, an MFP can be a space-saving and cost-effective solution. In my own small business, our MFP has been invaluable for its versatility, allowing us to handle a variety of document management tasks with just one machine.

Features to look for in an SMB printer

When shopping for a printer for your SMB, there are several key features you should consider to ensure you're getting a device that meets your needs and provides good value for money.

• Print Speed: For busy offices, print speed can be crucial. Look for a printer with a pages per minute (ppm) rate that matches your output needs. Remember, color printing is typically slower than black and white.
• Print Quality: Consider the resolution (measured in dots per inch or dpi) that you need. Higher resolution means sharper text and more detailed images, but it also usually means slower printing and higher ink or toner consumption.
• Connectivity: In today's connected world, you'll want a printer that offers multiple connectivity options. Look for printers with Ethernet ports for network printing, Wi-Fi for wireless printing, and perhaps even NFC or Bluetooth for easy mobile printing.
• Paper Handling: Consider the paper capacity, the ability to handle different paper sizes and types, and whether you need features like automatic duplexing (double-sided printing).
• Running Costs: Don't just look at the upfront cost of the printer. Consider the cost per page, which includes ink or toner and other consumables. Some printers might be cheaper to buy but more expensive to run.
• Duty Cycle: This refers to the maximum number of pages a printer can produce per month without breaking down. Make sure the printer's duty cycle exceeds your expected monthly print volume.
• Energy Efficiency: Look for printers with energy-saving features like automatic sleep mode or ENERGY STAR certification. These can help reduce your electricity bills and your business's environmental impact.
• Security Features: If you'll be printing sensitive documents, look for printers with security features like secure print release or the ability to encrypt data sent to the printer.

Questions to ask when choosing an SMB printer

Before making your final decision, it's important to ask yourself (and potentially the printer vendor) some key questions:

• What is our average monthly print volume? This will help determine the type and capacity of printer you need.
• What types of documents do we primarily print? Text-heavy documents, graphics, photos, or a mix?
• Do we need color printing, or is black and white sufficient?
• How important is print speed to our operations?
• Do we need additional functions like scanning, copying, or faxing?
• What's our budget, both for the initial purchase and for ongoing costs?
• How much physical space do we have for a printer?
• What level of print quality do we require?
• Do we need any special features, like wide-format printing or the ability to print on specialized media?
• How important are environmental considerations in our printer choice?

Creating an ideal printer setup for SMBs

Choosing the perfect printer for your SMB isn't just about picking a single device - it's about creating a printing ecosystem that meets all your business needs efficiently and cost-effectively.

Start by assessing your printing needs thoroughly. Consider not just your current requirements, but also how they might evolve in the near future. If you're a growing business, it might be worth investing in a printer that can handle higher volumes than you currently need.

Don't be afraid to mix and match different types of printers if that's what works best for your business. For example, you might have a high-speed laser printer for bulk text documents, an inkjet for occasional color printing, and a multifunction device for general office use.

Remember, the cheapest printer isn't always the most cost-effective in the long run. Consider the total cost of ownership, including supplies and maintenance, over the expected life of the printer. In my experience, investing in a higher-quality printer often pays off in terms of reliability and lower per-page costs.

Lastly, don't forget about software and support. Look for printers that are compatible with your existing systems and come with good customer support. A printer is only as good as its ability to integrate seamlessly into your workflow and keep running smoothly day after day.

We've featured the best workgroup printers.

Running costs

One of the main concerns with printers is that after their initial purchase price, what will the ongoing cost be over the lifetime of the printer?

For many businesses the cost of ink for their printers is often an afterthought, indeed if this is considered at all. For decades the printer (inkjet printers in particular) have been berated for the high cost of printer ink. Manufacturers cite high R&D costs as the reason, but businesses have understood for several years that ink costs will be high to compensate for the low cost of purchasing the printer itself.

Various schemes have been tried over the years with HP Instant Ink being the latest. Here a compatible printer – for businesses the OfficeJet Pro 8610 all-in-one is a good choice – will automatically order more ink via post to ensure it never runs out.

You enrol your printer and set a subscription level based on the number of pages a month you will be printing. The system is flexible enough to allow businesses to begin at a low subscription rate and up this as print volume increases.

As the cost of replacement inkjet cartridges remains high, the market for unbranded cartridges has become widespread. Should your business use unbranded ink? The inkjet printer manufacturers have used various techniques to stop this practice with the most common being the addition of a microchip to their own legitimate cartridges that the printer reads before accepting the new replacement ink.

The quality of the ink and the attached microchips can be an issue for some printers. Research by Which indicated that it's really a trial and error exercise with some users having little or no problems with unbranded cartridges, with others reporting their printers rejecting the cartridges completely. If your business is looking to save some money on cartridges, it seems you will have to simply try a few from unbranded sellers and see which work. It's worth a try though, as they can cost half the retail price of branded inks.

For several years it has been possible to retrofit an inkjet printer with a refillable ink tank. The ink cartridges in the printer are replaced with new cartridges that have a pipe running to a large external ink tank for each ink colour, which can be refilled.

Windows 11, Microsoft's latest operating system, has been slowly gaining popularity among users for its sleek interface and improved functionality. However, when it comes to setting up peripherals like printers, some users might find themselves scratching their heads.

But adding a printer to Windows 11 is actually a straightforward process, whether you're dealing with a brand-new wireless printer or an older model that's been sitting in your closet for years. The key is knowing where to look and what steps to follow.

Let's explore the various methods available for adding a printer to Windows 11, covering everything from automatic detection to manual setup. I'll also share a few ways you can troubleshoot printer connections and make the most of your printer on Windows 11.

Looking for instructions for Windows 10 instead? Here’s how to add a printer in Windows 10.

Option 1: Using automatic printer detection

Windows 11 comes with a built-in feature that can automatically detect and install most modern printers. This is usually the easiest and most straightforward method for adding a printer to your system.

Here's how to use automatic printer detection:

1. Ensure your printer is powered on and connected to your computer (if it's a wired printer) or to the same Wi-Fi network (if it's a wireless printer).
2. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows+i on your keyboard or by right-clicking the Start button and selecting "Settings."
3. In the Settings window, click on "Bluetooth & devices" in the left sidebar.
4. On the right side of the window, click on "Printers & scanners."
5. Near the top of the Printers & scanners page, click on "Add device."
6. Windows will now search for available printers. This may take a few seconds.
7. If your printer is detected, you'll see it in the list. Simply click on it and then click "Add device."

Windows 11 will now automatically download and install the necessary drivers for your printer. In my experience, this process works seamlessly for most modern printers, especially those from major manufacturers like HP, Canon, and Epson.

Option 2: Adding a printer manually

If your printer doesn't show up in the automatic detection process, don't worry! You can still add it manually. This method is particularly useful for older printers or those with unique connection requirements.

Here's how to add a printer manually:

1. Follow steps 1-5 from the automatic detection method above.
2. If your printer doesn't appear in the list, click on "Add manually" at the bottom of the window.
3. You'll see several options. Choose the one that best describes your printer:
   1. "My printer is a little older. Help me find it." (for directly connected printers)
   2. "Add a Bluetooth, wireless or network discoverable printer" (for wireless printers)
   3. "Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings" (for advanced setups)
4. Follow the on-screen prompts. Depending on your choice, you may need to:
   1. Select the port your printer is connected to (e.g., USB, LPT)
   2. Choose your printer's manufacturer and model from a list
   3. Provide a name for your printer
   4. Decide whether to share your printer on your network
5. Once you've completed all the steps, click "Finish" to complete the installation.

I've found that this manual method is particularly helpful for those stubborn printers that just won't show up automatically. It gives you more control over the installation process and can often solve connectivity issues.

Troubleshooting printer installation

Sometimes, even with the best instructions, things don't go as planned. Here are some troubleshooting tips if you're having trouble adding your printer:

1. Restart your computer: It sounds simple, but a quick reboot can often resolve many issues.
2. Check connections: Ensure all cables are securely connected and that your wireless printer is on the same network as your computer.
3. Update your system: Make sure your Windows 11 is up to date, as newer updates often include improved printer support.
4. Download manufacturer drivers: If Windows can't find the right drivers, visit the printer manufacturer's website to download them manually.
5. Run the printer troubleshooter: Windows 11 has a built-in troubleshooter that can often identify and fix common printer problems.

Productivity tips for using a printer on Windows 11

Now that you've successfully added your printer, here are some tips to enhance your printing experience on Windows 11:

• Set a default printer: If you have multiple printers, set your most-used one as the default to save time.
• Use the Print Queue: Familiarize yourself with the print queue to manage and cancel print jobs easily.
• Create printer shortcuts: Add printer shortcuts to your desktop for quick access to printing options.
• Explore printer-specific software: Many printer manufacturers offer additional software that can unlock advanced features of your printer.
• Use the Windows + P shortcut: This handy keyboard shortcut quickly opens the print dialog in most applications.

We’ve also covered the best home printers.

With paperless options slowly becoming everyone's new favorite, you might think that printing has become obsolete. But the truth is, whether you're a busy professional, a student, or a home user, having the best printer can make a world of difference in your daily life. From printing important documents to creating studio-quality photos, the right printer can be a huge productivity boost.

But with so many options available, how do you choose? Inkjet, laser, LED - each technology has its own strengths and weaknesses. Do you need speed or quality? Are you printing mostly text or photos? And what about those running costs that can sneak up on you?

In this guide, we'll dive deep into the world of printing technologies. We'll explore how each type works, their pros and cons, and help you figure out which one is the perfect fit for your needs. By the end, you'll be equipped with all the knowledge you need to make the right choice for your ideal printing station.

Also check out our complete list of the best all-in-one printers available.

What is an Inkjet Printer?

Inkjet printers are probably what most of us think of when we picture a home printer. These versatile machines are popular for good reason — they're affordable, compact, and capable of producing high-quality color prints.

The technology behind inkjet printers is fascinating in its simplicity. These printers work by spraying tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper. The print head contains thousands of microscopic nozzles that fire these droplets with incredible precision. As the print head moves back and forth across the paper, it lays down these droplets to form your text or images.

I've always been amazed by the quality inkjet printers can achieve, especially when it comes to photos. The ability to blend colors smoothly makes them a favorite among photographers and anyone who needs to print vibrant images.

Pros:

• Affordable initial cost
• Excellent photo quality
• Compact and lightweight
• Versatile paper handling
• No warm-up time needed

Cons:

• Higher cost per page
• Slower printing speeds
• Ink can smudge when wet
• Not ideal for high volumes
• Frequent ink replacements needed

What is a Laser Printer?

Laser printers have been a staple in offices for decades for good reason. These powerful devices use a technology that's very similar to photocopiers, creating sharp and professional-looking documents at impressive speeds.

Here's how it works: When you hit print, the printer's laser beam "draws" your document onto a drum inside the printer. This drum is coated with a material that becomes electrically charged where the laser hits it. Then, a fine powder called toner is applied to the drum. The toner sticks to the charged areas, creating your image or text. Finally, the toner is transferred onto paper and fused with heat and pressure, resulting in your printed page.

The best thing about laser printers is their speed and efficiency, especially for text-heavy documents. They're the go-to choice for many businesses that need to print out high volumes of paper quickly and consistently.

Pros:

• Fast printing speeds
• Sharp text quality
• Lower cost per page
• High-volume printing capability
• Smudge-resistant prints

Cons:

• Higher upfront cost
• Bulky size
• Less versatile paper handling
• Not ideal for photos
• Warm-up time required

What is an LED Printer?

LED printers might be the new kid on the block, but they're quickly gaining popularity. These printers are similar to laser printers in many ways, but with a key difference in how they create the image on the drum.

Instead of using a laser beam, LED printers employ a strip of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to create the image on the drum. The rest of the process - using toner and fusing it to the paper - is very similar to laser printers. This technology was pioneered by OKI in 1989, and other manufacturers have since adopted it.

The use of LEDs instead of lasers might seem like a small change, but it brings some significant advantages. LED printers tend to be more compact, as they don't need the space for a moving laser and mirror system. They're also often more reliable due to having fewer moving parts.

Pros:

• Compact design
• Reliable performance
• Energy-efficient operation
• Fast printing speeds
• Quiet operation

Cons:

• Limited model selection
• Higher upfront cost
• Less common than alternatives
• Potential color accuracy issues
• Limited availability of supplies

Choosing the right printer for your setup

When it comes to selecting the perfect printer for your needs, understanding the key differences between inkjet, laser, and LED printers is crucial. Let's recap these differences one more time so we can explore how to make the right choice:

How to create your ideal printing setup

Now that we've explored the different printing technologies, let's talk about how you can create the perfect printing setup for your needs. Remember, the right choice depends on your specific requirements, budget, and printing habits.

1. Assess your printing needs: Before you start shopping, take some time to think about what you'll be printing most often. Are you primarily printing text documents, or do you need high-quality photo prints? How many pages do you typically print per month? Understanding your needs will help guide your decision.
2. Consider your budget: While it's tempting to go for the cheapest option, remember to factor in long-term costs. Inkjet printers might be cheaper upfront, but if you print a lot, a laser printer could save you money in the long run due to lower per-page costs. Make sure to research the cost of replacement ink or toner for any printer you're considering.
3. Think about space and placement: Where will your printer live? If you're tight on space, a compact inkjet or LED printer might be your best bet. Also, consider connectivity options. Do you need Wi-Fi capabilities for easy printing from multiple devices, or is a simple USB connection sufficient?
4. Don't forget about paper handling: If you frequently print on different types of paper or envelopes, look for a printer with versatile paper handling capabilities. Some printers offer multiple trays or the ability to handle thicker paper stocks, which can be a real time-saver.
5. Future-proof your purchase: Technology is always evolving, so try to choose a printer that will meet your needs not just now, but for years to come. Look for features like mobile printing capabilities, cloud integration, or the ability to add functionality through software updates.

Remember, the perfect printer is out there waiting for you. By carefully considering your needs and understanding the strengths of each technology, you'll be well on your way to creating your ideal printing setup. Happy printing!

We've listed the best small business printers.

When it comes to printers, the price of ink cartridges often becomes a major factor for both home and office users. While a cartridge might appear affordable at first glance, the real cost lies in how much ink you’re getting for your money.

The price of an ink cartridge can be deceptive - as a cartridge that costs $20 may only contain 2ml of ink, which might print around 100 pages. In contrast, a $50 cartridge could contain 20ml of ink, enabling you to print 1,000 pages. While the $20 cartridge seems cheaper, it may end up costing more in the long run due to the need for frequent replacements.

To help shed light on the true cost of printing, I surveyed 100 ink cartridges using publicly available information from the official websites of four major brands: HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother.

The hidden costs of Ink cartridges

To accurately analyze the long-term cost of printing, we assessed the price per litre of ink rather than focusing on the upfront cartridge cost. This approach provides a clearer picture of how much users will spend over time, as it factors in the volume of ink and the total number of pages each cartridge can print.

Among the 100 cartridges surveyed, 31% were classified as cheap (< $1000 per litre), 51% as affordable (between $1000 and $5000), and 18% as expensive (> $5000). Interestingly, Canon and Epson each held a 35% share of the cheap ink data, with HP making up the remaining 30%. This suggests that all three brands ensure they have affordable options available.

However, Canon emerges as the leader in affordability, offering the world’s cheapest original ink by the bottle.

The Canon GI-290 stands out with a price of only $171.29 per litre, making it the most affordable option on the market. Additionally, Canon’s GI-25 series sells for just $9.99 per cartridge, translating to a price of $270 per litre making it also one of the most affordable in the surveyed data. These low prices highlight Canon's focus on providing cost-effective printing solutions, especially for consumers who print frequently and want to minimize their ink expenses.

While HP is often perceived as a cheap brand, the data tells a different story when you look at the cost per litre of ink.

HP dominates the affordable ink category, with 53% of its cartridges falling between $1,001 and $5,000 per litre. Canon follows with 43% in this range, while Epson and Brother contribute just 2% each. Interestingly, 18% of the surveyed inks are expensive and HP takes the entire 18%. This means that the American tech company produces some of the most expensive ink cartridges in the world.

Although HP cartridges often sell for between $20 to $60, the price per litre can be extraordinarily high, making these cartridges some of the most expensive to use over time. For example, the HP 65 and 67 Tri-Colour cartridges have a staggering price per litre of $9,995 and $9,495 respectively, the highest in the entire dataset.

While some cartridges may seem expensive upfront, they can offer significant savings for users who print in high volumes.

Cartridges like the HP 32XL and Canon GI-290 have an exceptionally low price per page, effectively bringing the cost down to $0.00 in some cases. These cartridges are ideal for consumers who need to print large quantities of documents or photos, as they reduce the need for frequent cartridge replacements and save money in the long run.

High-capacity cartridges such as the Epson T636100 and Canon PFI-1000, which hold between 700ml and 800ml of ink, are also excellent choices for high-volume users. Though these cartridges have a higher upfront cost, their large capacity reduces the frequency of replacements and minimizes long-term costs.

Another interesting trend from the data is that black ink cartridges generally offer a lower cost per page and per litre compared to color cartridges.

Black ink is more commonly used for everyday document printing, which explains its lower cost. However, consumers who require color printing, such as for photos or graphics, face a much higher price per litre. For instance, color cartridges like HP 902 and Canon CL-276 have a much higher price per litre, especially for magenta, cyan, and yellow inks.

Users with frequent color printing needs may want to consider brands like Epson, which offers more affordable options for color ink. The Epson T664220-S cartridges in cyan, magenta, and yellow, for example, are priced at around $177 per litre, making them a reasonable option for those needing a balance between black and color ink costs.

The analysis reveals distinct strategies among the four brands: HP offers products across all three price categories—cheap, affordable, and expensive—but its high price per litre for some cartridges indicates a focus on short-term affordability at the expense of long-term savings. Canon, on the other hand, prioritizes cheap and affordable inks, making it the best choice for cost-conscious consumers. Epson primarily targets the cheap ink market, while Brother plays a smaller role overall, offering fewer options across the price spectrum.

If you print large volumes of document or you run a small business that requires heavy printing, then ink tank printers are the way to go. They are designed for designed for large volume of printing, offer lower costs per page and you do not need to refill regularly.

More from TechRadar Pro

• These are the best all-in-one printers
• Lenovo's Elephant is compact, has cheap consumables and is super affordable
• Take a look at our guide to the best small business printers

After researching 100 ink cartridges across some of the best printer brands, I discovered a shocking fact: the HP 65 Tri-Colour ink cartridge is one of the most expensive inks in the world, costing a staggering $9,995 per litre.

Despite its modest price tag of just $19.99 per cartridge, the cost efficiency of this ink is far from ideal.

Here is a breakdown of the reasons why this HP printer cartridge may feel cheap when purchased but can turn out to be one of the priciest investments for regular users.

The illusion of affordability - cheap but expensive

For only $19.99, you can replace the HP 65 Tri-Colour ink cartridge and continue printing. But here’s the catch: that $19.99 only provides 2ml of ink, just enough ink to print around 100 pages. While 100 pages may sound reasonable, when you do the math, you realize that for every 1,000 pages, you’ll have spent $200 on ink cartridges. And if you were to use a litre of this ink, the total cost would come close to $10,000! What initially seems like an affordable product is, in fact, one of the most expensive items you could purchase for your printer over the long term.

Now, let’s compare this with what other ink options offer. Take, for instance, the Epson T850, which sells for $71 for an 80ml cartridge and can print up to 850 pages. With this printer, the cost of printing 1,000 pages would be just under $85—significantly lower than what you would pay using the HP 65. Another example is the Brother LC75C, which sells for $15.49 for a 12ml cartridge and can print 600 pages. In the long run, for 1,000 pages, you'd spend only around $25.82.

Why is the HP 65 Tri-Colour ink cartridge so expensive? The answer lies in printer economics. Printer manufacturers like HP sell their printers at competitive prices but recoup their profits by selling high-margin ink cartridges. For instance, printers compatible with the HP 65 Tri-Color ink cartridge, such as the HP DeskJet 3755 or HP Envy 5055, are often very affordable. However, once users purchase these budget-friendly printers, they’re tied to the high cost of replacement cartridges like the HP 65. This model ensures that while the printer itself is cheap, the long-term cost of printing is anything but cheap.

For anyone who prints a reasonable volume of documents or images, ink tank printers are a far better solution. Ink tanks offer significantly lower costs per page and allow you to print thousands of pages before needing a refill. Unlike traditional cartridges that hold a small amount of ink, ink tanks are designed for volume printing and provide a much better total cost of ownership over time.

The shelf price of an ink cartridge is not all you should look at when shopping for one. To choose the right ink for your printer, it’s important to consider the total cost of ownership based on how many pages you’ll be printing. For instance, looking at how much it costs to print 1,000 pages can give you a clearer idea of the long-term expenses involved.

With HP's traditional cartridge models, like the HP 65 or HP 67, you could easily spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to meet your printing needs. But with an ink tank printer, you’ll save significantly, as refilling the ink costs just a fraction of the price per page.

More from TechRadar Pro

• These are the best all-in-one printers
• Adobe unveils new AI-powered app for marketing teams
• Take a look at our guide to the best small business printers

• Epson has launched a trio of new 3LCD laser projectors
• The new models have 4K 120Hz support and up to 10,000 lumens brightness
• High brightness and a living room-friendly design make the Q-Series an alternative to microLED TVs 

With CEDIA Expo, a showcase for the latest and greatest developments in home theater technology, just around the corner (September 5-7, 2024), related new gear announcements are rolling in. First up is Epson, which just dropped news of the Epson Q-Series, a trio of new 3LCD laser projectors aimed at the high-end custom installation market.

The Epson Q-Series consists of three high-brightness models designed for multipurpose living spaces. However, like the best 4K projectors, they can also be installed in traditional home theater environments and include the contrast-enhancing UltraBlack technology found in previous models such as the Epson LS12000.

The entry-level Q-Series model is the QB1000 ($7,999, around £6,160 / AU$11,900), which features Epson’s VRX Cinema Lens and features dual HDMI 2.1 inputs with 4K 120Hz and ALLM support. Between its HDMI 2.1 connections and specified under-20ms input lag time, the QB1000 could be the perfect big-screen gaming projector.

Brightness on the QB1000 is specified as 3,300 lumens (color and white) and HDR support includes the HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG formats. It uses Epson’s QZX Picture Processor, has a laser light source rated for 20,000 hours, and features a 3-axis motorized lens shift to ease setup and installation.

The QL3000 ($14,999, around £11,550 / AU$22,300) and QL7000 ($29,999, around  £23,100 / AU$44,600) are “body only” projectors that can be paired with any of Epson’s High-Precision lenses. This design enables a wide range of installation options, including floor or ceiling-mounted ultra short throw setups. 

Epson’s QL3000 and QL7000 provide the same features found in the QB1000. They are specced for up to 6,000 and 10,000 lumens and support screen sizes up to 300 inches. According to Epson, these new models are more compact than their high-brightness competition – something made possible by a new, smaller light source with a vapor chamber heatsink – making them a better fit for bright living spaces. Both projectors are available in black or white and have a unique, angular case that should also complement any room they’re installed in.

Epson Q-Series: a cheaper alternative to microLED TVs? 

With its new Q-Series projectors, Epson is taking on a range of display competitors in the high-end custom installation space. The main ones are flagship projectors from brands like Sony, Barco, and Digital Projection, but massive microLED video walls also appear to be in their sights.

Making its new projectors compact and design-forward should give Epson an edge over its competition in the high-brightness projector space, which is dominated by industrial-looking models that don’t exactly blend in with a typical living room environment. 

Projectors such as the Sony VPL-GTZ380, a model that is specced for the same 10,000 lumens brightness as the Epson QL7000, are fairly massive and best hidden away from sight. Equally important, they are massively expensive, with the Sony priced at $80,000 compared to the QL7000’s $29,999.

