Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4020

Bottom Line

The Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4020 produces good-quality prints in a jiffy, and offers office-friendly features like duplex printing and wireless connectivity at a reasonable price.

Performance

Fast, quality prints. Professional reviewers and owners say the Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4020 is on par with or even better than color laser printers. It faces stiff competition from the HP Officejet Pro 8100 (*Est. $100) , another outstanding stand-alone inkjet; both score similarly nearly across the board. The 8100 also costs the same, but ships with full-capacity ink cartridges versus the WP-4020's low-capacity starter cartridges and has slightly lower ink costs, according to testing. It edges out the WP-4020 for the title of best printer for small and home offices, but either one could serve you well.

Among the WorkForce Pro WP-4020's virtues is that it's very fast, zipping out prints at a rated speed of up to 16 black-and-white pages per minute. Print quality is very good but not without some flaws, although PCMag.com says it's "easily good enough for most business purposes." While photo quality should meet the needs of business users, it may not be up to the standards set by photo professionals; you'd need to spend considerably more for a photo-oriented printer to clear that hurdle.

Owners largely seem pleased. "I get speed, duplex printing, economy and B&W (black-and-white) quality easily suitable for the office, with color adequate for business and casual home use, all in one device," writes one at Staples.com. On the downside, a handful of reviewers say their printers didn't work out of the box, and many say the startup ink cartridges are either empty or nearly empty on receipt.

Features and Design

Talk to me. The Epson WP-4020 doesn't have the broadest features lineup, but it does have a good assortment of useful extras. Like the competition, it supports USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, but you'll need to supply your own USB cord. You can print from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using AirPrint via Wi-Fi. It also supports Epson Connect email printing so you can email documents directly to the WP-4020 from any device, and is Google Cloud Print ready for easiest connectivity with that service, which allows direct printing from any device via the Internet.

In addition to its 250-page paper feed, the WorkForce Pro WP-4020 has an 80-page paper feed in the rear for envelopes, labels and card stock. Automatic two-sided printing helps reduce paper costs and enhance convenience, but some user reviews say this feature doesn't always work with some paper stocks. Other owners complain that the WP-4020 is too big for some offices and desks; it measures 18.2 by 16.5 by 11.2 inches.

Durability

Some initial problems. Reviewers don't offer much insight into the durability of the Epson WP-4020, but some user comments raise small concerns. Some find that the startup cartridges are empty or nearly so, and a handful of owners say they initially received printers that were duds.

On the other hand, ink consumption is fairly low and many users comment on the longevity of the available extra-capacity ink cartridges. "I printed almost a hundred pages, but the ink status on my computer drops only one step out of ten," says one at Staples.com.