A compelling feature of Epson’s two new top projectors is the option to pair them with an ultra-short throw lens. This will allow for the projector to be installed close up to a screen in a cabinet or ceiling rather than requiring a long throw distance to project large-scale images. The best ultra short throw projectors, such as the Epson LS800, are already bright enough to be installed in typical living room spaces, but bumping brightness up to the 6,000-10,000 lumens range will make pictures look even more vivid and dynamic. And with prices topping off at $29,999 for the projector, Epson’s new models will also provide a budget-friendly alternative to massive microLED TVs, which currently sit in the $100,000 and up range.

The QB1000 will be available in September 2024, and the QL3000 and QL7000 in October 2024. We look forward to reporting on them further at CEDIA Expo 2024, where TechRadar will be on site for Home Theater Week coverage.

You might also like...

• Projectors in 2024: the year's biggest launches so far
• Five things to consider when shopping for a projector screen
• New EU regulations spell lights out for lamp-based projectors

Some things just take time. While consumers have been bingeing on UST (ultra-short throw) projectors for some time now, the business community has been slower to adopt the technology. 

However, finally we're seeing UST devices ranking among the best business projectors on the market. But what's driving that change, and why is the B2B market finally shifting to embrace the technology?  

We spoke with Tan May Lin, Regional Director of Printer and Visual Products and Regional Director of Brand and Communications at Epson Southeast Asia, to find the answers. 

• UST projectors nearly a decade ago and have made a splash in the consumer market. Why has it taken so long for them to make a similar impact on the corporate/B2B one? 

It's actually interesting to note that the adoption of ultra-short throw (UST) projectors in corporate and educational settings preceded their entrance into the home segment. For instance, some schools in Southeast Asia have been utilising UST projectors in classrooms due to their ability to project large images from a short distance, making them ideal for interactive and collaborative learning environments.

UST projectors were also adopted early on in the corporate sector, particularly in meeting rooms and small office spaces where space optimisation and versatility are crucial. These projectors offer significant advantages in terms of installation flexibility and reduced shadow interference, which are key benefits in professional settings.

With economic pressures now squeezing corporate budgets, businesses now more than ever, are exploring sustainable cost-cutting measures, most notably, reducing physical workspaces. With the advent of hybrid work that is hyper-reliant on technology for collaboration, downsized office spaces and a challenging macroeconomic environment, UST projectors, which project large images from a short distance, are perfectly aligned with these new business requirements.

Within the consumer market, advancements in streaming compatibility and the growing trend of creating home theatre setups have further accelerated their adoption in households. There has been an increased demand for home entertainment solutions that offer big-screen experiences without requiring extensive space.

• What makes UST technology so interesting when it comes to business projectors? What's their USP? 

The UST projector is designed to project a large screen size at a very close distance. Using our recent Extreme Short Throw Projector (EB-810E/815E) as example, it requires less than a 10cm gap between the screen/wall and projector to showcase a 100" display. For small meeting rooms, the short distance between the screen and projector allows the projector to be flushed against the wall or built into carpentry during the interior design process, creating a sleek and modern look. 

This eliminates the need for large distances between the projector and the screen. As a result of this close proximity, there are fewer shadows, glares, or interruptions to the projected image. This essentially challenges the “conventional” perception of projectors, which is that they must be placed far away from the screen/wall. 

In addition, interactive UST projectors offer dynamic features such as wireless connectivity, interactive touch capabilities and multi-location interactivity, making collaboration much more seamless and truly hybrid.

• Are there any business use cases where you would NOT recommend using a UST projector?

While UST projectors are highly versatile, there are certain scenarios where they might not be the best fit. 

For instance, in environments with display size of more than 150” or with high ambient light, such as outdoor settings or rooms with large windows that cannot be darkened, UST projectors might struggle to maintain image visibility and quality. In these cases, standard projectors with enhanced brightness capabilities would be a better recommendation.

For such high-demand environments, Epson's high-brightness projectors are a viable alternative. These projectors offer high brightness levels, reaching up to 30,000 lumens, and are designed to perform exceptionally well in large venues and public spaces. 

A prime example would be the tailored usage of the Epson EB-PU2216B projectors in Sentosa, Singapore’s ‘Wings of Time’ show. This outdoor multi-sensory night show leverages Epson’s cutting-edge 3LCD technology with 4K enhancement and delivers vivid, accurate, detailed and bright images in various versatile environments. The projectors' ability to work in tandem with lasers, water features and pyrotechnics ensures an immersive audience experience.

• How do you see the UST technology in the business projector market evolve over the next few years?

 I am optimistic for the future of UST technology. In fact, the global UST projector market size was approximately US$1.6 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach approximately US$18 million in 2031, at a compound annual growth rate of 27%. 

The increasing demand for space-saving solutions and high-quality image projections for both businesses and consumers will continue to fuel its demand within public spaces, corporate offices, retail stores, home theatres and educational institutions. 

And with further technological updates to come in time, I am confident that UST projectors will be widely viewed as the Swiss army knife of indoor projection technologies. 

• What, according to you, are the main differences between a business projector and one geared towards the consumer market?

The primary difference between business projectors and consumer projectors revolves around their intended use and the features they prioritise. Business projectors are engineered for reliability, versatility and connectivity. They often include features such as higher brightness levels to counteract harsher ambient light in various meeting environments. This ensures that room lights do not have to be dimmed to see the bright and clear projected images, allowing meeting participants to concentrate better and improve productivity. These projectors also offer multiple input options for compatibility with a range of devices and are enhancing their advanced networking capabilities for seamless integration into corporate IT infrastructures. 

In contrast, consumer projectors focus on delivering an immersive viewing experience, often positioning themselves to replace televisions, with features tailored for home entertainment. There are now projectors for gaming, ceiling projection and all-in-one functions such as speakers and smart casting with a larger-than-life projection size to meet a multitude of consumer needs. For instance, the Epson EpiqVision Ultra EH-LS800B comes with an Android TV operating system and built-in Chromecast, along with a simple-to-use remote including voice search via Google Assistant, making it easier to search and stream video content. In addition, the built-in 2.1-audio system by Yamaha delivers powerful sounds.

Consumer projectors also prioritise quieter operations and more compact designs that blend seamlessly into home decor. The EH-LS800B is a prime example – it is the world’s shortest ultra short-throw home projector and is able to project 100” screen size at just 9.8cm away from the wall to the back of the projector. This means it can sit beautifully on normal audio video cabinets while displaying a sharp picture. It provides users with a big-screen experience that promises immersion in the comfort of their homes. 

Read more from TechRadar Pro

• We tested the best portable projectors you can get right now
• See our round-up of the best 4K projectors.
• Epson can't stop suing other projector manufacturers – here's why

Dangbei, XGIMI, Anker, Vava – what do these projector brands all have in common? They all have been on the receiving end of lawsuits in recent years by Epson, which is itself a manufacturer of the best 4K projectors.

Now, there’s one more projector brand to add to the Epson lawsuit list: Formovie.

In each of the above cases, the projector maker settled its lawsuit out of court with Epson, with the settlement requiring them to correct the brightness specifications for its products. But what are projector brightness specifications, and why are they such a controversial – and legally actionable – topic?

Lumens vs Lux, LED Lumens, and Brightness 

Popular home entertainment projector brands such as Epson, Sony, and JVC use an internationally recognized standard, ISO 21118, to measure white brightness levels in their products. That result is typically specified in lumens, such as the 2,700 lumens that Epson cites for the Epson LS12000, the best option for most people in our best 4K projectors guide.

Not all projector makers use ISO 21118 for brightness specifications; however, By way of example, Amazon is filled with cheap projectors, many of them using non-standard brightness specification terms such as “Lux,” “LED Lumens,” or simply “Brightness.” Some makers even provide a lumens brightness specification without performing standardized testing, and that specification can be staggeringly high – 9,500 lumens for a cheap projector selling for $57, for instance.

In the case of Formovie, its Formovie Theater 4K ultra short throw projector had a listed brightness specification of 2,800 lumens, and its P1 portable projector had an 800 lumens specification. As part of the lawsuit settlement with Epson, those specifications have been dramatically lowered to 1,800 lumens and 250 lumens for the Theater and P1 projectors, respectively.

Commenting on the settlement, Mike Isgrig, Epson America’s vice president of consumer sales and marketing, said: “When projector brands use the same internationally developed and published standards, it protects consumers and establishes trust within the industry. Formovie’s commitment to use internationally published and accepted standards (such as ISO 21118 for white brightness) moving forward for their entire product line will provide accurate white brightness information for consumers."

The importance of having standards 

Before Formovie found itself in Epson’s crosshairs, Dangbei was forced to lower the brightness spec for its Mars Pro 4K laser projector from 3,200 lumens to 1,800 lumens to settle with Epson. That’s an even more dramatic brightness spec downgrade than the Formovie Theater projector faced, and it makes the low price Dangbei was charging for the Mars Pro 4K (which appears to have since been renamed DBX3 Pro 4K) make more sense in retrospect.

This brings us to the crux of the matter: competition. Brightness is a key – if not the key – specification consumers use to compare projectors, and having that artificially, or in some cases, seemingly randomly inflated gives certain projector makers an unfair advantage.

You can go to Amazon’s website today and find 1080p projectors selling for a mere $169 tagged with a “20000L” specification (indicating 20,000 lumens, which is higher than that provided by projectors used for large venue installations that cost $20,000 and up). Even in the wake of Epson’s lawsuit and subsequent settlement, Amazon’s listing for the Formovie Theater still has “Brightness” at 2,800 (indicating the previously disputed lumens spec), although Formovie’s global website now correctly specs the projector at “1800 ISO Lumens.”

Clearly, despite Epson’s best legal efforts, it’s an ongoing case of “buyer beware” when it comes to projector brightness specifications. That Amazon Formovie Theater listing might be an oversight, but the many other misrepresentations on Amazon demonstrate that it’s still the Wild West when it comes to projector brightness specifications.

Epson has so far settled lawsuits with eight projector brands and counting, but its lawyers still have their work cut out for them.

You might also like

• End of an era for home theater fans 
• Samsung introduces the world’s first wireless 8K projector
• JVC DLA-NZ800 projector review

The big Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 is a wide-format inkjet printer that uses vivid DURABrite Ultra pigment inks to churn out a high volume of glossy color pages at print-shop quality. With two 250-sheet input trays and XXL-yield ink cartridges available, it could suit a microbusiness or SMB with a busy and varied workflow. 

Despite its impressive capacity, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 is competitively priced at around US$250 (about £210). There’s no fancy touchscreen interface, but it does have 5GHz Wi-Fi with AirPrint compatibility, a rapid print rate of 25ppm (pages per minute) and the ability to print on any size of paper or card up to A3+. But is it one of the best small business printers? Can it produce just about any kind of brochure or handout with a professional finish? We put it to the test.  

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310: Design & build

What looks like a very large black box is actually a reasonably compact inkjet printer, given that it can handle A3+ size paper and store a whole ream of it in its twin paper trays. To load Tabloid or A3 sheets, you need to extend the paper drawers so it actually gets bigger, but it’s still way smaller than any wide-format laser printer. 

Above the paper trays is the output tray and then the tilting control panel with its 6.1cm color LCD. Unfortunately, that display is not a touchscreen, so you’ll have to press the buttons alongside to operate it. At the back are connections for USB and Ethernet cables and a flap on top at the rear reveals the multipurpose input tray. This is especially useful for one-off print jobs because the paper path from here is quite flat, making it possible to print onto quite thick card. 

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 hinges open to reveal the four DURABrite inkjet cartridges. The supplied setup carts do not contain much ink, as is so often the case, but you can buy XXL carts which contain enough to yield up to 2,200 pages. 

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310: Features & specifications

Being a mid-price print-only device, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 doesn’t bother with premium features like a touchscreen interface, NFC connectivity and a front USB Host port, but instead concentrates on specifications that will boost productivity and performance, such as the dual paper trays, rapid print speed and high print resolution. 

The PrecisionCore printhead has a more dense nozzle array than cheaper Epson printers, with 256 nozzles per color and 800 for black. They deliver an image resolution of 4,800 x 2,400 DPI. And unlike Epson’s EcoTank range of ink tank printers, which uses soluble dye inks, the inks in this WorkForce printer are all pigment based. That makes printouts more durable and faster drying to better suit a busy office.

There are three paper trays in all, with the two main trays each holding up to 250 sheets of Tabloid or A3. Being an inkjet, it can print on a very wide selection of media, including coated photo paper, envelopes and thick card. 5GHz Wi-Fi is built in, with Wi-Fi Direct and AirPrint compatibility.

It prints quite quickly for an inkjet, with the rate for simplex monochrome pages given as 25ppm (pages per minute) and 12ppm for color pages. That’s slower than a laser printer of course, but the heat-free inkjet technology means there is no warm-up time so the FPOT (first page out time) is faster than your average laser.

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310: Setup & operation

The bundled setup instructions are very clear, but you won’t need them because when you turn on the printer for the first time, messages will appear on its display telling you exactly what to do. Setting the date and time is a bit tedious using the buttons and operating this printer would certainly be quicker with a touchscreen interface. 

However, I didn’t have any problems working with the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310, and its three convenient paper trays and prompt printing made it very easy to use. There’s also a decent companion app called Epson Smart Panel for monitoring and controlling the printer remotely.  

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310: Performance

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 performed well in all of our tests. It printed as quickly as advertised with no paper jams or misprints. In fact, it managed to print on considerably heavier paper than Epson recommends. Thanks to the relatively flat paper path from the rear multipurpose tray, I was able to feed through some pretty thick card with satisfying results.

Pages of plain text emerge at a steady rate in auto duplex mode and the bold black pigment looks very professional on plain paper. Turning to mixed color documents, the results are similarly striking. Using pigment-based C/M/Y inks in suspension instead of the more usual soluble dye-based inks, means the pages dry faster and the colors stand out more. The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 is great for eye-catching brochures. It’s also pretty good at photographs. Feed it some glossy photo paper and you’ll get some near print-shop quality snaps back. It can’t match Epson’s photo printer range for image quality, which tend to use five or six dye-based inks to achieve a more natural finish than this office printer can manage, but it’s still impressive. 

Best of all, it can print on A3+ paper, so turning out vivid posters is quick and easy. However, we burned through the ink in our setup cartridges pretty quickly, so while the performance was undoubtedly strong, it comes at a cost. 

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310: Final verdict

This cartridge inkjet printer might not suit every small business, it’s not the absolute best printer we’ve ever tested, and it’s never going to be competitive when it comes to CCP (cost per page), but for those that need to print large professional-looking brochures on a regular basis, it could be ideal. The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 prints quickly and well. Those fast-drying DURABrite pigment inks look great on a wide variety of media, including the kind of thick card that would choke most printers. 

With two separate paper trays, each of them able to hold 250 sheets of A3/Tabloid paper and another multipurpose tray at the rear, this high-capacity printer is very convenient to use. It’s a pity there’s no touchscreen interface, or NFC reader, but that won’t stop us from highly recommending this capable color inkjet.  

We tested the best A3 printers and these are our favorite models

Amazon and Epson have jointly initiated legal action against companies in Turkey and the UK for allegedly selling counterfeit printing ink.

The lawsuit, which aims to protect the trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation and Epson America, targets traders accused of infringing on the Japanese company’s trademarks. Amazon.com joined the lawsuit to safeguard its customers as well as its own reputation.

According to the lawsuit, as many as 24 seller accounts had been distributing counterfeit Epson products between August 2021 and January 2024.

Epson sues counterfeit ink sellers

Giving context about the joint efforts, Jilana Miller, assistant general counsel for Epson America, said:

“From obtaining General Exclusion Orders in the ITC, to raids and seizures of counterfeit products and regular enforcement through online marketplaces, Epson employs a broad range of efforts to address patent and trademark infringement in the market.”

Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU), added: “Amazon has a zero-tolerance policy for counterfeit products and collaborated with the Epson team on this joint lawsuit to have a direct impact on these bad actors and permanently prevent them from selling counterfeits.”

The complaint asserts that the defendants collaborated in advertising, marketing, distributing and selling inauthentic Epson products, associating them through common business addresses and financial accounts.

The lawsuit seeks to prevent the counterfeit sellers from continuing doing so, as well as the destruction of offending products.

Note that the lawsuit targets sellers impersonating Epson, and not third-party ink sellers. This case is an entirely different one to the pressures that HP has faced in recent years, having blocked many third-party cartridges in its printers via a sneaky firmware update and forcing customers to use authentic HP ink or subscribe to its monthly ink plans – something that CFO Marie Myers previously indirectly admitted had helped the company to secure more revenue.

More from TechRadar Pro

• HP releases new printers offering better colors than ever — but will that be enough to tempt you to buy one?
• We’ve rounded up the best home printers and best small business printers
• Reduce your printing needs with the best online collaboration tools

Epson is always expanding its hugely popular EcoTank family and this feature-laden four-in-one is aimed at SMB (small to medium sized business) and the home office. The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is small enough to fit on your desk at home, while offering sufficient capacity and print speed to serve a pretty busy workgroup. 

Like many of the best inkjet printers, it can print on coated photo paper, and while it cannot keep up with the speed of a laser printer, the 15.5ppm (pages per minute) print rate is not bad for an inkjet. Business users might be interested in the fax facility and certainly the ADF (automatic document feed). 

Best of all though, this is a refillable supertank inkjet, so the running cost will be around 90 percent lower than cartridge-based rivals and as usual, there’s loads of bottled ink in the box. Sounds like the all-in-one we’ve been waiting for, so let’s run an in-depth test.  

Epson EcoTank ET-4850: Design & build

In the US, the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 comes in white, while the otherwise identical European model pictured here is black. It’s a pretty compact A4/Letter printer with a paper tray that projects forward a few inches. The high-capacity ink tanks also bulge forward on the right hand side with clear plastic windows at the front. Another advantage over cartridge printing is that you can see for yourself how much ink is left in the tanks and that’s important because if one runs dry, you could damage the print head.

The large 6.1cm touchscreen is mounted in the center of a tilting control panel for easy access, while connections for Ethernet and USB data cables are located at the rear. The flaps of the ADF on top fold flush flat so you might not guess that it has one at first glance. Lift open this upper panel and you’ll see the A4-size scanner platen. It’s a very standard design for a desktop MFP (multifunction peripheral).

Epson EcoTank ET-4850: Features & specifications

As the model numbers suggest, our Epson EcoTank ET-4850 fits in between the basic Epson ET-2850 and the flagship ET-5850. As a middle-money proposition, it comes with all of the features essential to an office printer and few extras. Thankfully it possesses the frontal paper tray, touchscreen and ADF missing from the ET-2850, though it lacks the additional paper drawer, rear input tray and additional inkjet nozzles offered by the big ET-5850. 

An all-in-one printer, Epson EcoTank ET-4850 can auto duplex print, scan and copy a 30-page document using its ADF and send or receive a fax. There’s no USB Host port, or NFC on this model, but it does have a decent touchscreen, Wi-Fi with AirPrint compatibility and the ability to print on any paper up to A4 in size and 300 g/m² in weight. 

The ISO/IEC 24734 print speed is given by Epson as 15.5ppm for monochrome pages, but the same tech-spec sheet also claims a maximum print speed of 33ppm. That’s quite a discrepancy, but suffice it to say, that the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 prints relatively quickly and the FPOT (first page out time) of just 9 seconds is pretty good. The print quality is a step up from the cheaper ET-2850 because the PrecisionCore print head deploys more nozzles per color to achieve a resolution of 4,800 x 1,200 DPI (dots per inch). The stand-out feature is perhaps the amount of ink Epson has included. The five bundled bottles should give you up to 14,000 black and white pages and 5,200 color. 

Epson EcoTank ET-4850: Setup & operation

Getting started is a simple case of connecting the power cable, loading your paper in the main tray and turning on. Then follow the instructions that appear on the color display. After choosing the language, the next prompt suggests downloading the companion app called Epson Smart Panel onto your smart device. Using this app for the rest of the setup is slightly easier than using the printer’s own touchscreen. The app also makes it easy to print and scan remotely.     

Epson EcoTank ET-4850: Performance

We’ve tested a number of the best ink tank printers, and for us the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 printed quite quickly for an inkjet and without a hitch or a jam during our tests. With plain black and white text pages and the print quality set to normal, I was impressed by the sharp clarity of the characters at the smallest point sizes. Reprinting the same pages at so-called best quality causes the printer to slow down and deploy more black ink, which actually reduces the sharpness, so I’d recommend sticking in the default normal mode.

Mixed color documents looked similarly well defined, while photographs on coated paper showed great fine detail. This must be due to Epson’s superior Micro Piezo nozzle configuration which uses 400 black nozzles and 128 for each color compared with the measly 180 and 59 nozzles of the ET-2850. Despite the strong print quality, I still wouldn’t recommend the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 for photographers because the color accuracy seems to be slightly off so that the dye-based CMY inks just don’t achieve the same realism you come to expect from any of the best photo printers we've tried. 

If printing is overall very good, scanning is rather slow and with the ADF being unable to duplex scan, the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 does not make a particularly good photocopier. What it proved best at is churning out pages of monochrome text and mixed color documents. 

Epson EcoTank ET-4850: Final verdict

As an all-in-one inkjet, aimed at small business or a home office, the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 has everything it needs to fill the role well. It’s compact enough to fit on a desk at home, while having the paper and ink capacity to serve a small workgroup. The lack of a front USB Host port, dual scanning and NFC are minor disappointments compared to the fact that this is an EcoTank meaning a very low running cost and a huge amount of bottled ink in the box. And aside from photographs on photo paper looking a little disappointing, as a contender for best small business printer, the print quality with monochrome and color documents is excellent. 

We tested the best printers - and these are our favorite models

This all-in-one A4 inkjet is aimed at home workers or a small office, so it’s compact and efficient and comes with essential business features such as auto duplex printing, high-res scanning and integrated wi-fi with AirPrint. It’s also relatively inexpensive for an EcoTank, so don’t expect to find premium features like an ADF (automatic document feed), NFC, or even a touchscreen interface. 

The main selling point of the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is its super-low running cost and the very generous amount of ink included in the box. The five bundled bottles could give you a staggering 14,000 black and white pages plus 5,200 color, which is the equivalent of 72 cartridges and a consumables cost saving of 90 percent. If you’re looking for one of the best small business printers, that already sounds like a good business plan, but let’s see how it performs.   

Epson EcoTank ET-2850: Design & build

Epson has been selling refillable ink tank printers for 20 years and the design is so refined now that it’s no surprise to see EcoTanks dominating the supertank market. Our EcoTank ET-2850 sits quite low down Epson’s product tree and it actually looks a little lopsided with the ink tanks bulging forward on the right. However, by increasing the tank volume to 127ml in the case of black, you are able to print 7,500 monochrome pages before needing to refill. That’s enough to leave even the best laser printers lagging behind. 

The large control panel tilts upward from the front to make the tiny 3.7cm LCD screen slightly easier to see when you’re standing over it. Below that is the paper out tray, but no paper in tray. You’ll have to shell out for the step-up Epson EcoTank ET-3850 [ https://www.techradar.com/reviews/epson-ecotank-et-3850 ] if you want a front-loading paper tray. All you have on the ET-2805 is the rear paper tray, which can hold a maximum of 100 sheets. 

There’s an A4-size glass scanner bed on top and a USB port for a data cable on the left side, but no other inputs. Again, Ethernet and USB Host ports are reserved for the more expensive models. At least the lack of features makes for a simple and small design. The weight is little more than 5kg. 

Epson EcoTank ET-2850: Features & specifications

There are plenty of the best ink tank printers on the market right now, and the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is one of the more affordable supertankers, so it is quite light on features and relatively low-spec. There’s no ADF for example and no front paper tray. Nor is there a USB Host Port, NFC, touchscreen or Ethernet port. The print speed is a modest 10.5ppm (pages per minute) for mono simplex printing and has fewer nozzles than other EcoTank printers. The configuration here is 180 black nozzles and 59 for each color, whereas the step-up Epson Eco-Tank ET-3850 we tested has 400 black nozzles and 128 for each color.

What the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 does have are all the features essential for a small office printer. It can auto duplex at a reasonable rate and resolution, it can scan and copy any size document up to A4 and it has Wi-Fi with AirPrint compatibility. Being an inkjet, it can handle a wide range of media, including coated photo paper and card up to 300 g/m² in weight while its Micro Piezo heat-free technology is lower on electricity than a laser too. 

As mentioned, you’re getting enough ink in the box for a total approaching 20,000 pages. And with a set of replacement ink bottles costing around US$51 (£40) and yielding up to 13,500 this is about the lowest cost per page of any printer. 

Epson EcoTank ET-2850: Setup & operation

To get started, simply connect the power cable, load some paper in the rear tray and turn on. Then follow the instructions that appear on the color display. After choosing the language, the next prompt suggests downloading the companion app called Epson Smart Panel onto your smartphone. You can use this app for the rest of the setup instead of peering at the puny 3.7cm display. In fact, this excellent app makes remote operation of the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 very easy.    

Epson EcoTank ET-2850: Performance

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 passed all our print quality tests with no misprints or paper jams, but it did not excel at any of them. It prints at a reasonable speed in simplex mode, though auto duplexing takes significantly more than twice as long. Epson’s black ink is pigment based, which is generally best for text documents due to its durable and quick drying properties. But while plain text appears smudge-free and clearly legible on plain paper, it’s just not as crisp as the best inkjet printers we’ve tried. This must be due to the lower number of nozzles this printer has to play with. The resolution will probably look fine for most purposes, but at very small point sizes, the letters begin to merge more than they do with rivals like the Canon PIXMA G620/G650. 

With mixed color documents, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is more impressive because Epson’s dye-based C/M/Y inks are particularly vivid hues. Soluble dyes bond better than pigment inks on coated paper too, but in reality, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is not great at printing photos on glossy photo paper. First impressions are good, thanks to the bright palette, but compared with other inkjets, our test photos lacked depth and fine detail. In a printer that will be primarily used for business, it’s not a big problem, but it’s not in the same league as any of the best photo printers, and we certainly wouldn’t recommend this model for use as such.

The A4 scanner works well and makes decent duplicates, but again, it cannot match other inkjets for sharpness so your copies will always be a bit softer than the original. Simply put, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 turns out legible text and bright colorful documents, but is slightly below average when it comes to clarity.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850: Final verdict

Arguably, this could be the best all-in-one printer for anyone who prints a lot of documents and the occasional photo thanks to its extremely low running cost and an ability to print on any kind of paper. It’s no photo printer, so don’t expect the highest quality prints, but it prints reliably enough with its pigment black and dye color combo. Once you accept that the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is a fairly basic business model with no touchscreen, no NFC and no front paper tray, it begins to make sense as a piece of essential and economical office equipment.  

We tested the best printers - and these are our favorite models

Epson has launched the Endeavor JT51, a 10.1-inch tablet for sale in Japan that is far from being the fastest on the market. With a price tag of $900, it's not the cheapest either, which may leave many people – myself included – to question why Epson chose to equip it with an outdated Celeron N6210 CPU.

The Endeavor JT51 is designed for a variety of applications, from data entry in factories to inventory management in retail stores. It features a 10-point multi-touch WXGA (1,280 x 800) display.

Under the hood, the standard configuration includes 4GB memory and 256GB storage, running on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC.

I feel the need for speed

Storage can be increased to up to 1TB, and if you need more power – although not a lot more – it’s possible to buy a version of the tablet with 8GB of RAM and a Pentium N6415 processor.

Ports include a USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 3.0 Type-C, USB 3.1, a microSD card slot, and audio input/output. It also boasts a 2.07 million pixel front camera and a 5.03 million pixel rear camera, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 5.1.

Epson offers a range of optional extras, including a docking unit, charging cradle, and arm stand, which allow for flexible use in various settings such as warehouses and manufacturing sites. A 2-in-1 keyboard is also available.

Epson’s reasoning for using a Celeron CPU in 2024 seems to be because it sees the tablet being employed in business situations where speed isn’t essential – examples include inventory control, on-site work, home visit medical treatment, as a semi-self-service POS register and as a reception/ticketing terminal. Personally I can’t see why the company couldn’t throw in a more powerful processor in case buyers want to use the tablet for more advanced purposes where a little speed could come in handy. Especially given how much they are charging for the new device.

The Endeavor JT51 is priced at 133,430 yen, roughly $900, and is available to buy now.

More from TechRadar Pro

• These are the best rugged tablets
• And these are the best business tablets available today
• Someone turned a $10 discarded monitor into a transparent LCD screen

Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800: one-minute review

There’s no shortage of ultra short throw (UST) projectors turning up to stake their claim as some of the best projectors on the market right now. Epson has shown solid performance with its laser-lit 3LCD technology in various formats, and the Epson LS800 incorporates it in a powerful UST package. 

At $3,499 / £3,199 (about AU$5,240), it’s amazing that this Epson can deliver 4,000 lumens of brightness, which proves more than enough for viewing in the daytime without covering every window with blackout curtains. Epson could have gone further with eARC support and a wider color gamut, but for what it lacks in those departments, it does a solid job making up for it by simply being usable around the clock with little fuss. The Hisense L9G may still be the better option for those who don’t need the flexibility, and the Hisense PX1 Pro will win for those looking for value and who are willing to invest in blackout curtains. But the LS800 has its place for anyone who wants a simple, powerful projector that lets them beam a huge image they can view at any time of day they want.

Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800 review: price and release date

• Release date: September 2022
• Price: $3,499 / £3,199 (about AU$5,240)

Epson’s LS800 is available for $3,499 (£3,199, about AU$5,240). The projector is available in black or white color schemes. It does not include a screen, though Epson sells its SilverFlex Ultra for $1,999 to pair with it.

Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800 review: Specs

Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800 review: design and features

• Decent, though not elegant, looks
• Adequate selection of ports, but lacks Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet, and eARC
• Focus dial and brightness control are handy

Like the rest of the recent generation of ultra short throw projectors, the LS800 has a subtle design that’s aimed at blending in with its surroundings for a subdued-looking entertainment center. It doesn’t demand the same kind of attention as a 100-inch TV sitting against the wall when it’s powered off, but it does when it’s powered on.

Continuing the similarities, fabric wraps around the Epson’s front in much the same way as the Hisense L9G and LG CineBeam HU915QE. Where the L9G offers a somewhat futuristic feel and the HU915QE has a vintage style, the LS800’s look manages to land kind of flat. The fabric wrap around the corners doesn’t even hit a smooth curve, instead running along a series of small angles. Overall, it detracts slightly from the elegance of the unit. Fortunately, it’s not a glaring centerpiece for the living room, so its underwhelming aesthetics don’t become an eyesore.

The projector measures just 27.4 inches across and 13.4 inches deep. More impressively, it’s only 6.2 inches tall. It’s bigger than a soundbar, but fits in under a screen just like one. At 27.6 pounds, it’s also easy to move around. 

Three adjustable legs — two in the front corners and one in the middle at the back — support the LS800, screwing in and out to raise or lower sections. I found this to be generally effective for getting the image square to a screen, but it required a bit of fuss. Having four adjustable legs would have allowed more options for compensating for uneven floors and tilted screens. Ultimately, any imperfections in alignment are remedied by the projector’s digital keystone correction and multi-point adjustments, though using these digital adjustments effectively crops away some of the usable image. 

The LS800 has an exceptional short throw range, needing very little space between it and a wall to get a huge image. With its front situated just 17.3 inches from a wall or screen, it can project a 100-inch picture. That leaves just a 4.1-inch gap between the projector’s rear and the wall behind it. By contrast, the Hisense L9G leaves an 11-inch gap when projecting the same size image.

Around the right side, a sneaky panel covers up the Epson’s ports and the manual focus dial. The panel is made of two parts, allowing for the port-cover component to detach fully in case you’re using lots of external connections or streaming dongles and can’t fit them all into the small compartment.

Like many of its contemporaries, the LS800 lacks any lens cover. That means there’s no convenient way to protect the lens from settling dust or — worse — curious cats looking for somewhere to lounge. Epson did consider how to protect users from the powerful lasers inside the LS800, though. The system has an aggressive eye-protection system that blacks out the screen when anything gets too near, and it resumes projection just as quickly as it dims once it senses no one is near. This is a step up from the system on the Hisense L9G, which can be slow to react and even slower to revert back to full light output. 

The projector has three HDMI ports, with one meant for gaming and one offering HDMI ARC support. Notably, HDMI eARC is not supported. There are optical audio and 3.5mm analog audio outputs as well. 

The LS800 runs on Android TV, offering up a host of streaming apps right on the device. Netflix is predictably missing — an issue that’s common among many projectors — but that’s the only glaring omission. Unfortunately, the projector relies on the dated Wi-Fi 5 standard, which could result in a suboptimal streaming experience. The enhanced bandwidth and stability of Wi-Fi 6 would have been a welcome improvement for ensuring high-bitrate streaming, especially since there’s no Ethernet port. Connectivity issues were intermittent throughout testing, but notable given the projector was connected to a router separated only by a single wall and no more than 20 feet.

• Design and features score: 3.5/5

Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800 review: picture quality

• Brightness and contrast are a huge plus
• Color is strong but not stunning
• Good built-in sound system

The LS800 doesn’t have all the video bells and whistles of some of its competitors. It notably lacks Dolby Vision, opting instead for just HDR10 and HLG support. While some projectors we’ve tested have received upgrades to add Dolby Vision after release, we doubt the LS800 will get the same treatment. Epson also isn’t boasting the widest color gamut for this projector. But what it may lack in those departments, it makes up for in terms of brightness and contrast. 

Epson’s projector pumps out a bright picture with up to 4,000 lumens. And that brightness applies to not just white light but also color, making for particularly consistent performance. For those sensitive to the rainbow effect from some projectors, Epson’s 3LCD display technology manages to avoid this while also providing high contrast. Even in a modestly lit room, the picture is clear. Bright scenes are easy to see in any condition, and with the shades drawn for a room that’s easy to see in, the projector still offers a serviceable image for very dark movies, like The Batman. Naturally, the best experience will be in a room with all the lights down. 

In a dark room, the projector is so powerful it can merit turning down the brightness. Fortunately, there’s a brightness control right on the remote. While watching Pitch Black, which has an opening sequence with lots of flashing lights, my viewing party was all but stunned by the strobing. Meanwhile, the projector’s high contrast creates a glorious picture for bright and dark scenes alike.

Watching Avatar: The Way of Water, the projector maintained its stride with respectable color alongside ample brightness and contrast for daytime viewing. This film also showed some of the projector’s limits, with its pixel-shifting system adding a little softness to Avatar 2’s 4K visuals.

Color also lacked some of the vibrance that a projector like the Hisense L9G could offer with its RGB laser light source. Overall, the LS800 handles natural color quite well, but when it comes to the sizzling, almost neon, colors a movie like Avatar 2 calls for, it comes up slightly short. The contrast makes up for this slightly, with the glowing dots on the Na’vi standing out a bit more markedly in dark scenes.

The LS800’s built-in Yamaha-designed speaker setup provides a strong complement to its image. It can pack a punch, and is plenty for 200 or 300 square foot rooms. With two tweeters and a subwoofer, it has a fairly full sound, though it doesn’t provide the deep rumble you’ll get from dedicated subwoofers in even affordable sound systems. The virtual sound mode is surprisingly compelling, mixing voices, sound effects, and music with great balance while lending an impression of surround sound. That’s good news for folks planning on relying on the built-in speakers, but anyone hoping for a huge upgrade through Dolby Atmos will be disappointed by the system’s lack of eARC support. You can still get Dolby Atmos if you run sources directly into an external sound system and simply pass the video through to the projector, but that makes for a more cluttered setup – exactly what UST projectors are designed to avoid.

• Picture quality score: 3.5/5

Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800 review: value

• Reasonably priced for the brightness on hand
• Color underperforms competition
• Doesn’t include a screen

At $3,499, the LS800 isn’t too pricey as far as UST projectors go. It cost the same as the Hisense PX1 Pro at $3,499 (about £2,850, AU$5,035) and is quite a bit cheaper than the $5,999 (AU$9,999, about £5,600) LG CineBeam HU915QE and $5,499 (about £4000, AU$7500) Hisense L9G. And despite the pricing, the Epson is substantially brighter than both Hisense models and even edges out the LG. (It’s worth noting that the L9G comes with a special screen that can account for the price difference.)

While its color may underperform here, it’s still a strong option, especially for those looking to do a lot of daytime viewing in rooms with little or no ambient light control. 

• Value score: 4/5

Should I buy the Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800?

Buy it if...

Don’y buy it if… 

Also consider...

How I tested the Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800

• Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
• Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
• I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Epson LS800 at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that the projector's speaker system had to overcome. The projector was tested both on a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and console gameplay. 

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models I and my colleagues at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer. 

30-second review

Printing A3 photos or illustrations with an inkjet printer was always an expensive exercise, given the pitiful amount of ink that typical cartridges held. Running out was never a good option, making the cost per print extremely high.

People found ways of reducing the cost through ink delivery systems, and the printer makers eventually realized their greed had cooked this commercial goose, launching ink replenishment schemes and EcoTank printers.

The Epson ET-18100 is an A3 EcoTank design that has six reservoirs of ink, each with 70ml of capacity that can relatively cheaply be refilled. With six inks alongside the standard black, magenta, cyan and yellow, light magenta and light cyan are added for a much greater subtlety of colour in lighter areas of a print. These are also all dyes, with no use of pigment for black, which is common on four-tank printers.

Printing on A4, a full-page graphic takes around 75 seconds to print once uploaded to the printer, and an A3 borderless print takes about 150 seconds for the whole process at standard quality. That’s not blinding fast, but it’s quick enough for generating colour proofs or limited photography runs.

The printer can connect via WiFi or USB, although to get WiFi connected needs the use of the Epson Smart Panel software on a phone or tablet.

Our only reservation about this printer is that it has no LCD panel to display errors or instructions, instead relying on software on a computer or phone to relay the status.

Overall, the print quality of the ET-18100 is stunning, the cost of ownership is acceptable, and the ink is affordable.

Epson ET-18100 price and availability

• How much does it cost? £699
• When is it out? It is available now
• Where can you get it? Not available in the USA, but it is in Europe and Asia.

Currently, the ET-18100 isn’t a Global design and has been only released in all EMEA markets, but not Canada, US, Australia or New Zealand.

It’s also the only printer currently using Epson 107 series inks, though that situation might change.

The cost of around £700 seems steep, but it’s the same as the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300, a cartridge printer that can output A3+.

In fact, at the time of writing, neither Canon nor HP makes a tank printer for photos that can print bigger than A4/Legal.

Using cartridges makes for an expensive way to produce output on A3+ paper, and it’s the critical selling point of tank printers.

Each 70ml ink bottle costs just £9.99 direct from Epson, and these official bottles can be bought slightly cheaper online.

The contents of each bottle represent up to 1500 15x10 cm prints in that specific colour, approximately twelve times as much ink as is in a typical cartridge.

Therefore, the unit cost of printing 15 x 10 cm prints is about 5p, and even an A3 poster is much less than £1, excluding the cost of paper.

Therefore, while the hardware isn’t cheap to buy, the cost of using the ET-18100 is remarkably low and is rated for a lifespan of at least 50,000 prints.

Other consumables include a replacement pickup roller for £12.99 and a ‘Maintenance Box’ that is £22.49. The quoted durability of the roller is 50,000 pages, but no specific life is allocated to the box.

• Value score: 4/5

Epson ET-18100 design

• A plastic box
• Ink reservoir system
• No display

I don’t think that we’re being abusive to call the ET-18100 a plastic box. Because, in whatever way that might be dressed up, it's precisely what this printer is.

Out of the box, except for the CD printing tray, the printer comes fully assembled and can be connected to a computer with a USB cable for quick deployment.

Like the other EcoTank designs we’ve seen, the ET-18100 uses large bottles of ink that need to be loaded into the reservoir system prior to printing. These use a clever connector design that stops an ink colour from being loaded in the wrong part of the reservoir, and there are six different colours available, but no white or grey ink.

The ink code for this printer is 107, and replacements for each colour can be purchased for around $10 each, making a complete set around $60.

From the tanks, ink is fed to the print head with 180 nozzles allocated to each colour, giving a total of 1080 nozzles, a print resolution of 5,560 x 1,440 DPI and individual ink droplets of just 1.5 Pico litres.

The quoted print speed is eight pages a minute for both mono and colour based on the 5% coverage of ISO/IEC 24734, but realistically that’s not remotely the type of printing this machine is designed to do.

The single input chute at the rear can take stock from A3+ (329mm x 483mm) all the way down to 10 x 15 cm, 80 sheets at a time, with stock ranging from thin 64 g/m² to much thicker 300 g/m² paper. It can also print on suitably surfaced CD/DVD disks and ID card blanks.

Even at the largest paper size, printing is borderless, and prints arrive on the output tray dry enough to handle most stock.

One inexplicable aspect of this printer is that while it will print borderless at A3, A4, 20x25cm (10 x 8 in),13x18 cm, 10x15 cm, 9x13 cm and Legal, for reasons that defy logic, it won’t at A5, A6, B4, B5, B6 or  5x8 in, or in any of the envelope sizes. This has been an issue with Epson designs before, and it has been possible to circumvent these limits by creating a custom size for A5 as an example and then selecting borderless printing on that. But on this printer, that doesn’t appear possible.

It’s interesting to compare this design with the Epson  ET-8550 model. That model has a colour touch display, faster quoted print speeds, a scanner, an Ethernet port and some extra firmware features, like Apple AirPrint.

In the USA, the ET-8550 is $799.99, and in the UK, it is £729.99, making it only £30 more than the ET-18100. The trade-off is that the ET-8550 only has three coloured inks, two blacks (a dye and a pigment) and a grey. That might make it better at mono photo output but inferior in colour reproduction.

What the ET-18100 needed was the display that the ET-8550 gets, so feedback about any potential errors or setting up WiFi requires external software either on a computer or via a mobile device.

But even with that feature annoying missing, the ET-18100 has the critical functionality to perform the job it was designed to do. Namely, producing A3+ or smaller full-colour output to a reasonable colour accuracy in an acceptable timescale and affordably.

Design score: 4/5

Epson ET-18100 printing costs

• Ultra-low cost prints
• Easy Ink installation

Printer makers have become masters of diversion when it comes to the cost of ownership in regard to ink supplies.

What helps them in this is that ink won’t last a specific number of pages since we’ve no idea how many colours each page will contain and the balance of the dyes required.

What we can say with some certainty is that cartridges are a much more expensive way to print, and the chance of having a failure due to a cartridge running dry mid-print is significantly higher than with a tank printer.

Printer makers all still make environmentally unfriendly cartridge designs, but the newer EcoTank products (Smart Tank, whatever), like the ET-18100, do make some effort to make the cost less for those that are likely to be printing large full coverage output.

The quoted yield for each 70ml bottle of ink is 1500 pages, irrespective of colour, based on ISO/IEC 29103 pattern with Epson’s methodology printing photos in 10x15cm format.

A photo this large is about a quarter the size of A4, reducing that page count down to 375, and A3 would reduce that to about less than 100 pages.

However, at $60 for that number of A3 pages, the unit cost is only around 70 cents, which is very reasonable when compared with cartridge costs.

Depending on what you specifically print, it may be that some inks are more likely to be used, but as you can buy those inks specifically, that’s not an issue.

The only flipside to reservoir systems is that the printer has no idea how much or little ink is in each colour tank, and therefore it is up to the operator to make sure that ink levels aren’t allowed to get too low, allowing air to get into the supply lines.

The way the ink bottles operate, it isn’t possible to overfill, so keeping it filled is easy as long as you have ink on hand.

Without the chip tracking annoyance of cartridges, this printer can also take ink that wasn’t made by Epson, which they warn the customer will invalidate their warranty.

Third-party dyes are available that can cut costs further, and these sources also allow this printer to use dye sublimation inks, turning the ET-18100 into an A3 capable production platform for short-run T-shirt design printing.

A limitation of doing this is that once the printer has sublimation inks installed, and it must be done from empty, it is not easy to convert it back to conventional use or vice versa.

These aren’t the types of inks that Epson is offering right now on this product, but it is likely that sublimation printing is one of the jobs this printer will be used for.

For those curious, the warranty on this printer is 50,000 pages, or a year, whichever comes first. There doesn’t seem to be an option to replace the printhead, which may be a part of this printer that fails first.

However, Epson appears to think it will last longer, as they make a roller wheel replacement that has a life of 50,000 pages, and there would be little point in replacing it if the printhead was destroyed after this much use.

It may be the cost of ownership balance has moved from the ink to having to replace the printer after 2 or 3 years, but only extended use of this machine would reveal that.

• Hardware score: 5/5

Epson ET-18100 performance

• 8/8 print speeds
• 2 minutes 45 seconds for A3

Printer makers are infamous for quoting speeds owners don’t usually see by using obscure ISO standards where pages have only 5% or less coverage.

That might be relevant for document printing, but for a photo printer, those numbers are largely irrelevant, as photos and designs usually have, or are close to, 100% coverage of the paper.

Epson quotes that the ET-18100 can print a 15 x 10 cm photo (as defined by ISO/IEC 24734) in 12 seconds. That seems implausibly fast to this reviewer.

In our tests, to output to gloss paper at this size took around 72 seconds, although a good portion of that was the sending of the data to the printer prior to actual printing. This is faster over WiFi than USB in most cases.

In a sequential print run where the same print was printed repeatedly, the difference between the end of one print and the end of another was 27 seconds, although this printer probably only spent 18 seconds printing and the rest loading and unloading paper.

As gloss paper was used in our test, this is automatically printed using the better-quality ‘standard’ setting. The quicker option is draft mode, possibly explaining where Epson came up with 12 seconds.

It’s tempting to extrapolate those numbers and assume an A4 or A3 print will take a very long time, but curiously that’s not the case.

In our tests, a full A3 graphic at high quality onto glossy paper took around 165 seconds (2 mins 45 seconds) to complete, with at least one minute of those process being the computer preparing our 7424 x 10496 resolution image and sending it to the printer over USB.

The actual print process lasted only around 90 seconds, which seems more than acceptable given that not every print is likely to be at this scale.

What works in favour of the larger prints is that paper handling is effectively a constant, irrespective of size, and therefore a smaller portion of the overall print time.

In conclusion, the quoted speeds of 8 ppm for both black and colour are a little unrealistic, but the performance for a photo printer is more than acceptable. Although, it is worth noting that the Epson ET-8550 is rated at double the speed for mono and 50% faster for colour output.

But, and this is the head-scratcher, Epson quotes 25 seconds per 10 x 15 cm photo on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper. An identical time Epson predicts for the ET-18100.

The bottom line is that the ET-18100 isn’t the fastest A3 printer in the world, but it’s quick enough for a design environment printing, mostly outputting A4 and A3.

For those using colour professionally, it should be possible to calibrate the ET-18100 to sync with the controlled colour metrics of the computer displays used by the designers. With six inks, graduations and colour transitions are largely seamless, and the dyes seem well-balanced for delivering subtle shades and punchy chromatics.

We need to say that while the strength of colour in dyes is superior to pigments, they are conversely less durable, and you might not want to use them to create images for archiving or long-term display.

Many users of these printers will use perceptual colour representation rather than absolute colour metrics because that’s fine for their purpose. Those needing more accurate colour representation should expect to pay much more for the printer and the output cost than the ET-18100 and its inks.

• Performance score: 4/5

We might argue that not having a display was a cost-saving Epson didn’t need to make at this price, and it would have made the printer easier to configure. But that point aside, what the Epson ET-18100 does brilliantly is print photos, and even at A3+ they don’t take a long time to print.

The other weaknesses of this offering are a missing Ethernet port, and the grey ink reservoir that the ET-8500 and ET-8550 both got. Maybe Epson has a seven or eight-tank variant planned that would be ideal for B&W photos in addition to colour.

For those that print entirely in colour, that difference is less important, though the lack of a screen and Ethernet port might be more relevant.

When we first looked at this printer and its rather cut-down model, it was tempting to think that it was overpriced for what it is. But on further reflection, there isn’t an obvious alternative to the ET-18100 in either the HP or Canon ranges that doesn’t use cartridges.

And, given how expensive printing on A3+ is with those, those costs could be rapidly recovered by this design, even if it only lasts a few years of service.

While tank printers are now starting to dominate the home and small office space, the ET-18100 might become the breakthrough photo printer that makes EcoTank the norm for the photo enthusiast slice of the market also.

Epson ET-18100 score card

Should I buy a Epson ET-18100?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider 

We've rated the best A3 printers.

Epson has released what it calls its “most seriously sustainable, feature-rich range of business color copiers.”

The company's new WorkForce Enterprise AM-Series inkjet printers claim to be more energy efficient, less wasteful, and overall a better long-term commitment for buyers and the environment.

Despite the green claims, Epson’s AM-Series printers look to be ready for business offering modular designs that can be tailored to the needs of individual companies, and speeds to match.

Epson WorkForce Enterprise AM-Series inkjet printers

The launch comes fewer than six months after Japanese electronics company and printing giant Epson announced plans to end the production of laser printers by 2026.

According to third-party Keypoint Intelligence research, Epson says its new AM-Series business printers promise to use a quarter of the energy a typical laser printer would use; that’s comparing its AM-C4000 to 34 laser-based rivals.

Besides the 40ppm AM-C4000, there are 50ppm and 60ppm versions, each with a 2,000-sheet paper cassette capacity and support for up to 60ppm/120ipm scanning.

All of this, the company says, fits into the “most compact footprint in class” that also benefits from weight-saving improvements, in theory making it slightly less damaging to the environment to manufacture.

The primary interface consists of a 10.1-inch panel, with optional finishers for compiling and stapling documents, hole punching, saddle stitching, center folding, and tri-folding. Its high-capacity ink cartridges are also said to provide enough juice for up to 50,000 black pages, or 30,000 color pages.

Overall, Epson emphasizes the greater potential that inkjet printers provide in terms of sustainability advancements compared with laser printers. It also slates laser printers for their heat requirement for printing thus higher energy usage, and their typically higher number of moving parts that make them more susceptible to failure and increased maintenance requirements (negatively impacting downtime).

TechRadar Pro has asked Epson for more information on availability and pricing.

• Here’s our roundup of the best hybrid working tech and hardware you need

In the face of climate change and the increase of the environmentally conscious business, we're all responsible for doing our bit to help the planet.

Office life can be a significant burden to the environment, with large amounts of energy being used to keep us warm, keep the lights on, power equipment, and so on.

So, if you're looking to help your business be that bit more eco-conscious, there are a number of steps you can take – some which you may never have considered before.

Sustainability challenges

Printing remains a key part of everyday business life for most of us, as even with mobile devices now being ubiquitous, it's often good to have a physical piece of paper with all the information you need held in your hand.

However, the printing industry hasn’t exactly been a paradigm for eco-friendliness, with its heavy requirement for paper, chemical-based inks and low yield ink cartridges. Sustainable manufacturing, non-harmful inks and commonplace paper recycling have certainly offered environmental improvements for this technology, but the humble office printer still has a few ecological tricks up its sleeve.

Epson has long been one of the most innovative players in the printing space, constantly investing in developments to help businesses and consumers alike save on their energy, costs, and consumables.

The global manufacturer’s EcoTank offerings mark a significant benchmark for sustainable business printing, providing an eco-conscious proposition that is affordable and hassle-free to run, energy efficient, while offering high quality output when needed.

Available for both small and larger businesses alike, Epson EcoTank printers use heat-free inkjet technology, which generates minimal energy and subsequent CO2 emissions compared to traditional laser printers.  

Epson EcoTank choices

Epson’s business portfolio includes the EcoTank ET-5800, a 4-in-1 (print, scan, copy and fax) A4 device that can print up to 7,500 pages in black and 6,000 in colour with one set of inks, offers a 500-sheet tray capacity, and a first page out time of just 5.5 seconds. Users can make the most from this device by interacting with the user-friendly 10.9cm LCD touchscreen interface, enjoy fast print of up to 25 pages per minute and scan speeds of up to 27.5 images per minute, meaning you aren't hanging around waiting for your work.

As opposed to traditional ink cartridges, which can often be frustrating to source and replace – particularly if you need printing done urgently – EcoTank printers feature large ink tanks that you fill with the included ink bottles. It is thanks to this innovative technology from Epson that allows users to enjoy an ultra-low cost per page, with bottles that are more easily recyclable than conventional cartridges.

You can even break free from your desktop PC with the Epson iPrint app, which allows you to print from mobiles, tablets and laptops via Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct.

Make the right call

Sustainability shouldn't be a compromise for cost, as businesses of all sizes are facing a wide range of financial issues in addition to the climate crisis. But if your company picks an Epson EcoTank printer, you can be sure that you’re siding with a technology designed with the interests of the customer and the environment in mind. 

Learn more about Epson EcoTank

I've tested over 200 printers including the best Epson printers around - and from EcoTank models to portable units, these are my top recommendations for home and business use.

You'll find plenty of Epsons in my round-ups of the best home printers and best small business printers. I'm a big fan of this brand, which tends to offer fast, accurate printing with low on-going running costs.

For most people, the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is the best Epson printer around (and tops the list of home printers, too). It's quick, cheap to run, and comes with just about every feature and function you'll need. You can see what I really thought in my review below, and I've also added some great alternatives for photos and documents, too.

Best Epson printer overall

The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is my favorite home printer, and for most people, it's the Epson printer I'd recommend. This four-in-one unit prints, scans, copies, and faxes without any trouble at all, and also has plenty of what I'd consider core features, including ADF and auto-duplex mode.

For what you get, it's pretty well-priced, too - especially when considering it's a refillable ink tank model, which works out cheaper in the long run. Epson has bundled this printer with five bottles in the box, which roughly translates to around 20,000 pages.

There's no NFC or single-pass dual scanning, and I would've liked to see a multi-purpose tray to complement the main tray, which holds 250 sheets. However, these are issues I can easily ignore when balanced against the excellent touchscreen, the reasonably quick print speeds. In my own tests, I also found it's more than accurate for most people's needs, whether used at home or the home office.

Read our full Epson EcoTank ET-4850 review

• ^ Back to the top

Best Epson printer on a budget

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 (known as the ET-2850 outside the US) is a relatively inexpensive EcoTank that does away with features like a front input tray and Ethernet port in order to bring you a basic budget all-in-one with an unbeatable cost per page (CPP).

Epson’s bottled ink costs around 90% less than cartridges. It still has what I consider to be the essential ingredients of an office all-in-one, such as auto-duplex printing, high-res scanning and integrated wi-fi with AirPrint, but it’s using a simpler printhead with fewer nozzles in the Micro Piezo array than the more expensive Epson EcoTank ET-4800.

That said, the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 managed to pass all my print quality tests for a printer in this price category. And though there’s no touchscreen, I still found it fairly easy to set up and operate. It won’t take up too much desk space and it looks pretty good in either white, as it comes in the US, or black, as it’s sold outside the US.

The real selling point though, is the wildly generous amount of inbox ink. The five bundled bottles should yield up to 20,000 pages before you need to buy more. I’d recommend this model to anyone working in a small or home office who wants to minimize their ink expenditure.

Read our full Epson EcoTank ET-2800 / 2850 review

• ^ Back to the top

Best Epson printer for photos

The Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is a wide-format photo printer featuring an impressive six refillable tanks instead of four - meaning greater clarity and quality to images, and being a tank printer means substantially reduced running costs.

Its design is sleek, with a small footprint roughly the size of a sheet of tabloid paper, and only 16cm tall, making it much easier to accommodate than other tabloid/A3 printers I’ve tested. The printer is also generously kitted out with features, including auto-duplex (with A4/letter paper), the ability to enlarge A4 photocopies to A3, and printing to a variety of blank media. Paper sizes up to A3+ are supported, and I found I could even print 2m banners via the rear tray. However, the ET-8550 is more home than office-focused, so it lacks an ADF and fax facilities.

The print speed is reasonable with mono A4 pages emerging at a rate of 32ppm (pages per minute). Auto duplex and colour printing is slower, but I won’t complain about a photo printer putting quality ahead of speed. With an impressive 5760 x 1400 dpi print resolution and a scan resolution of 1200 x 4800 dpi, I printed remarkably accurate duplicates of photos.

In all of my tests, in fact, the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 performed well, with crisp quality prints across the board. But its real strength is in printing photos on glossy photo paper. Colors pop and photographs are always vibrant. In short, the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 succeeds on all fronts and while the upfront cost is rather high, the running cost is refreshingly low.

Read our full Epson EcoTank ET-8550 review .

• ^ Back to the top

Best Epson printer for the home office

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 is a capable, high-capacity business printer designed for the home or small office. Like all of Epson’s WorkForce printers, it comes with a lot of office-oriented features and crucially, it’s also a wide-format inkjet device, so it can print on a broad variety of media up to size A3+.

If you think it looks a little bulky, it’s actually quite compact considering it can hold a whole ream (500 sheets) of Tabloid or A3 paper in its two paper trays and I particularly appreciated the multifunction tray at the rear which expands the media compatibility still further by allowing you to print on quite thick card.

There’s no touchscreen on this model annoyingly, but I found it easy enough to operate using the tilting control panel with its 6.1cm LCD. Wi-Fi and AirPrint connectivity are built in, while the motorized output tray is a nice touch. It prints pretty quickly for an inkjet and its all-pigment inks make for fast-drying, durable and vivid printouts.

The only real catch is the cost of the DURABrite cartridges, which push the CPP (cost per page) over 12 cents (or 10 pence) for color pages. But if you need to produce large professional-looking brochures regularly, this printer is well worth the expense.

Read our full Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 review

• ^ Back to the top

Best Epson printer for business

The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is so good, when the team the at our sister site Tom’s Guide tried the printer out, they called it “our new favorite office printer”

Controlled by a 4.3-inch touchscreen that effectively operates like a phone, this is a very accessible all-in-one that means serious business. And it proved the perfect balance with high-quality prints at impressively fast speeds.

In tests by the Tom’s Guide team, the ET-5850 printed a five-page text document in 19.6 seconds (approx. 15.3ppm). Double-sided text printing was recorded at 14.5 ppm A six-page color PDF with text and graphics printed at a similarly quick 32.8 seconds (11 ppm). Copies and scans are lightning fast, too. However, scans do come out slightly too dark by default (and the packaged software is somewhat lacking).

Print quality is just as good as you’d expect. Text documents are crisp, clear. Graphics were sharp and detailed, although the testing team did spot very mild banding visible in parts. Otherwise, there’s little to complain about, with colors appearing natural and well-saturated.

The 4.3-inch touchscreen effectively operates like a phone, making it very accessible. With an outstanding performance and low ink costs, the Epson ET-5850 is ideal for the busy office or home office.

Read what Tom’s Guide thought in their Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 review

• ^ Back to the top

Best portable Epson printer

The WorkForce WF-110 is Epson’s smallest printer - with built-in Wi-Fi and rechargeable battery, it’s designed for total portability for business users who need print capabilities on the go.

Epson has distilled all the elements of a good desktop printer into something small enough to fit in a briefcase. Once I had the four smaller-than-usual ink cartridges installed, the Epson WorkForce WF-110 was easy to operate and worked a charm. It’s using pigment ink instead of dye-based ink to deliver smudge-resistant pages up to 5,760 x 1,440 dpi.

The results look crisp and colorful on all kinds of media including coated photo paper. The plastic casing is textured for improved grip, and when unfolded, the plastic body becomes the paper input tray, which can hold up to twenty sheets of letter-sized plain paper.

The lithium-ion battery can be fast charged with the bundled charger or more slowly by connecting the supplied USB cable to any powered USB port. With a top speed of 7ppm, the Epson WorkForce WF-110 prints slowly and, unsurprisingly, there’s no auto-duplex mode. For fully mobile wireless printing, however, the quality and convenience are hard to beat.

Read our full Epson WorkForce WF-110 review .

• ^ Back to the top

Best Epson printers: FAQs

How to choose the best Epson printer for you

Before buying a new Epson printer, consider these key questions…

Inkjet or laser?

With thousands of nozzles applying liquid ink dots onto plain or coated paper, inkjets achieve superior image quality, while being generally smaller and cheaper than lasers. However, the dry toner used by laser printers is more efficient and allows for faster, cleaner and more consistent printing at higher capacities. Epson only makes inkjet printers, so if you need a laser printer, you should check out our best laser printers guide.

Monochrome or color?

Monochrome inkjet printers are uncommon, but Epson sells some black and white EcoTank models which are even cheaper to buy and run than their color counterparts. They’re also simpler and have more space for ink.

Print-only or multifunction?

The essential difference between a pure printer and an MFP (multifunction printer) also known as an AIO (all-in-one) is the integrated scanner. Naturally, this feature adds size and cost, but a flatbed scanner will capture documents more satisfyingly than an app on your smartphone and it effectively turns any printer into a photocopier. The more expensive MFPs will also offer an ADF (automatic document feeder) for passing a stack of pages over the scanner for you. We tested out the best all-in-one printers.

Home or office?

Printers Epson has designed for domestic use tend to be compact and affordable inkjets which can print family photos as well as work documents. In the office, printing at faster speeds and higher volumes is more important than size and operating noise. Business printers usually have stronger security and can be accessed by whole networked workgroups.

What features do I need?

All of Epson’s printers now have dual-band Wi-Fi built in, but not all have an Ethernet port. Also consider the type of media you will be using and the quantity. If you print a lot, it will be worth avoiding inkjet cartridges in favour of refillable EcoTank models. If you want to print on card, check the specifications for the maximum compatible paper weight. A printer offering manual duplex is unable to print on both sides of the page automatically, so unless you don’t mind turning over every sheet by hand, make sure it can auto duplex.

What’s my budget?

The best cheap printers are usually inkjet models, but their expensive cartridges are the catch. Always check the price of your printer’s consumables before you buy. Bottled ink costs around eighty percent less than cartridges, so a more expensive ink tank device will give you long term savings. We've come across some excellent Prime Day printer deals and Black Friday printer deals when the sales are live, so keep your eyes peeled around that time.

Have a preferred brand? We’ve tested, reviewed, and rated the best HP printers, the best Epson printers, and the best Brother printers.

How we test the best Epson printers

I’ve been the senior printer editor at TechRadar Pro long enough to have tested hundreds of printers and plenty by Epson. My methodology follows a series of repeatable tests and comparisons and the process starts right from the unboxing and initial set-up, which is timed. If there’s a problem with unsustainable packaging or a baffling user manual, I’ll call it. If it’s a pleasure to use, that’ll be reflected in the final score too. I always test both wired and wireless connections and explore the various remote printing companion apps as these often enhance the user experience.

For the performance tests, I have a folder of test cards, photos and text documents designed to assess detail resolution, contrast, color accuracy and gamut. Some test images are particularly good for spotting feathering and smearing among inkjets. A ten-page text document is useful for measuring print rates because I never take manufacturer's claims at face value. Having said that, the quoted print and scan speeds are usually accurate enough that I rarely contradict them.

I print each test page on a range of standard paper stock from cheap 75gsm sheets to 600gsm card, as every printer has its limits and preferences when it comes to paper quality. And if the manual claims you can print on envelopes, labels or t-shirts, I test that too.

Features such as auto-duplex scanning or copying multi-page documents via an ADF (automatic document feed) are evaluated, and an assessment of build quality and design contributes to the overall rating. I pay particular attention to the COO (cost of ownership) because cheap printers can often give lower value for money when you calculate the ongoing consumables cost.

You can find out more about our comprehensive testing process in our guide to how we test, review, and rate printers on TechRadar Pro.

Get in touch

• Want to find out about commercial or marketing opportunities? Click here
• Out of date info, errors, complaints or broken links? Give us a nudge
• Got a suggestion for a product or service provider? Message us directly

• You've reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top ^

Epson is set to stop the manufacture of laser printers entirely by 2026, citing sustainability issues. 

The printer giant claims that laser technology has a “limited ability” to make significant steps towards improved sustainability “due to its requirement for heat during the print process and therefore increased energy use”.

The company plans to pivot its printers entirely towards inkjet technology, claiming this “can reduce energy consumption compared to laser” and that the “compact footprint and a lightweight design” of these inkjet printers can help "limit resources used during production and shipping".

What makes Inkjet different?

In a blog post citing its own data, Epson claims its own inkjet printers use less than 85% less energy than a comparable laser printer and 85% less carbon dioxide.

Inkjet printers use wet ink and nozzle assembly to print onto paper, whereas laser printers use a laser and dry ink (also called tonner) to print 

In general, inkjet printers tend to be somewhat smaller in size than their laser counterparts, but also have a slightly higher cost per page. 

This news comes a year after Epson announced a ¥100 billion investment into sustainable innovation. But despite the latest public commitment to sustainability, Epson has attracted some intense criticism regarding its environmental practices in recent years.

Epson confirmed in July 2022 that some of its printers are designed to stop working after a certain period of time, forcing customers to either replace the hardware or pay for it to be survived by an authorized repair person. 

The timecoded limit was reported to impact Epson’s L360 L130, L220, L310, and L365 model printers. 

Commenting on the news to the Fight to Repair blog Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain said:

“A printer self-bricking after a while is a great example of 'you think you bought a product, but you really rented a service.”

• Check out our list of the best cheap printers right now

September turned out to be a banner month for oversize TV announcements, with LG first rolling out its 97-inch G2 OLED at IFA 2022 followed by Samsung with its 98-inch QN100B Neo QLED 4K TV, a high-brightness model capable of 5,000 nits, at the CEDIA custom installation tech show. 

If you’re wondering about the cost for each, it is unsurprisingly high. The LG is priced at $25,000 / £22,000 / AU$38,400, and while an official price for the Samsung hasn’t yet been announced, we expect it to be in the $31,000 range. In both cases, the cost gap between the new sets and the best 75-inch TVs and best 85-inch TVs that buyers typically turn to to scratch their oversize TV itch is dramatic enough to push the new models well out of reach for most of us.

But the LG OLED and Samsung Neo QLED were only part of September’s big TV news rush. Visitors to CEDIA 2022 were also treated to the vision of LG’s 136-inch Magnit, a 4K micro-LED “residential display” priced at a sky-high $300,000.

Never to be outdone at a trade show, Samsung had its own MS1A 110-inch 4K micro-LED TV on view. This is one of the company’s “Monolith” designs, so-called because it’s sold as a complete, ready to view unit rather than a collection of modular tiles that professional installers assemble into even larger-sized micro-LED TVs. And at $150,000, the Samsung looks to be the bargain of the two TV behemoths.

Micro-LED is a relatively new TV tech that combines the high brightness of mini-LED with the endlessly deep blacks characteristic of OLED – something it can manage as a self-emissive tech where the pixels in the display are individually controlled.

And while micro-LED has a bright (no pun intended) future as a next-gen TV technology, it’s still many years off from being something regular buyers would ever consider as a potential alternative to regular LED and OLED sets.

Samsung had previously announced plans to produce micro-LED TVs in a wide range of configurations, with the smallest being 76 inches – a common big-screen set size. Those smaller offerings have yet to materialize, although an 89-inch version is reportedly now in production and could be introduced as early as CES 2023.

Are micro-LED TVs the new projectors? 

Another product shown at CEDIA 2022 was Sony’s VPL-GTZ380, a 4K projector capable of 10,000 lumens light output. Given typical dim home theater lighting conditions, along with a typical 100- or 120-inch home theater screen size, the Sony’s staggering brightness would appear to be overkill – which is a good reason why it’s priced at $80,000 / £74,700 / AU$122,900.

That’s because Sony’s projector isn’t aimed at typical home theaters, but rather “luxury” ones with even larger screens or open, well-illuminated layouts. 

Such rarified spaces are the kind that LG and Samsung are seeking to place their massive micro-LED TVs in. As if to drive that point home, Samsung issued a press release around CEDIA time talking up the home theater of record mogul Clive Davis, which houses the company’s 146-inch The Wall micro-LED TV (see image above).

Will smaller-scale micro-LED sets eventually compete with regular LED and OLED TVs? Only time will tell. In the meantime, anyone looking to get set up with a truly big-screen TV would have been interested in the more modest projector offerings shown at CEDIA 2022 such as Epson’s impressive EpiqVision LS800 ultra short throw projector, a model previously shown at IFA that is priced at $3,499 / £3,080 / AU$5,375 ($4,500 with a 120-inch screen included).

Check out our guide to the best 4K projectors for other more affordable big-screen micro-LED TV alternatives.

Some Epson printers have been displaying a mysterious “service required” warning message, leaving users scratching their heads. But the company has now come out with an explanation.

As reported by The Register, the error message is a result of the ink sponges built into the printer, which absorb excess ink that gets released during a number of processes like cleaning cycles.

In a statement on its support page, Epson claims that “depending on the level of use, the product may reach a condition where satisfactory print quality cannot be maintained, or components have reached the end of their usable life.”

Epson printer end of service life

According to The Register, Epson had previously said the message acts as "a warning that certain parts have reached the end of their usable life and that your printer will no longer work until it is serviced,” which led many users to critique the clarity of the company's communication.

Previously, Epson documentation steered customers towards buying a brand new device when the error message appears. But facing criticism from customers on platforms like Reddit, the company is now advising users to take advantage of its "low-cost ink pad replacement service".

Reportedly, however, the ink sponges’ saturation is measured with a simple cycle count, which can be reset manually with the Epson Maintenance Reset Utility for some additional lifespan, though only on Windows machines. 

Epson has been in the firing line previously, after allegedly having released a firmware update that would stop its printers from accepting third-party ink replacements, which resulted in a class-action lawsuit. It is understood that there have also been concerns with the company’s ink subscription service, which works in a similar way to HP’s Instant Ink.

• Prepare for your next printer with the best laser printers or the best inkjet printers

Via The Register

Two-minute review

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is not your average compact projector. It’s packing in some considerable brightness and a laser lamp that make for a high-quality image in a form factor you can pick up and bring from room to room. With built-in speakers and an included streaming stick that stashes away behind a cover, it even has the skill to power the entire entertainment setup for whatever space you bring it into. That’s not a bad offer for a $2,199 gadget.

2,400 lumens is plenty for a lot of scenarios, such as a dark backyard, a living room with a bit of ambient light, and even a well-lit room as long as you’re watching bright content like cartoons and sitcoms. With good control of your ambient lighting, you can enjoy an excellent picture out of the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K that does an impressive job of balancing brightness with contrast while providing that poppy HDR color we’ve been getting used to. It doesn’t hold a candle to the theater-level performance of the Epson LS12000 or match the color of the triple-lasered Hisense L9G, but it’s not falling too many steps behind for a projector that costs well below half of those competitors. 

There are some projectors that you can get in the same ballpark with a brighter 4K picture, but you’ll struggle to find any that have the flexibility of the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K at $2,199 (about £1,740, AU$3,055). Some may be cheaper, but they’ll often use a traditional projection lamp instead of the much longer-lasting laser light source Anker has used here. Anker gets notable competition from the Optoma CinemaX P2 which we’ve recently seen running for $2,299 while providing an even brighter, laser-based picture, though it’s an ultra-short-throw model that isn’t as portable or flexible in setup but would make a better dedicated home theater display.

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K has some quirks to be aware of. Action is handled poorly when there’s camera movement, making this an unideal option for action movie aficionados. Latency is also an issue for gamers. It’s not so bad that casual gaming is out of the cards, but it’s too slow for competitive or serious gaming. We also see some strange behavior with HDR, but it’s very intermittent and the kind of thing that a hardware update might resolve. 

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K has plenty of competition, but if you want a projector that will regularly work in a lot of different places around your home, there are few options that will do it as well and as easily as this one. 

Price and availability 

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is available for $2,199 (about £1,740, AU$3,055), while a 1080p model is available for $1,699.

Design and features

• Compact, easy-to-carry design
• Projector, speakers, streaming stick all in one

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is a surprising package. The unit is about the size of a small picnic basket and really feels like one with its boxy shape and handle cutting across the top. It’s a projector that’s made to be easily carried. 

On the front are a number of sensors and a considerably large lens for projection. Built-in sensors provide automatic focus and keystoning, making it easy to get the projector set up without having to dial through settings to finagle the exact positioning. The lens doesn’t have optical zoom, though, so you’ll have to settle for digital zoom to shrink the image down to fit a space, and that means lost pixels and picture detail. The keystone is also digital, meaning they’ll cost you some of the picture quality if used, so it becomes a question of quality or convenience. Theoretically, automatic framing is on deck as well, but we couldn’t get it to work in our testing. 

Since this is a bright, laser-based beamer, Anker has included an eye-guard feature that dims the lighting if it detects someone too close to the front of the projector. Given the number of times people got caught looking directly into the beam during our testing, that’s a handy feature to have.

The Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is a complete package. It’s housing four speakers – two full-range speakers powered by 10 watts and two tweeters powered by 5 watts. It also has a streaming stick that slots into a small compartment on the back of the projector. That’s convenient when moving the unit around, as it’s not a loose dongle sticking off the back, and it’s potentially upgradeable or replaceable later on down the line. Replacing may be the more palatable move, as the streaming stick isn’t all that impressive. It often left us waiting for it to respond to inputs for far too long. On the other hand, it does come with proper Netflix support, something many high-end projectors (like the Hisense L9G and every projector from Xgimi) continue to lack.

In addition to the HDMI port used for the included streaming stick, there’s an HDMI port on the back for an extra video source. The streaming stick can link wirelessly to audio devices over Bluetooth 5.0 or the projector can connect to other speakers with a 3.5mm Aux cable. External audio is a good idea in general, though the speakers on the projector sound fairly well balanced and do a decent job in a small, quiet room. They won’t be enough to power through a noisy room with people talking or a fan going, though.

While the projector can have its picture’s keystone and zoom adjusted, it would have been handy to have adjustable feet to change the angle of projection. As it is, we used a stack of small books to prop up either end for testing. 

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K comes with a remote control, but it is oddly limited to just controlling the streaming stick functions. Adjustment of picture settings like focus, zoom, color modes and such doesn’t get handled by the remote. That means inconveniently using the projector’s built-in buttons or its smartphone control app to navigate. 

Picture Quality

• Bright, 4K picture
• Some HDR stumbling
• Long-lasting laser light source

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K brings stunning performance for a projector so compact. While a number of other projectors we’ve tested like the Hisense L9G can serve as a home-theater-in-a-box, the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is a home theater to-go option. It peaks out at 2,400 Lumens, which is sufficiently bright for a semi-light-controlled environment. Drawing the blinds in a living room and dimming the lights is enough to make for a pleasant viewing experience in the middle of the day, while complete darkness results in a fantastic image that lets contrast and color come through more robustly. It’s passable for casual viewing even with darker content in a somewhat dim room, while sitcoms and cartoons come through quite well without managing the ambient light. And this is from our experience with the picture stretched well over 100 inches across our wall. Using a projector screen or reducing the size can make the picture even better.

Now there are cheaper projectors that can get this bright, but Anker is bringing a 4K picture (still through pixel shifting) that’s sufficiently sharp even when blown to large proportions and even if the image pixel count is shrunk down through digital zoom and keystoning. That brightness is also coming from a laser light source with a specified longevity of up to 25,000 hours. There can be a little rainbow effect, but we hardly noticed it. 

We were happy to see that the projector doesn’t come with abhorrent motion interpolation running out of the box. Curiously, we didn’t see any motion interpolation options. That may be happy news for some, but it may stem from a lack of prowess in this area. Watching Captain America: Civil War, we actually noticed the projector struggling to keep the playback smooth during action sequences with a lot of character and camera movement going on. It wasn’t experience-ruining, but it was certainly falling short of its competition and would make it one to avoid if you’re all about action movies. That goes double for serious gaming, where the motion and noticeable input lag would stand in the way. 

This wasn’t the only issue we noticed in the picture. With HDR enabled, we saw some strange quirks with how it processed certain content. Namely, Amazon’s Sneaky Pete would occasionally have scenes with the colors handled wrong, leading to some bizarre posterization and color banding. The issue didn’t crop up in any other content we saw, but it persisted across episodes from all three seasons of Sneaky Pete from both the included streaming stick and a Chromecast with Google TV, and it would happen the same way if we rewound to watch the scene again. This suggested that certain HDR signals are going to be misinterpreted. The issue went away with HDR disabled, but that leads to a significantly duller picture with a lot of the life sucked out of it. HDR also can deepen shadows, which may make it harder to see content without reducing ambient light in the room.

It’s not all bad for the HDR picture, though, which most of the time can be fairly lush. The throne room fight scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi was rich with the reds of the scenery and characters, and the assault on the rebel base shortly after kept up the excellent picture quality.

Should I buy the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K projector? 

Buy it if...

You want a powerful projector you can carry around

The Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is a bright little beast that’s easy to tote. It may make some trade-offs in the name of portability, but ultimately has a lot of merit. It’s only too bad it can’t run on battery power.

You want easy picture settings

Anker’s hardware handles a lot of the fuss for you. It can keystone and focus automatically and shrink the picture down manually, making it a set-it-and-forget-it device.

You don’t want to replace the bulb

The 25,000-hour lifespan of the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K’s laser light engine means you will never need to swap it out. By the time that bulb has burned out, we’ll probably all be watching 32K content with AR glasses.

Don’t buy it if… 

You’re an action movie junkie

The projector has a weak spot, and it’s intense motion. Whether that’s video games or action movie sequences with lots of camera movement, it won’t recreate that motion quite as well as we'd like.

You want an option you can really take anywhere

Without battery power, the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K isn’t exactly portable. It’s easy to bring from place to place, but you’ll still need AC power to use it. Anker and Xgimi have some alternate options for battery-powered projection.

You’re not too picky about 4K

The brightness and resolution sure do pair well together, but if the 4K picture isn’t as crucial, you can save wads of money going with the Xgimi Horizon (the 1080p variant) or even the 1080p Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser projector. 

Editor's note

• Original review date: June 2022
• Current flagship Epson 4K projector
• Launch price: $4,999 / £4,499 / AU$8,999
• Target price now: $4,999 / £4,499 / AU$8,999

The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 has remained the company’s flagship long throw 4K projector since we first reviewed it back in 2022. A 3LCD model with a laser light engine, the LS12000 delivers stunning picture quality for movies and gaming and still sits at the top of our best 4K projectors guide as the best overall option. The LS12000 doesn’t get discounted on a regular basis, although we did see it drop to £3,999 in the UK during Black Friday, so expect to pay full price outside of major sales events. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Epson Pro Cinema LS12000: One-minute review

If you’re looking to find one of the best 4K projectors out there, you don’t have to look further than the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000. This machine is delivering powerful technology that shines an almost unbeatable image. It comes at a predictable high price, though, and Epson has gone all-in on the picture-side of the equation, leaving you to fend for yourself when it comes to video sources and audio.

The LS12000 is a beefy (we’re talking 50 pounds) laser projector with a 3LCD system inside. This combination provides a bright light source for both color and white output, powerful contrast, and no artifacts we could detect. It’s an immaculate picture that doesn’t struggle to overcome bright lighting conditions in a room and then can step up to simply blow us away when we turn out all the ambient light. 

The sharp and colorful visuals are also easy to get just how we want them. With zoom, lens shift, focus, and keystone controls, all we have to do is set the projector where we want it and then move and adjust the image to our ideal size and position. There’s a lot of flexibility for big rooms and even bigger rooms, though we wouldn’t recommend going all out like this for a small space — this is a serious home theater projector.

The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 won’t make sense for a lot of people. But those who want the best and will set out to complement it with a capable AV receiver and robust sound system will likely be pleased as a peach with the LS12000. 

Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 review: Price and availability

The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 is available for $4,999 (£4,399, about AU$7,090), while the company’s lower-spec LS11000 (2500 lumen brightness and 1,200,000:1 contrast ratio) is available for $3,999 (£4,099, about AU$5,670).

Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 review: Design and features

• 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports (1x eARC) with 4K/120Hz support
• No Smart TV platform or speakers
• Hardware zoom and lens shift

 The LS12000 is a bit of a beast. This isn’t your little shelf-top projector you set at the back of the room for a casual home theater. This is a purpose-built machine for a next-level home cinema. It comes in a substantial housing that feels well-built, looks elegant, and is actually not overwhelmingly heavy despite its size.

The LS12000 is ready for a variety of setups and flexes to meet its positioning. We set our unit up on a mantel at the back of a living room, roughly 14 feet from the opposite wall. Thanks to the projector’s optical zoom, we can easily squeeze down the image to fit in the available space on our wall without sacrificing detail (as with digital zoom). From there, the wide vertical and horizontal lens shift range lets us further center the picture all without having to move the projector. Essentially, it’s easy to find a convenient place to set the projector and then use its powerful adjustment tools to project the image where it fits best. The projector doesn’t do this automatically, nor does it auto focus, but it makes the process fairly accessible without having to dive too deep into menus. 

The package is pretty bare-bones for anyone expecting an all-in-one entertainment device. It’s a centerpiece, for sure, but you’ll have to build around it. The kit includes just the projector itself, a beefy remote control, a port cover that can snap onto the back, and a ceiling mounting kit. There’s no Smart TV operating system running onboard, and there aren’t even speakers. This is just your display, and you’ll very likely want to run it to an AV receiver because it only has two HDMI ports. Thankfully, they’re both high-bandwidth, 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports capable of 4K/120Hz (which the projector actually supports) as well as eARC on one of them.

The projector naturally has extensive support for the kind of high-quality cinema features you'd want from a device like this. It handles HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG with 10-bit HDR color processing. It has preset color modes as well as options to dial them in just how you prefer. It can send through a variety of Dolby and DTS audio signals over eARC. It will even let you turn motion interpolation on or off as you like.

The cherry on top is the powered lens cover that slides open when the projector turns on and shuts back up when it’s turned off, helping keep the optics clean and protected.

Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 review: Picture Quality

• 3LCD system with laser light source
• Huge, bright 4K pictures with vivid color
• Rich detail across the spectrum

 We’re inclined to say there’d be almost no reason to go out to a movie theater anymore when you can have a picture like this at home. The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 provides a staggeringly brilliant image that hardly cares whether we’re watching in the daytime but will reward us greatly for watching at night with the lights off. Epson isn’t playing games with its brightness claims. It has the projector rated for 2,700 lumens whether it’s showing all white or showing color. You’d think that brightness might mean a machine that runs hot and has loud fans as a result, but we don’t hear a peep of fan noise while running the LS12000. 

Brightness is an important metric for a projector, but oftentimes they can manage an acceptable brightness while struggling to present compelling shadow details, making for an image that lacks in contrast. The LS120000 doesn’t. This thing is virtuoso for challenging imagery. In The Batman, even in a dark scene, the details on Batman’s and Catwoman’s black outfits are discernible. The fact the projector can provide such rich detail in shadows while blasting out vivid color is simply astounding. Given how bright the projector can get, it even impresses during daytime without doing much to subdue ambient light. If the sun is blasting through our windows, we’ll draw the blinds, but otherwise the picture is still stunningly acceptable even without ideal conditions. Mind you, this is all without a projection screen, which will dial up the visuals even further. 

We recently tested the Hisense L9G, a premium ultra-short throw projector that performs stunningly. It’s a remarkable product that we can readily recommend, but even it looks feeble next to the sheer might of the picture coming from the LS12000. Where the L9G had to balance its $5,500 budget on the projection, audio, smart TV platform, and included projection screen, the LS12000 has all of its cost going toward the picture.

Given how bright the projector is and the fact it can support a wide variety of image sizes, it naturally has to be sharp. While the projector is using three LCDs with a native 1080p resolution, Epson’s dual-axis pixel shifting creates a proper 4K UHD image with no artifacts that we can pick up such as the dithering we’ve seen on some cheaper DMD-based projectors.

Now, the LS12000 provides a lot, but it comes at a steep price. Assuming a $15 ticket, you could go to the movie theater about 333 times before the LS12000 made more financial sense. But, the LS12000 could still be more practical than it seems at first. If you’d go every weekend for six years, you’ve evened out, and the 20,000-hour light source lifespan ought to last well beyond that. If you’ve got kids or a spouse coming along to the theater, you reach that return-on-investment even sooner. If you have to pay for parking at the theater, don’t forget to factor that in. And the fact is you’re getting more than just movies from your home movie theater. You can’t go to the theater to watch Law & Order SVU. You can’t go to the theater to stream every season of The Office. You can’t go to the theater to play 500 hours of Elden Ring’s New Game+.

The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 is definitely an investment, and one you’ll have to build around with a decent sound system and potentially a setup that makes it easier to switch sources given the meager two HDMI ports. But for those looking to have the ultimate home theater, this machine will handily deliver the picture.

Should I buy the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 4K laser projector?

Buy it if...

 You want the ultimate home theater visuals

The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 might not stream or output audio, but its picture is undeniably brilliant. Rich shadows, vibrant color, and dazzling highlights all come through wonderfully. 

You don’t want to fuss with placement

If you’ve already got the perfect spot for setting a big projector, the LS12000 can likely adapt to that space. It has a wide zoom and lens shift range, letting you frame the image just where you want it. 

You want it all

The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 brings the 4K picture, blasts the HDR visuals, explodes with brightness, sinks into darkness, goes smooth at up to 120Hz, tightens down to 50 inches or scales up to 300 inches. It’ll likely be some time before you’ll feel like this projector is missing something you’ve got to have.

Don’y buy it if… 

 You only have $5,000 to spend on a home theater

The LS12000 is amazing, but it is just a display. You don’t get sound and you don’t get a streaming or broadcast platform out of it. If you’re just starting an entertainment setup, you’ll need those as well. 

You want more flexibility

The LS12000 can flex to a variety of setups, but it’s really the kind of projector you want to leave in one place. It’s big and hefty, so not likely one you’ll want to move frequently or tote along with you on a trip.

You’re not a die-hard cinephile

The LS12000 is a splurge when compared to the many projectors out there that you can get a large 4K picture from. Many do a great job for a night of entertainment and casual viewing if you remember to draw the blinds and dim the lights. Epson even has a $1,000 cheaper option in the LS11000 that sacrifices only a little.

• TVs vs projector: which picture technology should you choose?

Epson was one of the first companies to exploit USB for scanning purposes, and it’s one of the features on its office multifunction office printers that always impresses.

But scanning documents to copy them isn’t the same problem as document imaging. For that specific task, Epson has an extensive range of dedicated scanning hardware marketed under the WorkForce label.

We've reviewed plenty of the best scanners, and here we’ll be looking at the WorkForce DS-790WN, a deceptively small document scanner with sophisticated features designed for imaging workflow.

It’s an expensive piece of hardware, but does the fine print of Epson’s detail in this design justify its price?

Price and availability

The UK price of the DS-790WN is £629.99, and in the USA, it is $749, directly from Epson. Oddly, it costs more from online retailers, so buying direct might be the best choice.

Design and build

We thought the Canon ImageFORMULA R40 was a tiny desktop scanner until the Epson WorkForce DS-790WN came out of its box.

Measuring only 296 x 169 x 167 mm with trays closed and 296 x 212 x 217 mm open. Weighing 3.7 kg, this is a compact design that could be easily transported around the office as required.

To keep the weight down and production costs low, the outside of the DS-790WN is impact-resistant plastic surrounding a stiffer metal frame.

It comes in two parts that need to be assembled after unpacking, and that takes only a few seconds once all the adhesive tape securing any moving elements to avoid them shifting in transit has been removed.

Included in the packaging is a laptop-style power brick with cable, a USB cable, Ethernet LAN cable and some basic printed instructions along with a software disc. Why, in 2022, Epson is still providing files on optical disks is a mystery. Maybe a 50 cent USB key might be more helpful, or a QR code to download the files required.

It needs to be said that the DS-790WN can be used entirely without a computer or any software installations, but some functionality is only available when the scanner is driven by a remote network connection.

Powering on the machine activates a large, bright, and colourful 10.9 cm touch screen from where you can initial scans, change settings and access the defined presets.

As with all these types of devices, documents are fed into the top hopper, up to 100 sheets, and after scanning, ejected to a lower tray. Guides automatically centralise the paper, and the DS-790WN can take Letter, Legal, A4 and all the smaller sizes.

The smallest documents it can take are just 50.8 mm square, and the largest is 215.9mm wide by a whopping 6,096 mm long.

Source documents can be single or double-sided, though the scanner requires this to be set by the operator and isn’t automatically detected. Paper ranging from 27 to 413 g/m² can pass through, and you can send plastic cards too.

Obviously, the 100-sheet input capacity is dependent on the thickness of the stock, but you should be able to get that many 80g/m² pages ready to scan.

The quoted duty cycle is an impressive 7,000 pages per day, and for those considering that amount of scanning, a replacement roller assembly is available. Based on the 45 pages per minute, for both monochrome and colour scanning at 300 dpi, 7,000 pages represent 155 minutes of total scanning. But those timings don’t factor in organising, loading the paper, and then removing the scanned work, or delays due to jamming or scans that have issues.

The scanning speed of 45 pages per minute or 90 images isn’t the fastest available, being slower than the similarly priced latest Canon DR-M260, Fujitsu FI-7160 and Raven Pro Max designs. But it’s markedly quicker than cheaper scanners from all these brands.

The only silly mistake we noticed in the design of the DS-790WN is that the USB Type-A port that you might use to scan directly to a storage device is located at the rear, alongside the LAN port and USB Type-B port, where it isn’t easily accessible. It needed to be on the front of the machine, and for whatever reason, the Epson engineers didn’t consider that.

Workflow

The workflow of document imaging is about converting paper documents into a digital resource that others can view or reproduce without any concern that the original might get damaged or lost.

It’s also about directing those documents to the right place for them. The DS-790WN has numerous document pathways designed to interface to specific workflows that companies typically deploy for scanned documents.

At the simplest level, the DS-790WN could easily be taken to a remote location, maybe a company that needs to capture a document repository before its binned. Once there, images can be scanned directly to a USB storage device with no computer required.

But this scanner is built for more elaborate workflows where the scanning is sent to an FTP server, emailed, directed to the Cloud, or a nearby PC. Critically, it can do more than one of these things, so sending it to a local server and cloud storage can be made a pre-defined mode

Going even further, Epson has also implemented a security solution where an NFC card reader can be attached that identifies the person scanning, and encrypts the data as it travels over the network using an authentication server. This provides a level of confidence that scanned images haven’t been intercepted or modified from the scanner to the repository, something that those requiring confidentiality will appreciate.

A classic example of this use model is that if an HR person scans wages information, the person scanning directs that the scans can only go to a network location that’s not generally accessible to those on the network.

Depending on how the owner wishes to use the DS-790WN, it can be administered from a PC or Mac using Twain and ISIS drivers, and scanning can be initiated from any applications that support those standards. It also works with Linux using SANE standards for those using that platform.

For those companies with a more sophisticated imaging workflow, Epson created Document Capture Pro, an impressive tool that increases the level of control over how images are indexed. It’s possible to have naming conventions based on barcodes, date and time, and many other parameters.

It also offers job separation, where blank pages can be used to handle when the system decides a run of pages is a document and a new document has started.

That one feature can be crucial. Scanning 100-page blocks of pages and then manually going through them to package them as documents is both time consuming and tedious.

Another massive time-saving feature is some of the best OCR software you'll find bundled with a scanner. In our tests, this worked flawlessly down to tiny point sizes, and the text documents created provide a powerful means to locate all the scanned pages that contain specific references.

Final verdict

It might be marginally slower than some of the competitor scanners, but given all the other jobs that need to happen during the scanning process,

There is only one significant problem with the Epson DS-790WN and many of its competitors; the price.

It undercuts many competitor products by around $100, but that doesn’t make the Epson DS-790WN a bargain.

When you consider that you can get two Canon R40 scanners for the same money and double the throughput with sufficient human resources, the Epson appears pricey.

That said, the R40 isn’t networkable, and the extra speed of the Epson would allow it to get through almost as much scanning in a typical working day.

What makes the difference, and isn’t practical for us to test, is exactly how long the DS-790WN would keep scanning if it approached its 7,000 pages per day ‘reliable duty cycle’.

It seems well made, and Epson do offer replacement roller assembly kits and optional warranty extensions, so some confidence in its survivability isn’t unfounded.

In our experience, it can come down to just how many stapled pages are accidentally sent through and how careful the operators are in clearing jams without damaging the internal pathways.

With this sort of investment, a little consideration might go a long way to keeping this hardware working hard for a long time.

To be clear, if the price wasn’t an issue, this is easily one of the best desktop scanning solutions we’ve seen, offering terrific flexibility and all the features that any document imaging workflow desperately needs.

If you want raw scanning speeds, other brands are faster, but in terms of the overall hardware and software package, the Epson DS-790WN takes some beating.

We reviewed the best photo scanners and these are our top recommendations.

The new Epson Pro Cinema 4K PRO-UHD LS12000 laser projector boasts specs that could make it a superb display for your PS5 or Xbox Series X/S consoles. That's because it's equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports that can enable gaming at 4K resolution at up to 120fps.

As reported by Engadget, Epson's new beamer comes with a pixel shifting technology that helps to restore the 4K detail lost as a result of the company using a bespoke three-chip LCD system. 

Previously, this system was a trade-off, as it allowed Epson's projectors to eliminate that nasty "rainbow" effect that muddles the picture of many single-chip DLP projectors. Now, though, Epson's pixel shift tech seems to fix the downsides of that trade-off entirely.

The pixel shift tech (which Epson is officially calling "precision shift glass plate technology") solves the issue by literally shifting pixels from the projector's 1,920 x 1,080 LCDs. This, in conjunction with a high refresh rate, accurately pushes the pixels to a 3,840 x 2,160 (or 4K) resolution, solving the cost of detail as a result of eliminating that nasty rainbow effect.

A perfect projector for gaming?

So where does gaming come into this? Thanks to Epson's pixel shift tech, a more accurate, detailed 4K image can be displayed on the projector. That, paired with a 120Hz refresh rate offered by HDMI 2.1 input, and you have a beamer that could very well provide a more optimal gaming experience over many of the best 4K TVs.

What's more, the projector's light source outputs 2,700 lumens, and lasts roughly 20,000 hours. Such a bright output should make the projector suitable for a wider range of environments. That brightness is especially welcome, too, when you consider the projector also supports HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG formats.

The new Epson Pro Cinema 4K PRO-UHD LS12000 laser projector sounds like a match made in heaven for gamers, then, but the one big caveat is that the beamer is far from cheap. It'll set you back $5,000 (around £3,690 / AU$6,970), which is still more affordable than many of the best 4K projectors you can buy, such as Samsung's The Premiere.

• Best outdoor projector for movies

The Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is a premium photo printer that looks set to shake up the category by offering Epson’s tried and tested six-colour Claria system in a refillable EcoTank format for the first time. With six separate inks instead of four you get better quality photos, but the cost of replacing six costly cartridges every few photos was always a barrier. Swap those overpriced cartridges for bottled ink and you have a much more tempting proposition, especially when you’re printing on A3+ paper.

At around £780 (US$1,100, AU$1,420) the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is one expensive inkjet printer, but it has plenty more features to justify the price tag. There’s a large colour touchscreen interface, both SD Card and USB Host slots, and enough ink in the box to print 2,300 photos. It looks way smarter and smaller than the older Epson EcoTank ET-7750, demonstrating a significant step forwards for EcoTank technology.

Design and build

The early EcoTank printers looked like regular cartridge-based inkjets with bulbous ink reservoirs bolted onto the side. But this sleek design has the six tanks seamlessly integrated into the design. As a result, the footprint of the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is roughly A3 in size while standing only 16cm tall, so it’s much easier to accommodate than most A3 printers.

There are two paper trays at the front, but neither are big enough for A3 paper. A third paper tray at the rear will take anything up to A3+ paper. It’s actually quite a neat solution because this rear tray provides a much flatter paper path which means your A3 photos won’t curl up. It also means you can print on some quite thick card. Though it looks like it should accommodate A3 paper, the scanner bed is only big enough for A4.

To maintain the sleek look, the front USB Host port and SD Card slot are concealed behind a folding front flap that also hides the paper trays.

The large 10.9cm colour touchscreen tilts up for easy access and below this you can clearly see the six ink reservoirs. There’s something reassuring about seeing how much ink you have in the tank rather than waiting for that dreaded message from your printer telling you to buy more cartridges. 

Features and specifications 

The Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is a 3-in-1 device, which is to say that it can print, copy and scan. It is aimed at the home rather than the office, so there’s no ADF (automatic document feeder) or fax facility, but it is generously kitted out with other features. It can auto duplex with A4 paper for instance, enlarge photocopies from A4 to A3 and print on a very wide variety of blank media. It can handle any size paper up to A3+ and even manage 2m banners via the rear tray. It can also print on sticky labels, thick card and blank CDs.

It is well connected too with both Ethernet and Wi-Fi, including Wi-Fi Direct and Apple AirPrint compatibility. There’s no Bluetooth or NFC, but there is an SD Card slot alongside a front USB Host port behind that front flap. There are three separate paper trays, which is great for loading up both plain and photo paper and switching between them automatically. Each tray is rather limited in its capacity, however, with the main tray only holding only 80 to 100 sheets of A4. The generous 10.9cm touchscreen provides an intuitive user interface while also allowing you to preview your print at a useful size before printing.

It prints mono A4 pages quickly at 32ppm (pages per minute), though that slows right down in auto duplex mode. It’s even slower at printing in colour, but we won’t mark it down for putting quality ahead of speed when it comes to photos.

The optimised print resolution of 5,760 x 1,400 dpi is impressive, while the scan resolution is not much lower at 1,200 x 4,800 dpi. You can expect very accurate photocopies as a result.

Another attraction of the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is the amount of ink you get with it. There are six bottles in the box, which is enough for 2,300 prints (10 x 15cm photos). That’s generous, although it is a big climb-down from the ten bottles and 3,600 photos bundled with the Epson EcoTank ET-7750.

Setup and operation

Setting up the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is simplified by the large tilting touchscreen. You can either follow the step-by-step onscreen prompts, or follow the QR code displayed on screen that takes you to a downloadable Android/iOS app. This companion app called Epson Smart Panel let’s you use your smartphone to get up and running. Typing in your Wi-Fi password to get the printer online is quite easy whichever you choose and filling the ink reservoirs is easy.

The bottles and tanks have been well designed to make it difficult to mess this up, although if you did pour the wrong ink into the wrong tank, it’ll take a long time to purge the tanks and get back to printing normally again.

It’s advisable to run a printhead alignment program at this stage which simply involves printing out a test page and checking it. We found that all of our inkjet nozzles appeared to be firing just fine.

The Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is a pleasure to use thanks to the large intuitive touchscreen interface and smooth, quiet operation. The output ray is motorised and it glides out a full 27cm, pushing open the front flap with no fuss whenever you want to print. The paper trays are sensitive to new paper being loaded and the screen prompts you to select the appropriate type and size of media. The Epson Smart Panel app gives you even more control from your smartphone and adds functionality such as templates for greetings cards.

Performance

In all of our tests, the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 performed well, but its real strength is in printing photos on glossy photo paper. The optimised resolution is good and high at 5,760 x 1,400 dpi with 180 nozzles per colour and 360 black nozzles putting together very finely detailed pictures. The five dye-based Claria inks look especially vibrant and always well contained on coated paper. If you want photos that pop, this is the printer and ink combination for you.

The grey ink that most other printers lack gives the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 a real advantage when it comes to rendering black and white photos. The improved greyscale can make your arty prints look professional, especially when blown up onto A3 paper.

The sixth ink is a pigment-based black which is better for text documents because it is more robust than dye. Having two blacks means there’s no compromise in quality when you switch between printing photos and words. We found that while printing single-sided pages of black and white text was fast, printing on both sides of the page slowed things right down. The crisp quality of our duplexed pages was hard to fault, however, and while it prints slowly, it also prints very quietly.

We had no problem feeding the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 a variety of media including 10x15cm photo paper, envelopes, A3 paper and heavy paper stock. Epson claims it can handle 1.3mm thick card via the rear tray, which has a fairly flat paper path, though when we tried some, it got stuck. Other than this upper limit of paper thickness, we experienced no other misprints or paper jams and would say that overall it handles all kinds of paper very well. It is slightly disappointing that the scanner is only A4 sized, but it does make very accurate photocopies thanks to the high resolution of both printer and scanner.

Final verdict

Epson EcoTank ET-8550 succeeds on all fronts. The ink tanks integrate perfectly in this refined, low-profile design and you have great ease of use thanks to the touchscreen. The broad selection of features and media compatibility is impressive, but more so is the print quality. Whether you’re printing monochrome or colour photos, or plain word documents, the results are always excellent. Usually the catch with premium photo printers like this is the crippling cost of the ink cartridges, but with ink tanks, its actually very economical to run. Aside from the high initial cost, it’s hard to find fault with the Epson EcoTank ET-8550.

• We've also featured the best printer

The Epson WorkForce WF-7715DWF is a big A3 all-in-one inkjet for the home or small office. With a large user-friendly interface, fast print speeds and every business feature you can think of, it seems to justify its bulk by answering all of your printing needs. From auto duplexing and dual-side scanning to sending super-sized faxes, this flexible printer can do anything an A4 printer can do, but with A3 paper.

For around £180 (US$250, AU$327), it’s one of the most affordable devices to offer this level of A3 ability. It’s also among the first of Epson’s printers to come with ReadyPrint Go compatibility, which is a service that sends you replacement ink cartridges specific to your printer when your printer detects that it is running low.

• Also check out our roundup of the best Epson printers

Design and build

Side-by-side, the bulbous Epson WorkForce WF-7715DWF looks almost exactly like the A4-sized Epson WorkForce WF-2750DWF, except that it’s about fifty percent bigger in all directions. The display, buttons, scanner, even the Epson logo has simply been scaled up almost as though the whole thing was inflated by a cartoon bicycle pump. 

The main paper tray has to be extended forwards by a few inches to accommodate A3 paper and you can fit up to 250 sheets in here.

The scanner bed is also A3+ sized as is the 35-sheet ADF (automatic document feeder) on top and the rear paper tray. The output tray can hold 150 printed sheets when extended.

The large 10.9cm touchscreen is mounted on a flap that tilts up for easy access along with all the other hard button controls. To the left of this is a USB Host port for printing directly from a flash memory thumb drive. 

There’s another USB port at the rear for connecting a data cable (not included) alongside ports for Ethernet and fax cables. It’s a large and let’s face it, ugly, lump of plastic, but it feels fairly well made and functionally designed with the oversized controls making it particularly easy to use. 

Features and specifications 

As part of Epson’s WorkForce line the WF-7715DWF is aimed at business rather than family use and comes with all the functionality you need in the office. It can print, scan, copy and fax with any size of media up to A3+ and it can both duplex print and duplex scan at that size too. Wi-Fi is built in with Wi-Fi Direct and wireless protocols such as AirPrint and Google Cloud Print catered for. It also has an NFC chip for Android users to make a one-tap connection with their device.

There’s a USB Host port at the front for walk-up printing from a USB thumb drive, a touchscreen interface and a 35-sheet ADF. For a printer of this size, it is slightly disappointing that there is only one paper tray, which limits the paper capacity to 250 sheets. If you want two paper trays, you should look at the slightly more expensive Epson WorkForce 7720DTWF instead. Otherwise there are no other features missing that we could think of. Our only regret is that this WorkForce printer uses disposable cartridges and is not part of Epson’s excellent refillable EcoTank line instead.

It prints quickly for an A3 inkjet at 18ppm in black and white and 10ppm in color. It’s fitted with the latest PrecisionCore print head which employs 800 black ink nozzles and 256 color nozzles to achieve a maximum resolution of 4,800 x 2,400 dpi, which is about as good as it gets at this level. The scanner resolution is almost as sharp at 1,200 x 2,400.

The DURABrite Ultra inks used here are pigment based and available in high yield XXL sizes (at least for the black ink), which makes the running cost quite competitive for a cartridge-based inkjet at around 7.1p per page. The brochure says that this CPC (cost per page) beats most laser printers, though that’s debatable. It’s also worth noting that inkjets rarely achieve their quoted maximum yields because they don’t account for the ink wasted when cleaning the nozzles. Inkjet printers hate being left idle and when our pre-loved review unit arrived, we had to perform four nozzle cleaning cycles to clear the dry ink before it would print satisfactorily and that used up a significant amount of ink.

One new feature here is ReadyPrint Go, which is Epson’s answer to HP’s Instant Ink subscription service. By registering your eligible device, your replacement ink cartridges will arrive by post just before you run out. The printer itself lets Epson know directly when your ink level is low. It differs from HP’s service in that there’s no subscription fee. You pay as you go instead. However, the cost of the cartridges is not discounted and your old cartridges are not automatically recycled, so there seems little incentive to sign up.

Setup and operation

The Epson WorkForce WF-7715DWF is an easy printer to set up thanks to the especially large tilting control panel and generous 10.9cm touchscreen. You just need to insert the four ink cartridges and follow the on-screen prompts, which will get the printer onto your Wi-Fi network without any fuss. The LCD interface is sensitive and intuitive, making it a painless process to select your printable media type from the list, or type in the percentage by which you want to reduce or enlarge a photocopy.

In operation, the Epson WorkForce WF-7715DWF is a little noisy when manipulating large pieces of paper, but it’s still quieter than the average laser printer. We experience no paper jams or misprints during the test, except for a couple of sheets of recycled paper that came through at the same time.

Performance

The print quality achieved by the Epson WorkForce WF-7715DWF is, in general, very strong. Black and white text documents look crisp and dark and free of smears, even when printing at the very smallest point size. Color documents appear similarly well contained and clear, though the DURABrite Ultra inks used here are not the brightest. They look very good with graphs and images made up of blocks of color, where the consistency is quite impressive, but are not so great with photographs. These pigment-based inks produce a matt finish that looks a little dull and disappointing when printing on glossy photo paper. Matt photo paper gives a better result. 

The main tray is fine for plain paper, but photo paper and card stock fare better in the rear tray where the paper path is much flatter. We managed to print satisfactory on some quite thick card this way and without pressing a curl into the printed card.

Final verdict

The Epson WorkForce WF-7715DWF is an accomplished office printer, performing tricks with A3 paper that few A3 printers can manage, such as duplicating both sides of an A3 document automatically. As cartridge-based inkjets go, it’s fairly economical to run too and the print quality, though not great with photos, is fine overall. With every business feature we can think of built in, we have no hesitation in recommending this all-in-one to anyone who frequently prints at this larger size.

• We've also featured the best printer

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630 is a versatile all-in-one inkjet printer that delivers excellent value for money and produces economical color and black-and-white prints.

In fact, Epson says its PrecisionCore inkjet technology produces superior prints at less cost than a comparable laser-based rivals.

Priced at $200 (£130, AU$253), the WF-4630 swims in the same pool an business-centric multifunction inkjet printers like the Canon Maxify MB5320 ($399, £260, AU$505) and the HP OfficeJet Pro X551dw ($300, £200, AU$380).

Its quality means it also competes with smaller multifunction color laser printers, like HP's Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw ($429, £280, AU$544) and Samsung's Multifunction Printer Xpress C1860FW ($224, £145, AU$285).

Note: the WorkForce Pro WF-4630 is currently no longer available directly from Epson, however a number of third-party retailers still offer it online - full details below.

Design

Weighing 31.3 pounds (14.20kg) and measuring 18.1 inches across by 25.8 inches deep and 15.1 inches tall (46.0 x 65.5 x 38.4cm), the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630 isn't huge, but it's large enough that you'd want to place it on a dedicated printer stand or table for use in a shared workgroup. As a personal printer, however, the large, boxy and utilitarian design takes up precious desk real estate, and its presence could feel overwhelming on smaller desks.

Like many Epson printers, the WF-4630 has an understated design that works well in business environments, with a matte black plastic body and glossy black trims. Most of your interaction with the WF-5630 will be handled through the 3.5-inch touchscreen panel. Thankfully, the touchscreen is easy to use with intuitive menus.

The user control panel at the top also houses hardware buttons for the fax dial pad as well as quick copy buttons for color or black-and-white copies.

Compared to the touchscreen-driven interface of the competing HP OfficeJet Pro X series, the presence of physical buttons on the Epson makes the WorkForce Pro WF-4630 instantly feel like an office tool.

The WF-4630 doesn't have an SD card slot, but a USB port is conveniently located on the front for direct USB printing or saving scanned files to a flash drive. Additionally, the printer supports printing and scanning using Wi-Fi from a PC, Mac or smartphone running Android or iOS.

At the top of the printer is a 35-sheet automatic document feeder, which can be used for duplex scanning and copying, saving you time since you don't have to manually scan each side of a document. This feature can be used for printing, copying and faxing two-sided, multi-page originals. Alternatively, lifting up the automatic document feeder reveals a flatbed scanner for more manual control.

The WF-4630 has a single 250-sheet document tray on the bottom, and a rear, top-feed on the back accommodates 80 sheets. If you max out both trays, the printer has a maximum capacity of 330 sheets.

In my setup, I have letter-sized paper in the document tray, and I used the rear feed for special one-off print jobs - like for envelopes, labels or for special photo jobs that require more expensive photo paper.

Users who need two document trays should look at the WF-4640, a printer that's based on the WF-4630 but comes with two document trays and a rear feeder for a maximum paper capacity of 580 sheets.

The WF-4630 document tray can handle various paper sizes, up to a maximum of 8.5 x 14-inch sheets. Using the rear feed, the printer can handle 8.5 x 47.2-inch paper prints.

Similar to rival HP's PageWide print technology, Epson's PrecisionCore increases print speed and quality by increasing the density of the print nozzles. The PrecisionCore print chip on the WF-4630 contains about 800 nozzles per chip, which is roughly 600 nozzles per inch.

PrecisionCore also decreases the size of each ink dot that's printed, and Epson also widens the printhead. Epson claims that this allows the print head to deliver better control of ink flow, more density of ink dots for better print quality and faster print times.

The setup process begins when users open the front hatch of the printer to insert the four different ink cartridges into the left side for cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. The WF-4630 ships with standard-sized cartridges.

I found the initial setup process to be relatively simple. The touchscreen display on the WF-4630 shows where the printer is during the process.

Overall, it took me about twenty minutes to get the WorkForce Pro WF-4630 started. The bulk of the that time is used by the printer to calibrate the printhead. You won't need to do much intervention until the calibration is complete, and I found the WF-4630 generated a variety of different noises during this process.

After the calibration was completed, I downloaded the appropriate software and drivers to both my Mac and my PC on Epson's website, connected the WF-4630 to my home router using WPS, and was able to begin printing and scanning wirelessly in less than ten minutes. The software setup process was similar on both a Mac and a PC.

The entire setup is rather lengthy, but you'll only need to do that once. Once attached to a router or modem, the WF-4630 will provide you with its IP address, and you can even send documents wirelessly to the printer even if your device isn't on the same home network.

For business executives, this Remote Print feature will be valuable, as you can research information on the road and print from wherever you are.

In the past, I would review emails and documents at lunch, noting in my head what I should print later only to forget to print what I need when I return to my desk. This is no longer the case with the IP-connected Remote Print feature, as I can review and print work documents when I am on the road and have my prints waiting for me when I return to the office.

Print costs

Epson's $22.99 standard-sized cartridges are rated for 900 pages of printing, equating to a cost of 2.6 cents for black-and-white prints and 11.6 cents for color.

The larger capacity XL cartridges have a higher up-front investment at $41.99 for black and $43.99 for each color, but provide more economical output. The black cartridge yields 2,600 prints while Epson rates the color cartridges for 2,000 prints. This lowers the per-page cost to around 1.6 cents for black-and-white documents and 8.2 cents for color pages.

Print costs are more expensive than the HP Officejet Pro x551dw ($299, £200, AU$380), which provides a per page cost of 1.3 cents for black-and-white and 6.1 cents for color jobs. HP's printer requires a larger initial up-front investment, but comes with a more modern design with sleek lines and artful cutouts.

The WF-4630 is a fast inkjet printer, and its print speeds rival many mid-sized office laser printers on the market today. Print speeds for the WF-4630 are comparable to HP's Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw. This makes the WF-4630 an attractive printer for offices that are dependent on high volume printing.

I was able to print a five-page black-and-white PDF in less than twenty seconds from my Mac over my home Wi-Fi network. After I hit the print button on my laptop, it took about five seconds for the printer to warm up, and between two and three seconds for each page to print.

My print speeds matched Epson's claims of roughly twenty pages per minute for both black-and-white and color print jobs. Epson says the WF-4630 is capable of producing 11 pages of black-and-white or color pages per minute of duplex or double-sided prints.

More complex print jobs take a bit longer to complete, but the WF-4630 was able to handle JPEG photos, Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and graphs, PowerPoint presentations and more with impressive speeds. The WF-4630 is one of the faster small workgroup printers on the market today.

Although print speeds are admirable, the WF-4630 is only half as fast as the HP Officejet Pro x576dw ($399, £265, AU$510). HP claims that the Officejet can deliver black-and-white and color print jobs at speeds up to 42 pages per minute. In general office mode, the Officejet Pro x576dw is even faster, with speeds up to 70 pages per minute.

For office documents, I found the resulting print quality just as impressive as the WF-4630's print speeds. Text, charts and diagrams look sharp on prints produced on the WF-4630, and I couldn't spot the difference between a print from the WF-4630 or from a mid-range laserjet.

I found the ink to be well-controlled on the WF-4630. On consumer inkjets, printing a document with a solid patch of color or having white text over a color background would result in a page that feels wet when it comes out. Additionally, the paper also gets slightly warped with the excess liquid from the heavy use of ink. This isn't the case on the WF-4630.

Using standard 20-pound weight office copy paper, I found the WF-4630 does a good job at controlling ink flow. In a print job where there is white text over a solid patch of color background, I noticed that the paper remains crisp and not warped, a situation that I noticed with more inexpensive home printers due to excessive ink use.

With quick drying ink, I also noticed that prints do not smudge, even after I spilled half a glass of water over a printed document within seconds of removing it from the printer.

Photo printing

Print speeds for photo printing is less impressive with the WF-4630, which isn't surprising given that Epson tuned the printer for office jobs. I found the WF-4630 is capable of producing a 4 x 6 print in as little as 30 seconds.

Photo quality will suffice for small projects and for home and casual use. Discerning photographers and those needing prints larger than 8.5 x 11 inches would likely need to turn to a photo or studio printer.

The WF-4630 produces prints with a maximum resolution of 4,800 x 1,200 dpi. At this resolution, photo professionals may not be able to achieve the high dynamic range for color prints that they seek.

There are higher resolution printers on the market today, like the Canon Pixma MG7520 ($130, £85, AU$165), which comes with a dpi of 9,600 X 2,400, and the consumer quality Epson XP-420 ($79, £52, AU$100), which comes with a dpi of 5,760 x 1,440. For small offices, the dpi output of the WF-4630 will be more than sufficient, and those users will likely appreciate the flexibility of a multifunction network printer over an extremely high dpi.

If you're satisfied with the resulting image quality, you'll be happy to know that your prints are rated as smudge, fade, and water resistant with Epson's DURABrite Ultra pigment inks. The prints are said to be fade resistant for up to 118 years.

Copying and scanning

There is a lot of flexibility on where to save and store scanned images from the WF-4630. Using the touchscreen controller, I was able to choose where I wanted my scans to be saved, whether that's on a USB drive that's plugged into the front USB port, to my Mac or PC connected to my Wi-Fi network, to an iPhone or Android smartphone, or to the cloud using Epson Connect.

Scanning wirelessly to a device on the same Wi-Fi network is easy. On the touchscreen, you'll choose the Document Capture Pro option, and then choose from a list of PCs on the network where you want your files sent.

You can also choose to scan to a memory device and plug in a flash drive.

And if you're using the WF-4630 as a personal printer, you can also initiate a scan from a nearby laptop or PC using the downloaded software from Epson's site. With this method, your printer can either be connected to the same Wi-Fi network or over USB to your computer.

Another option is scanning using Epson Connect. Similar to how Remote Print enables users outside of their Wi-Fi network to send print jobs to the printer, Epson Connect handles scans, with options for scans to be emailed to designated email addresses or uploaded to a cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or Evernote.

Executives who are out of the office and need to have documents scanned can instruct their team, colleagues or assistant to use Epson Connect to scan and upload or email the files directly from the printer without requiring a PC. This saves time and requires fewer steps than having to send the files to a PC, and then uploading those documents from a computer.

Epson Connect is similar to Canon's Maxify Cloud Link and HP's ePrint service. Canon's Maxify Cloud Link for the company's line of Maxify business multifunction printers offers integration with the same cloud storage services as Epson Connect.

To use Epson Connect, you'll need to download the software to your PC or Mac. Once installed, your computer needs to be on the same Wi-Fi network as your printer for the initial setup. You'll also need to enter an email address and create a password to manage the printer. I found the whole process to be straightforward.

After the software is installed, logging into the web portal on a browser allows you to add email addresses and cloud service accounts. Once you do that, these accounts will be available as options on the printer, allowing you to scan to the cloud.

I tested Epson Connect remote scanning capability with Google Drive and Gmail. I had no problems with either method - the scanned digital files were automatically uploaded from the printer to my Google Drive storage or sent as an email attach to my Gmail inbox.

The scanner has a resolution of 2400 dpi, with a hardware resolution of 2,100 x 2,400 dpi. The scanner has a 48-bit color depth and can generate files with 24-bit.

For copies, the speed is about 19 pages per minute. In my tests, I got about 17 to 18 pages per minute for single-sided copies. Using the touchscreen, I was able to choose various copy options, including single-sided or double-sided inputs and outputs, and copies removed the appearance of punched holes and shadows. I can also preview copies, adjust the size and choose an option that optimizes copies of ID cards.

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630 delivers affordable and reliable color and black-and-white prints on or off your office's Wi-Fi network. With print costs as low as 1.6 cents for black-and-white prints and 8.6 cents for color prints with XL print cartridges, Epson's claim of delivering value "beyond laser" holds true.

We liked

The WorkForce Pro WF-4630 delivers quality prints, economical costs and fast printing speeds. There's a lot to love about this multifunction printer - it superbly handles office print jobs, and print quality rivals those of color laser printers.

The automatic document feeder can handle double-sided scans and copies, and a specialty rear paper tray offers added convenience to the front-loading 250-sheet tray.

Epson Connect is a useful feature for remote printing and scanning when you're off of the office Wi-Fi network, and the touchscreen offers intuitive menus and control. Even though the presence of a physical dial pad for the fax machine makes the machine seem dated compared to HP's all-touch controls, the WF-3630 has hardware buttons to quickly make color and black-and-white copies without having to dig into the touchscreen menus.

We disliked

With a more utilitarian and boxy design, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630 isn't quite as sleek or modern as rival HP's OfficeJet Pro X series. Although you may have to invest in a higher up-front cost for HP's printer hardware, the cost per page is lower with HP's printers, meaning you'll save money in the long run if your office has high print volumes.

Office users may want to upgrade to the WF-4640 model to have a second front-loading paper tray so that they won't have to refill on paper too often.

If you're okay with Epson's understated design, the only big fault that comes to mind with the WF-4630 is the odd sounds it makes when warming up and printing. Though the sounds aren't overly noisy, the WF-4630 isn't quite as quiet as a laser printer. The sounds that the printer emits are unique, and when the printer is warming up or cooling down, it sounds louder than an Epson home printer.

Final verdict

Unless your office requires heavy photo print jobs, the WF-4630 is an excellent choice. It's versatile enough to handle office documents with fast print speeds that rival laser printers, and you won't be disappointed with the results either.

Executives who work remotely can send their print jobs to the printer from outside the network with remote printing, a solution that saves time and ensures that you won't forget to print all the important documents. Automatic cloud scanning from the printer also saves time for backing up scanned documents.

Low per-page print costs and an affordable printer price should make the WF-4630 a top contender for your small office printer.

Aimed at the micro business community, the WorkForce WF-7210DTW is Epson’s entry level A3+ colour inkjet printer, replacing the WF-7110DTW, and remains the only one of its siblings to lack scan, copy and fax functionality.

If you are looking for these features, then the WF-7720DTWF is probably your best bet in Epson’s range but it carries a premium of nearly 50%, the WF-7210DTW carries a suggested retail price of £169.99 but can be found for as little as £122.50 at the time of writing at Amazon and you can even get a 3-year extended onsite warranty in the UK if you submit your claim within 30 days of purchasing the product.

Check out our best A3 printer buying guide as well to find out other options.

Design

This is an A3 printer so as expected, it arrived in a big box and the printer is massive. You will need significant desk space to accommodate the WF-7210DTW and enough clearance above, as it is more than 300mm high. At 567 x 424mm, its footprint exceeds that of an A2 sheet.

The printer has two trays, both of which can handle up to 125 A5 sheets. There’s a straight sheet feed and a fold-out, extensible output tray. There’s an Ethernet port as well as a USB port - note that no cables are provided. 

The control options are fairly standard with a 56mm LCD that provides basic information about print status. Nothing flashy; note that there’s no card readers or front USB ports as well. You will need a device (smartphone or computer) to print from it.

Open the top cover to shove in the four cartridges; Epson provides with standard Durabrite Ultra 3.6ml ink cartridges with XL (3x capacity, 10.8ml) and XXL (6x capacity, 34.1ml) cartridges available, albeit only in black for the latter capacity. 

The printer comes with a driver and utilities (CD), a set of ink cartridges, the power cord, a Quick Start Guide and the warranty document.

In use

The printer offers USB, Ethernet, NFC and wireless connectivity (Epson Connect) for direct and remote printing; we used the first one for our test.

Epson rates the printer at 18 pages per minute for monochrome and 10 pages per minute for colour using the widely available ISO/IEC 24734 test, which is a table, chart and graph heavy document. The printer can also do automatic duplex, reaching up to 8.7 ppm in mono and 6 ppm in colour.

In draft mode, the WF-7210DTW has a rated speed of 32 pages per minute in mono and 20 pages per minute in colour. Its maximum duty cycle is 20,000 pages per month with the recommended duty cycle being between 200 and 2500 pages per month.

You will need to install drivers to detect the A3 paper; default Windows drivers only showed a tiny fraction of the range of paper that the WF-7210DTW supports. Speaking of the paper, we used standard 80gsm stock for our tests; be careful with even the slightest dog-earing of your paper sheet as we found out that this printer is quite finicky when it comes to paper handling.

We printed a series of full size A3 pictures at the highest definition (which is unsurprisingly labelled as high definition) and stands at 4,800 x 2,400dpi; there are two other default print settings but the driver offers a wealth of settings to be changed should you want to do so.

Our set of prints (16 in all) took on average 76 seconds (from pressing the print button to the sheet being dropped in the tray). Batch colour printouts of A3 sheets will not dry instantly which means that it is advisable to remove them to prevent kinking.

The print quality is more than decent thanks to Epson’s PrecisionCore technology. Smaller ink drops meant  crisp black text without perceptible smudges. Obviously, paper quality will play a role, especially when printing full colour pages.

Even there, there was no banding or artefacts in lighter colours on our office quality 80gsm paper. Colours were punchier, more vibrant and had more oomph compared to the equivalent colour laser print. Note that the WF-7210DTW can also do borderless printing although we recommend using higher quality, heavier pages.

Competition

As expected,  a set of original ink cartridges is relatively onerous at just under £45 (or 3.3p per page). Opt for the XXL/XL cartridges and you’d be paying almost as much as the printer itself at around £118 (or less than 2p per page).

All these prices are RRP though which means that there’s some leeway for some serious savings. That’s, according to Epson, up to 50 percent lower compete to competitors’ laser models.

Altogether, the Epson WorkForce WF-7210DTW is a capable large-format colour printer that will be a valuable addition to any small business. It is affordable, has low running costs and three year warranty on site.

The problem though is that the competition is ferocious at this end of the market especially when you factor special time-limited offers that vendors such as Brother, HP or Canon do to capture marketshare, a practice that’s prevalent primarily in the UK. 

The HP OfficeJet Pro 7730 Wide Format All-in-One Printer is available for £60 after a £40 cashback from online retailer Ebuyer. Its printing costs are more expensive, it doesn’t do NFC and duplex is limited to A4. On the other hand, it is half the price of the WF-7210DTW and includes a touchscreen display plus a scanner/copier/fax machine.

Slightly more onerous is the Brother MFC-J5330DW A3 Colour Multifunction Inkjet Printer, available from Printerland for £83.59 after a £50 cashback. Like the HP model above, it doesn’t do A3 duplex and no NFC but offers a colour display, a front USB (useful to print from a storage device) and includes scanning/copying/faxing capabilities.

And if you want to print large photo-quality posters, then check out the Canon Pixma IP8750. It is the only affordable A3 printer with a 6-colour system which will deliver a wider - and more granular - colour spectrum. At 155 (after a £35 cashback offer), it is dearer than the WF-7210DTW and has a smaller footprint as it comes with only one input tray. It doesn’t do auto-duplex and doesn’t have NFC as well. Clearly one more geared towards the creative type who wants more natural, photo-lab quality prints.

• We've also highlighted the best all-in-one printers

The Epson EcoTank ET-7750 multi-function printer sits at the top of the EcoTank product tree and although price is alarming, this machine is a far cry from the disappointing Epson ET-4500.

The five-colour refillable ink tank system is a huge improvement in image quality thanks to the addition of a dedicated photo black pigment ink, and the build quality is streets ahead. This machine can also handle A3/tabloid-sized paper and boasts fast duplex print speeds and high-resolution photo printing.

But the attention grabbing feature that’s plastered all over the box and brochure is the fact that includes enough ink in the ten bundled bottles to print 3,600 photos. That’s 10x15cm photo paper, not A4, but it’s still way more than any other inkjet can offer.   

Design

Epson’s EcoTank printers are a little larger than their cartridge-based equivalents and that’s especially true when you compare the ET-7750 with the lozenge-shaped XP-960, which can also handle A3 paper. The ink tanks themselves bulge from the front panel whereas they used to appear at the rear on earlier models and there’s something satisfying about being able to see how much ink you have remaining.

Waiting for a cartridge itself to tell you when it needs replacing can leave you dry, or suspicious that you’re spending more than you are actually using. The refueling system itself is well designed with bottles that correspond only with the correct colour tank, so you cannot pour the wrong one, while an automatic shut-off valve prevents you from overfilling the tanks.

With all the flaps and trays pushed in, the ET-7750 is compact enough, but the various extending trays feel flimsy and one can only wonder how long the many moving plastic parts will last. 

The 2.7-inch (6.8cm) display is smaller than that of the XP-90 and not touchscreen, but it is easy enough to read on its tilting flap. You have to raise the flap and extend the front delivery tray to print anything, which extends the footprint of this printer somewhat. 

We were happy to find an SD card slot alongside the front USB port and a square USB input beside the Ethernet port at the rear, although the package doesn’t include a USB data cable, sadly. 

Features

The Epson EcoTank ET-7750 is a 3-in-1 multifunction device, so that means it can print, scan and photocopy, but not fax. Does anyone still do that? And being a premium model, it offers key features such as duplex printing. Most notable though, is the EcoTank system that replaces sealed cartridges with compartments you fill with ink from a bottle.

5 bottles of ink are included in the box, which Epson reckons might last you for up to two years, or 2,300 photos, or 9,300 black and white pages. Each additional 140ml colour ink bottle costs $13.99 (£11.99/AU$22.99).

There are three input paper trays, one that will accept one hundred sheets of plain paper and another for envelopes and photo paper, or a tray that allows you to print directly onto printable compact discs.

The rear tray is able to cope with A3 or tabloid-sized paper, which puts the ET-7750 in a very useful category. It’s worth noting that while it can print colour documents at that size, it cannot print photos onto glossy A3 paper and the scanner bed is smaller than A3 too.

You can scan up to A4-sized documents at 1,200 x 2,400 dpi. That’s a reasonable resolution for most purposes, but it’s half as much as the more affordable Epson XP-960. 

We recorded print speeds in line with Epson’s claimed 28ppm for basic mono printing and while photo printing is slow, it is very impressive. There’s no NFC for one-touch communication with a mobile device, but the printer did connect readily enough using the office Wi-Fi network and via Wi-Fi Direct. 

Epson’s Windows software comes in the box and the Epson iConnect app is a free download for Android/Apple devices. It’s not an especially advanced app and doesn’t, for instance, join your printer with your Wi-Fi network for you at the installation stage.

Since launch, Epson has also come out with a handful of new drivers that should mean your scanning and printing experience is as smooth as possible.

Setup and operation

The user manual in this case is a mere leaflet, which is always a good sign. All you really need is the mobile app in order to follow the setup procedure and get the Epson EcoTank ET-7750 online and calibrated. Four test sheets are churned out for your approval, so it’s just as well you have so much ink included. Disappointingly, the app does not log the printer with your Wi-Fi network, so you have to type in your password via the cramped LCD and the buttons beside it. This makes the setup procedure rather longer than it needs to be. 

Filling the ink tanks, when prompted, is rather fun. The tops of the bottles have specific shapes so you can’t pour the cyan into the magenta tank for example. Presumably that would have caused a real headache. What’s more, they automatically stop dispensing ink when the tank is full, so you can simply invert the bottle with no fear of it running over. We put down newspaper for this job, but didn’t spill a drop and we needn’t have worn the included rubber gloves. 

In operation, the Epson is logical and easy to use, especially via the Epson iConnect app and it prints fairly quietly at 37dB when using photo paper.

Performance

The Epson EcoTank ET-7750 passed all of our tests easily and although it would occasionally spit out two pieces of photo paper at the same time, the quality of every print was high. 

Very small text was always clearly legible, while larger letters appeared well defined and consistent. Laser printers tend to manage finer lines, but there was certainly no smearing, or over inking going on.

The four dyes are applied evenly and quickly to produce vivid colour documents on up to A3 sized paper in moments. But the Epson EcoTank ET-7750 is most impressive when turning out photos onto glossy photo paper at their highest quality. The amount of detail on show is remarkable and the advantage of using a separate photo black pigment in addition to the black dye is apparent in every shot. 

It’s fairly fast too, with print speeds that measure up to Epson’s quoted 5.5 pages per minute for mono duplex printing, or possibly 28ppm when flat out. It’s not as fast as a laser printer, nor is it the fastest inkjet, and with the paper tray limited to one hundred sheets, it cannot compete with a Xerox machine for efficiency. It performed reliably in the test however, and it certainly didn’t run out of ink.

Final verdict

The potential savings that can be made with the latest iteration of Epson’s EcoTank system easily outweigh that hefty initial outlay. By any measurement, it works out far less expensive than cartridges, while the five-colour system works especially well with photos on photo paper. 

Mono duplex printing is fairly fast and reliable on A4 paper, but don’t forget that you can also A3-sized documents in colour, not to mention envelopes and CD labels.

There’s denying that at a recommended retail price of $649.99 (£699.99/AU$999.00), this is an expensive printer and it’s a pity you don’t have the option of buying a bundle with only one set of refills for less. Given the price and the large capacity of the ink tanks, it only really makes sense if you know you will be doing quite a lot of printing.   And given the high price, it’s a pity there’s no NFC connectivity, a higher scanning resolution, A3 photo printing, or at least a USB data cable in the box.   

Epson’s EcoTank system has come a long way since the clunky Epson ET-4500 and the range-topping EcoTank ET-7750 feels and prints like a premium inkjet machine. Photos on glossy photo paper evidently benefit from the fifth photo black pigment.

If you can get past that prohibitive initial cost, this ink system really does work out far more cost effective than any cartridge-based system. With rapid duplex mono printing and the ability to handle A3 paper, this multifunction model is something of an all-rounder. Given that high cost, however, and the high capacity of the ink tanks, it makes more sense in an office that prints in colour often.    

• We've also highlighted the best all-in-one printers in this roundup

Ever since TVs went supersize the projector-makers have been patiently waiting their turn for mainstream glory, but there have always been two perceived dealbreakers: projectors don’t have built-in speakers and they’re not bright enough to be used in the day. 

Cue the Epson Home Cinema 3800 (in the US market) or EH-TW7100 (in the UK market and worldwide) projector, which is a member of Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD Series of pseudo-4K projectors. 

Brighter and with much more contrast than its sibling, the Epson Home Cinema 3200/EH-TW7000, is this projector up to task of supersizing movies in superior quality? You better believe it is. 

Price and release date

The Epson Home Cinema 3800 / EH-TW7100 was released in late 2019 and is available now for $1,700/£1,700. That price puts it on par with other faux-4K projectors on the market, and way less than true 4K models. 

Design and features

Like all affordable 4K-capable projectors, the shiny white 3800/EH-TW7100 is a pixel-shifter. The ‘4K enhancement’ technique, called ‘E-shift’ by Epson, works thus: a 4K image is split into two Full HD images, with each one projected side-by-side to create an ‘enhanced’ 4K image. However, despite not being a native 4K creature, the 3800/EH-TW7100 has plenty of other features to tempt.

Chief of which is its native brightness. At 3,000 lumens, a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 and 10-bit colour processing, it ought to be able to create a likeable image in any ambient light conditions, and at any time of day. 

Based around Epson's own 3LCD engine, the 3800/EH-TW7100 is also capable of projecting in sizes from 40-inches to up to 500-inches in diameter, which is … way too big. 

However, perhaps the real stroke of genius is that the 3800/EH-TW7100 has two audio options; its own built-in 10W stereo speakers mounted on the back of the chassis near the ins and outs, and Bluetooth for streaming audio to an external speaker or soundbar. Ins and outs comprise two HDMI inputs, two USB ports, a 3.5mm stereo mini jack audio output to take sound to a ‘proper’ sound system, a 12V trigger and RS232C for attaching the 3800/EH-TW7100 to a home control system.

As well as 4K, the projector offers HDR10, HLG and even both flavors of 3D (if you’ve still got any such ambitions), and its lamp is rated at 5,000 hours in its least brightest mode. 

Setup

Measuring 410‎x310x157 mm and weighing 6.9kg, the 3800/EH-TW7100 is not exactly travel-friendly, though it’s easy enough to fetch from a cupboard for special occasions. Since the stereo speakers are mounted on the rear, we’re talking a coffee table kinda setup for the 3800/EH-TW7100, where its curved corners create a look that’s just about soft enough, design-wise. 

Setup with our 80-inch test screen was straightforward enough, with the 3800/EH-TW7100’s 1.62 optical zoom creating a crisp image from around 2m from the screen. Something we love about some Epson projectors – including the 3800/EH-TW7100 – are the manual lens shift levers (vertical 60% and horizontal 24%) that make positioning a dead-on image that much easier. 

The remote control is standard Epson issue, with large, well-labelled buttons and a useful orange backlight. One button toggles through its Dynamic, Bright Cinema, Natural and Cinema picture presets, though there are exhaustive manual tweaks to cycle through if that’s your thing. 

Performance

If you’re obsessed with the 4K HDR footage being pumped out by the likes of Netflix, the 3800/EH-TW7100 will only half impress you. Its 4K pixel-shifting is a great workaround. No, it doesn’t look quite as sharp as true 4K, but almost no-one can afford a true 4K projector, so that’s a moot point. The Irishman on Netflix looked sharp enough for us at 80-inches, with the extra detail (compared to Full HD) introducing an extra dose of realism. 

The 3800/EH-TW7100 can be fed a diet of 4K HDR material from either an Ultra HD Blu-ray player or from smart sticks like Chromecast/Amazon Fire TV Stick/Roku/Now TV, and though it copes well with the uptick in dynamic range, it’s not really built for such exquisiteness. With HDR engaged it produces ultra-colourful, crisp and clean images from both dark and bright scenes, but don’t expect reference-quality HDR. 

That said, colours in The Irishman consistently impressed, and dark, dingy scenes were always clear and involving. Absolute top-grade black levels and ultra-fine shadow detailing are not quite in the gift of the 3800/EH-TW7100, but its dynamic iris gets it pretty close – and certainly close enough for almost all viewers. 

The presets generally impress. If you’re watching in daylight, head straight for the ‘Bright Cinema’ setting. In a near-blackout, ‘Cinema’ has the most pleasing look out of the box, though that will depend on your own tastes. Just avoid ‘Dynamic Cinema’; as always, this very bright mode over-saturates and generally degrades the image. 

There’s also a frame interpolation option in the onscreen menus that’s designed to take the motion judder out of pans on TV, and add some fluidity to sports, though sadly it doesn’t apply to 4K footage. In our test it worked well, though it’s best to keep it on a relatively weak setting to avoid any video nasties.

Audio

Until recently projectors didn’t have speakers, but though they’ve quickly become standard, the 3800/EH-TW7100 is one of few around with actually very impressive speakers. Sitting behind a projector to watch a movie – and getting your audio from the projector’s rear instead of from either side of the screen – is always a little challenging, but the 3800/EH-TW7100’s stereo speakers at least have some noticeable stereo separation. 

If you’ve got a high octane movie soundtrack pumping, don’t expect too much, but it’s absolutely fine, for TV, sports and games (and most movies – it worked well for the dialogue-heavy The Irishman). The provision of that Bluetooth streaming options means that the 3800/EH-TW7100 can be relatively easily slotted into a living room’s existing home entertainment system, or even used with a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones (it even boasts the aptX HD codec for hi-res wireless transmission). 

Crucially for a projector that claims to be effective during daylight, the 3800/EH-TW7100 goes bright enough without turning-up the fan noise to intolerable levels.Though rated at 31 dB and as low as 20 dB in eco mode, during our tests the 3800/EH-TW7100 registered above 50db when the bulb was on maximum brightness. However, this is a quiet projector and on the ‘Cinema’ mode its noise was not noticeable.

Final verdict

Image-wise the 3800/EH-TW7100 is not a bleeding-edge projector, so don’t expect absolute top-draw detail, black levels and best-ever HDR, but feed it a varied diet – from Full HD to 4K – and it impresses across the board. Add some impressive built-in speakers and a tempting option to stream audio to a soundbar over Bluetooth, and the 3800/EH-TW7100 looks like a good value option for the living room.  

• Looking for other options? Don't miss our list of the best projectors

Epson has expanded its EcoTank offerings to include a range of four mono printers aimed at the SOHO (small office, home office) sector. The multifunction ET-M2140, pitched at around £300 (about US$349, AU$605), slots in towards the top of the range and includes a scanner for photocopying and an auto duplex mode.

Other than those key features, it’s a very simple, stripped down device that justifies its price tag by including two big bottles of black ink in the box. Combined with a print speed of 20ppm (pages per minute), this cartridge-free inkjet can churn pages as quickly and economically as a laser. But without Wi-Fi, or an ADF (automatic document feeder), or even an Ethernet port, can it really serve a small office?

Design and build

The Epson EcoTank ET-M2140’s form factor, with its floating scanner bed, is slightly unusual, and the advantage is that it can collect more paper in its top tray than would be possible with a front-firing tray: 100 sheets to be precise, with room for 250 sheets in the main input tray.

Unlike most Epson printers, the paper is pulled forwards and rolls away from you into the tray. Epson won a Red Dot design award for its mono printers and there is something pleasing about its simple styling.

The color display is mounted on top, which is perhaps more convenient to access, although it’s actually quite hard to see because the screen is so reflective and it’s literally the size of a postage stamp. Alongside it are your controls and at the side of the unit is the only USB port.

The ink reservoir is visible through a window at the front of the device and above it is a flap hiding the nozzle into which you pour the ink. If this sounds potentially messy, it really isn’t thanks to a well-designed nozzle and mechanism.

Features and specifications

As a three-in-one mono device, the Epson EcoTank ET-M2140 is able to print, scan and photocopy black and white pages. It can also print on both sides of the paper automatically and handle envelopes of all sizes. The heaviest paper it can print on is 256g/m2.

It has some impressive specifications too, with a quoted print speed of 20ppm and a first page out time of six seconds. The paper tray has a reasonable capacity at 250 sheets, while the out tray has an above average 100 sheets.

This device’s unique selling point, however, has to be its high print yield. With two bottles of black pigment ink in the box, it can print up to 11,000 pages – and a new bottle costs little more than your average inkjet cartridge at around £13 (US$15, AU$26). That’s probably the lowest per page running cost we’ve come across.

There are also a lot of features notable by their absence. For a start, there’s no Wi-Fi or Ethernet connectivity, which means the only way to print is by plugging in a USB cable. And by the way, there’s no USB cable in the box, so you won’t be printing anything until you find one. There’s not even a front USB port for printing directly from a flash drive.

Furthermore, there is no ADF, no fax facility, no touchscreen interface, no security features and no NFC. If you need to do anything more than print and scan mono pages, then you should look for a different device.

Setup and operation

Setting up the Epson EcoTank ET-M2140 is made easy by the on-screen prompts and very clear printed instructions. With no Wi-Fi to worry about, there’s not much to do besides wait 10 minutes for the printer to initialize and fill the ink reservoir from one of the two ink bottles provided.

This is an easy and drip-free procedure because the nozzle of the bottle will only open when it is inverted and fitting snugly in the printer. You can see the printer’s ink level rise as the bottle empties.

Like most Epson inkjet printers, this one will print five test pages in order to check the nozzle alignment. Finally, you’ll need to buy a USB type-A to type-B data cable because there is no other way of connecting to the device.

In operation, the EcoTank ET-M2140 is easy to use despite the very small display. It reacts promptly to button presses and prints quite quickly from standby – just bear in mind that the device is rather noisy when printing.

Loading the front paper tray is easy, but it’s difficult to load envelopes into the rear tray without going behind the machine, or turning the printer around. With no internet connection of any kind, there is of course no iOS or Android app support either, so tasks such as printing from a mobile, or scanning to the cloud, are just not possible.

Performance

The Epson EcoTank ET-M2140 performed consistently well in our tests without any misprints or paper jams. And thanks to a fairly high print resolution of 1200 x 2400 using Epson’s PrecisionCore printhead, it produced very sharp pages. Text always appears crisp and well-contained even at very small point sizes. When compared directly with laser printed letters under a microscope, you’ll see that they’re slightly more frayed at the edges, but in terms of overall quality, the Epson is impressive.

It prints as quickly as a laser printer too. Epson claims it can reach 30ppm in draft mode, and although we didn’t achieve anything like that speed, it did clock in at around 20ppm, which is fast enough. It prints rather slower in fine mode, and the print rate drops to just 9ppm in auto duplex mode. Considering its prompt FPOT (first page out time) we can conclude that this is a fairly fast printer overall.

Where this inkjet surpasses most laser printers is in its ability to turn out a decent black and photograph. Although the Epson EcoTank ET-M2140 is not a photo printer and doesn’t have a setting for glossy photo paper, it will deliver a detailed greyscale image on heavy paper with very consistent matt black shading. The ink used here is pigment, rather than dye-based, which tends to give you a more durable print that’s less likely to smudge.

The A4-sized scanner has the same resolution which means that in theory you can make photocopies of the same quality. In fact they tend to look a little lighter and slightly less well-defined. On the whole, though, the scanner is quick and sharp, and photocopies are accurate enough.

Final verdict

In terms of speed and economy, the Epson EcoTank ET-M2140 is hard to beat and despite the remarkably low per page cost, the print quality is perfectly adequate. With a decent scanner attached, this multifunction device could serve a single user very well. However, the lack of Wi-Fi or even an Ethernet port seriously limits its functionality.

• We've highlighted the best printers of 2020

Switching your office printer could be the key not just to saving money, but also saving the planet, a report has claimed.

New research from Epson has claimed that changing to a more up to date printer alternative could have huge benefits both in terms of your workplace efficiency and in the impact on the planet.

The company found that moving from laser printing to inkjet technology could save European corporations over a billion Kwh in energy consumption, cut costs by €134 million and reduce CO2 emissions by 409 million KGs each year.

• Check out our list of the best wireless printers on the market
• Here's our list of the best all-in-one printers around
• We've built a list of the best laser printers of 2020

Efficient

Epson says that 2020 could be a "pivotal year" when it comes to businesses ensuring they are up to date with the latest environmental regulations, and its inkjet technology could play a huge role in that. 

Its report found that the annual total CO2 savings that could be achieved if all European businesses switched to Epson business inkjet technology is equivalent to that absorbed by 18 million trees in a year.

This is without taking into consideration how many trees could actually be saved from be turned into printer paper thanks to more efficient printing process - with that amount of energy saved being enough to power around 1.2 million electric cars for a year.

However Epson also found that many businesses are unable to upgrade to more efficient technology due to budgetary restrictions. This is despite the need to invest in new technology being ranked as the highest priority pressures being placed on IT managers by their corporate bosses.

“Making a small change to an often-overlooked piece of equipment could have substantial ecological and economic results, advantages enabled by our heat-free printing technology," Darren Phelps, VP of business at Epson Europe, said.

“A simple switch in technology can have significant human benefits. In corporations, resulting savings generated from our innovations are being used to enhance employee and customer experiences, help drive sales and enable new, smarter ways of working.”

• If you are looking to buy a new office printer - check out our list of the best printers 2020: inkjet, color, mono and laser printers

Welcome to our pick of the best Epson printers in 2019. Whether you’re seeking a printer for your bedroom, home or work office, Epson offers a wide variety of options - from small and convenient portables to laser printing workhorses and affordable inkjets.

Not only have we listed the very best Epson printers, we’ve also included our own price comparison tool, so you’ll get the best recommendations for the best prices as well, ensuring you’ll get an excellent deal.

Epson’s ET-7750 won’t ‘phone home’ (it doesn’t have fax capabilities for a start), but it’s one of the more economic options out there for printing A3. While the printer itself isn’t cheap, its ink bottles are affordable and last for a long time - enough for 3,400 photos - which reduces operating costs over time. Photos look great thanks to its five-color refillable ink tank system, which offers a huge improvement in image quality versus its predecessor, the ET-4500. Drawbacks include its small non-touchscreen, lack of an automatic document feeder (ADF) and limited paper tray capacity.

We have few gripes with the WorkForce Pro, which sports an impressive feature set and offers exceptional value. This compact model prints in color and mono with impressive results, and it boasts a myriad of connectivity options including USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, Ethernet and even NFC, which is lacking in some rivals in its price category. Handily, its ADF supports automatic scanning of both sides. Only its output tray, which holds half the amount of sheets than certain rivals in its class, and lack of optional paper trays (for mixed paper size printing) are cons worth mentioning.

The WorkForce WF-2510WF users Epson’s fast drying DURABrite Ultra Ink, which lets businesses or home office users print documents without having to wait for ink to dry before picking them up. Better yet, its cartridges are available in XL size which reduces printing costs in the long run. This laser model also sports wireless connectivity allowing documents to be printed from smartphones and tablet PCs. On the downside, its 100-sheet rear paper tray is a little on the cramped side.

Hats off to Epson for managing to eke professional-looking photos out of the XP-15000, a consumer-grade model that does a great impression of a commercial printer. It's a feat the company has achieved through the use of its Claria Ultra HD inks and the XP-15000's 180 nozzles, which combine to produce strikingly vibrant color photo prints and sharp greyscale images with a max resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi. The unit is compact for a wide-format inkjet printer, and it's compatible with various mobile printing services including Epson Connect Solutions, Epson Remote Print, Apple AirPrint, and Google Cloud Print.

If you're seeking the absolute best bang for buck when it comes to quality printing in black-and-white, this Epson EcoTank model demands your attention. It ships with a supersized ink tank that includes enough ink to print up to 6,000 pages, and when that runs out Epson reckons that you can save up to 75% the cost of replacing mono laser toner. When it comes to quality, you would be forgiven for thinking the ET-M1170 is a laser model, such is the crispness of the black text and greyscale photos it can print.

There's a lot to like about the Epson WorkForce WF-7210DTW. Despite being one of the more affordable A3 inkjet printers around, it consistently produces high-quality output thanks to Epson's PrecisionCore technology. Blacks are crisp, and photos are as good as could be expected at this price range. It's not short on connectivity options either, with USB, Ethernet, NFC and wireless connectivity (via Epson Connect) for direct and remote printing. If we’re being picky, its LCD display is a touch on the small side.

This is a compact printer that produces pleasingly high-quality photos. Similarly to its wide-format printers, Epson twins the model with its with premium Claria ink cartridges to print stunning color photos. On the flip side, they as expensive as they are impressive and offset the XP-6100's initial affordability. Once in operation the XP-6100 prints quickly and can handle a variety of media, from glossy A4 paper to envelopes. Its connectivity options include Wi-Fi Direct, AirPrint, in addition to an SD card reader and touchscreen that's bigger than most.

A few years after release, the PictureMate PM-400 remains a charming option that's capable of printing up to 5760 x 1440 dpi photos (sized 4-by-6 and 5-by-7) of decent quality. It's by no means a basic model, featuring connectivity options such as Wi-Fi Direct and Apple AirPrint for easy printing from smartphones and tablets. And if you prefer to adjust printer settings directly from the machine, its roomy 2.7-inch LCD display makes for easy operation. Better yet, when it comes to longevity, the PM400's single ink tank is huge and runs for ages before needing to be replenished.

The SureColor SC-P600 should be at the top of any enthusiast or professional photographer's Wishlist. It's solidly built and easy to use, and you'll be impressed with its incredible print quality. On the flip side, it's not the most affordable to run over time and is an expensive option for occasional users who may be better served using online services. If you're planning on selling your work, that would at least mitigate the expense. Either way, the SC-P600 will impress enthusiasts and professionals alike.

This Epson model will appeal to certain businesses who prioritise low running costs and decent print quality over features such as a large paper capacity tray, automatic duplex scanning or fax support. A feature of Epson's EcoTank range, the ET-3760 comes with supersized ink tanks which are easy to refill and last for two years without needing to be replenished. The ET-3760’s 2.4-inch display is a little cramped and only good for a quick glance at ink levels - you'll want to log into the printer's settings portal to print off usage reports and perform other tasks.

Over in the US, a class action lawsuit has been levelled at Epson alleging that the manufacturer blocked the use of third-party ink cartridges in some of its printers.

The allegation runs that this was achieved via a firmware update which made some Epson printers capable of detecting when such third-party cartridges were being used, and essentially preventing any printing if that was the case (with an error stating that the printer cannot recognize the cartridge – an image of which is provided).

• 3D printers could make you seriously ill
• Here are the best printers for home use
• Best photo printers for your digital photos

As spotted by The Register, the lawsuit filed in California accuses Epson of “anti-competitive, unfair, fraudulent and oppressive and illegal conduct”.

The claim further runs that Epson did not inform owners of printers that this particular firmware update would instigate these measures, and that “for many users, these software updates effectively ruined their printers”. Or indeed forced them to buy more expensive official Epson ink cartridges…

Epson printers which didn’t apply this firmware update can still run third-party ink cartridges, according to the lawsuit.

Several plaintiffs are named in the suit who own Epson WorkForce WF-3640 and Epson XP-830 printers.

Printing money

It’s no secret that in the world of printers, the profit lies in ongoing ink sales, and indeed often manufacturers sell the devices themselves very cheaply in the knowledge that they’ll be making the real money in long-term running costs. But not, of course, if owners are buying their ink cartridges from elsewhere…

The suit goes to pains to point out that third-party ink cartridges cost “substantially less”, as anyone who has ever used a printer will doubtless be aware of.

Naturally, printer makers argue that the potentially dubious quality of third-party ink – especially very cheap cartridges – can result in lower quality printing, and possibly even damage to your device.

• Best all-in-one printers of 2019: top printer and scanner devices

Epson’s smallest printer comes with inbuilt Wi-Fi and a lithium-ion battery that you can charge over USB for true portability. As a member of Epson’s WorkForce line, it’s aimed at the business user and in this case, the road warrior, if such a thing still exists. It can handle paper sizes from A4 to a DL envelope and can also print on glossy photo paper. At a top speed of 7ppm, it doesn’t claim to print quickly, but it does promise decent print quality thanks to a respectably high print resolution of 5,760 x 1,440. The use of pigment ink as opposed to dye ink also helps by delivering more durable, smudge-resistant pages. 

The Epson WorkForce WF-110 replaces the almost identical WF-100, but comes in at the lower price point of $299 (£199 or AU$362). The only new feature for the WF-110 is the introduction of an external companion battery (sold separately to the printer) extending its possible print run to 360 pages on a single charge, which would be 410 pages in total.

Design and build

The Epson WorkForce WF-110 is built for the road and it’s the smallest and lightest battery-powered inkjet printer we have come across. It’s way bigger than thermal tech printers like the pocket-sized Brother PocketJet PJ-773, but this is essentially a fully-featured A4 colour printer that has been shrunk to the size of handbag. 

It’s small enough to slip inside a briefcase and it feels strong enough to survive life on the road. With its flap closed there are no projecting parts that might snap off and the plastic casing is textured so it’s less likely to slip out of your hand, or show scratches. Unfasten the front flap and it hinges right back to form the vertical paper input tray. You can fit 20 sheets of blank paper in this tray and the printed pages will be passed straight out through a slot at the front. There’s no paper out tray, so make sure you place the printer on a clean table.

Apart from the power and battery power indicator LEDs, all of the controls and the display are hidden and protected by that articulated flap. The display is no bigger than a postage stamp, but it’s full colour and very informative. It’s not a touchscreen, so you’ll need to use the cursor buttons beside it to select settings and input your Wi-Fi password. To insert or access the inkjet print heads, you simply lift up the inner flap like a car bonnet. 

There are only two sockets located at the left hand side and they are for the power adapter and a micro USB cable. The USB cable can transfer data and recharge the battery when you don’t have a mains power connection and the cable is included in the box. It’s worth noting that the battery charges in 2.5 hours through the mains and 10 hours over USB. What you won’t find, and which would have been useful, is a memory slot or a USB port for a flash memory drive.

Features and specifications

Because the Epson WorkForce WF-110 is essentially a miniaturised colour inkjet printer, it offers more-or-less the same functionality as a full-size model. You can print via USB, Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Direct in mono or colour. You can print on a variety of media including envelopes, A4 to A6-size plain paper and glossy photo paper of varying formats. It has a 3.7cm display for setting the paper type and checking ink levels and it has a paper-in tray that can hold 20 sheets of paper. 

The one thing portable printers cannot seem to crack is duplex printing. You’ll have to turn the paper over yourself if you want to print on both sides of the page. There are a few other features missing too. There’s no NFC connectivity for instance and no ports for an SD Card, or USB thumb drive. There’s no touchscreen either and it cannot print onto speciality media such as card, or parcel label sheets. 

It is able to print at a the surprisingly high resolution of 5,760 x 1,440 using a Micro Piezo print head fitted with 180 nozzles for black ink and another 59 nozzles per colour. It will not print quickly though. Seven pages per minute is the quoted page rate in mono and that drops to 4ppm for colour. When you’re using the battery that print rate halves again to just 2ppm for colour pages. 

When you download the free Epson iPrint companion app you’ll also be able to talk to your printer. If you allow voice-activated commands via the app’s menu you can tell Siri, or Google Assistant to do things like ‘print the last photo I took, or ‘show me my printer’s ink levels.’

Setup and operation

The setup instructions are rather long-winded because they combine several languages on the same page, but thankfully, you probably won’t need them. Setup is a simple case of plugging in, turning on and inserting the inkjet cartridges (in that order). Persuading the printer to join our Wi-Fi network took a little longer because inputting the password via the tiny touchscreen is rather fiddly. Also, the drivers for this printer were not pre-installed on our MacBook, which meant downloading them from the Epson website.

Once you’re online and loaded with paper, using the Epson WorkForce WF-110 is very easy, thanks to the tiny, but informative colour display. Whenever you insert new paper, the display prompts you to select the appropriate media from a list. Thick envelopes didn’t cause a problem for the WF-110 and we experienced no paper jams or creased pages during the test. When we accessed it wirelessly from a laptop and a mobile device, the printer woke up quickly, even though it prints slowly.

Performance

On the whole, we were very impressed by the clarity and precision of the test pages turned out by the Epson WorkForce WF-110. Mono text in particular appears to be uncompromised by the miniaturisation of this inkjet. Even at very small point sizes, every character appears dark and well delineated. With graphics and photos too, the level of detail is impressive for a portable printer. When it comes to filling in block colour, however, the results are less consistent and individual colours are not as bright or vivid as other inkjets.

The use of pigment ink rather than dye makes printed pages more durable and less likely to smudge, which is an advantage on the road, but it does nothing to improve colour fidelity in photographs. As such, photos on photo paper appear sharp, but they also tend to have too much magenta and lack the finish achieved by Epson’s photo printers.

The other thing you’ll notice is how slowly this printer operates, especially when relying on battery power. Even the top speed of 7ppm for mono pages is painful to watch, and with auto duplex printing not an option, we wouldn’t recommend this machine for printing out long documents. You should also consider that the tiny inkjet cartridges are relatively expensive, so you’re per page cost is also going to be considerably higher than regular-sized model.

Final verdict

Given its ability to print so reliably and with such detail and clarity, we would certainly recommend the Epson WorkForce WF-110 to anyone who needs to print documents where there might not be a power source. It’s small enough to slip in a briefcase and the fact you can charge the battery over USB is a plus point. However, if you were simply hoping to downsize your office printer, then think again. The painfully slow print rate and expensive per-page cost of this portable printer means it cannot compete with a small desktop inkjet. 

• We've also highlighted the best portable printers of 2019

Epson has introduced a highly portable printer which is the smallest in the world.

This ultra-light device weighs 1.59kg and can fit into your hand luggage or briefcase, and be taken on your travels so you can print wherever you may roam.

The WorkForce WF-110 has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery which can be charged via USB or mains power. Epson promises long-lasting battery life, with the possibility to add an optional external battery for extra longevity on the go (bringing the weight up to 2.04kg for the printer and additional battery).

• 3D printers could make you seriously ill
• Here are the best printers for home use
• These are the best photo printers of 2019

Naturally, as well as connecting via a USB cable, the WF-110 offers wireless connectivity including Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, so it can be easily hooked up to a smartphone or tablet for printing.

The printer also has a 1.4-inch color LCD and a small control panel next to it.

Print performance

Epson’s compact device is capable of printing documents and borderless 4-inch x 6-inch photos, with a print speed of 6.7 pages per minute for black and white documents, and 3.8 ppm for color (with instant-dry inks).

Additional benefits include voice-activated printing via your digital assistant, with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri supported.

Epson’s WorkForce WF-110 is on sale now at major retailers in the US (and from Epson direct) priced at $299.99.

• Check out the best portable printers of 2019

Epson has revealed a pair of new wide-format printers which the company claims are its most advanced to date, and have been produced with customer feedback from previous models firmly in mind.

The Epson SureColor P-Series printers in question are the P7570, a 24-inch wide-format printer, along with the 44-inch P9570, and both benefit from a new 2.6-inch PrecisionCore MicroTFP printhead.

• 3D printers could make you seriously ill
• Here are the best printers for home use
• And the best wide-format printers for every budget

Furthermore, both machines use Epson’s UltraChrome PRO12 12-color pigment ink for a wide color gamut, and ‘outstanding’ quality prints are promised with high levels of color accuracy and vividness.

Not only do you get good results from these printers, but Epson also promises that prints will be delivered quickly, with these P-Series models being up to 2.4x faster than their predecessors.

Back in black

The manufacturer also notes that these printers have dedicated nozzles for Matte and Photo black ink, meaning no ink switching is needed, and a Black Enhanced Overcoat printing mode is present offering ‘excellent’ levels of black density, as well as improved sharpness.

Epson has provided a 4.3-inch color touchscreen control panel which is fully customizable to the user’s preferences, too.

Henry Wilhelm, director of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research, commented on testing Epson’s new printers and inks: “Preliminary data for the Epson 12-color UltraChrome PRO12 pigment inks in the new SureColor P7570 and P9570 create stunning museum quality prints with WIR Display Permanence Ratings that will equal or exceed the ratings achieved by the current UltraChrome HDX inks of up to 200 years for color prints and up to 400 years for B&W.”

The SureColor P7570 and P9570 Standard Edition printers are expected to go on sale in December with a retail price of around $4,695 and $6,595 respectively, which includes a one-year Epson Preferred warranty.

• Best all-in-one printers of 2019: top printer and scanner devices

Let's clear something up: Despite the 4010 (as it's known in the U.S.) and EH-TW7400 (for the rest of the world) being in Epson's PRO-UHD line-up, it's not actually a native 4K projector. 

That may a bit disappointing if you're looking to upgrade from a full HD projector, but the only brands currently selling projectors with native 4K pixel counts for regular-ish folk are Sony and JVC. That means you'll largely be comparing faux-4K projectors like the Epson 4010 to the likes of the BenQ HT2550 or TK800, and Optoma UHD60.

What makes them all faux-4K? Basically it comes down to a pixel-shifting technique that splits 4K images into two before alternately projecting them side-by-side to create the '4K enhancement' look despite the projector having only a Full HD chipset. 

It's a workaround to using a full 4K panel, for sure, but it can look exquisite when done properly. And luckily, that's more-or-less what Epson has achieved on the 4010/EH-TW7400.

Now selling for $1,799.99 (£1,799.99), this very large projector is based around Epson's own 3LCD engine and it deals in 4K, HDR 10, 3D, it has an electronic lens, an auto-focus system, and it can reach 2,400 lumens brightness. 

But is faux-4K just as good as the real thing?

Design

The 4010/EH-TW7400 is massive and designed to stay put... just not on a flimsy table. We're talking a ceiling mount, or at least a big, heavy AV rack. 

Available in black or white, it measures 520‎x450x193 mm and weighs 11.2kg - it's one of the larger projectors in its class and looks like something out of an actual movie theater. 

The curved, rounded chassis lends a softer look for what could easily be an austere-looking machine, such is its size. However, the real design win is the sliding door lens cap, which auto-unfurls in two parts when the projector is activated, and vice versa when it's switched off.

Without Alexa or Google voice control offered by the likes of Optoma, it's left to a remote control to tweak the 4010/EH-TW7400. However, as well as being pleasingly large yet light, the buttons are logical and well laid out, as well as nicely backlit in orange upon any button press. However, you do need to press a specific button on the remote to wake the backlight, which slightly defeats the purpose. 

Setup

The 4010/EH-TW7400 proved a cinch to set-up with an 80-inch projector screen. Its 2.1x optical zoom and throw ratio of 1.35-2.84:1 will be overkill for most rooms going for something less than its maximum 300-inch image, but what we really liked was the powered focus. When used together with the powered the vertical (96%) and horizontal (47%) lens shift, it means you can sit down while you set-up, and do everything on the remote. Who said remote controls were dead?

Ins and outs are found within a deep canyon on the back, and include two HDMI inputs (though only one of them is HDCP 2.2 compliant for 4K support), a VGA in for hooking-up a PC, an RS-232C for merging it with a home entertainment control system (such as AMX, Crestron or Control4), and a USB 2.0 if you fancy adding an (optional) WiFi dongle. There's also a wired Ethernet LAN slot.

Once you've done the basics, there are some picture enhancements to pick through or ignore, as you see fit. 

Performance

Though it is hardly the kind of hub page found on most smart TVs, this projector is unusual in that its user interface has a dedicated homepage. However, instead of being with stuffed with apps, it merely provides panels for quickly choosing between sources and color modes. 

The latter is a straight fight between Dynamic, Bright Cinema, Natural, Cinema and Digital Cinema, the first two of which do pretty well out of the box in daylight. A quick blast of daytime TV revealed plenty of bright contrast-y color, with the Bright Cinema mode excelling in ambient light.

The 4010/EH-TW7400 has a frame interpolation mode, which inserts frames to make motion sequences and camera pans look smoother. Nice idea, but the drawback is that the more frames are inserted the smoother the action gets, but the more you'll see some fizzing, flashing and snapping around moving objects. 

It's presented here in three flavors – Low, Normal or High – and predictably it's the middle one that offers a good balance (the Low version isn't worth bothering with, and the High setting is almost unwatchable). Sadly, it doesn’t appear to work with live 4K TV broadcasts, which is a shame considering is sports-centric purpose. 

With the lights dimmed, it's the Cinema and Digital Cinema modes that get the most out of the 4010/EH-TW7400's native 200,000:1 contrast ratio. 

So how does it do with 4K sources? With its '4K enhancement' toolbox on its second most powerful setting, Solo: A Star Wars Story is draped in detail. As Han and Chewbacca fight on top of the coaxium-carrying train, there's plenty of detail in the peaks of Vandor, while in the lair of Dryden Vos, there are lots of vivid colors on show in the room, and plenty of convincing blacks and shadow detail. 

Detail is high despite the 4010/EH-TW7400 not being a native 4K projector, something that's more obvious if you take a step-down the video food chain and play a standards Blu-ray disc. Though WWII miniseries The Pacific is highly watchable, its Full HD images have a little less pizazz, with colors slightly muted and more uniform, and close-ups lacking the biting detail of 4K mode.

The 4010/EH-TW7400 is also able to deal with 3D Blu-ray discs, if anyone still plays them, though there are no 3D active shutter glasses in the box.

Though rated at 31 dB and as low as 20 dB in eco mode, during our tests the 4010/EH-TW7400 clocked-in at 44 dB in high brightness mode, and 44 dB in eco. However, to our ears, the 4010/EH-TW7400 was whisper-quiet in anything other than the high-power modes.

Final verdict

Are projectors the future, or the past? Some manufacturers are adding features like voice control, built-in speakers and streaming apps, clearly hoping that one day soon the projector can be a do-it-all hub to command the smart home. 

Epson clearly doesn't give a jot about any of that, and has instead produced a highly focused attempt at a home cinema projector that's adept only at creating clear, contrasty and colossal 4K Ultra HD images. 

It's not the greatest feature-set around – even Epson offers models with more bells and whistles (notably its step-up EH-TW9400, which adds Hybrid Log Gamma, 4K/60p HDR at 18Gbps, and Epson's 4K WiHD wireless transmitter), nor is as ultra-detailed as native 4K projectors – but the massive 4010/EH-TW7400's combination of must-have features and uncompromisingly cinematic images is impossible to argue with.  

• Want to keep looking? Check out our round-up of the best projectors