- World''s Fastest 2-sided printing
- 250-sheet paper capacity
- 40% lower printing costs vs color laser
- Print and scan anywhere with Epson Connect
- 2.5-Inch LCD and touch panel
I tested the printer/scanner on a MacBook Pro running OS 10.8.2.
Unpacking and setup was straightforward. The printer came with everything needed except a USB cable (pretty standard practice these days). I installed the drivers off of the CD. You can also install them via the Internet. Not much else is installed, and the installer gives you control over what it puts on your computer.
The controls are fairly intuitive, but you navigate via arrows. I touch screen would have been better.
There are 4 ink cartridges, black, yellow, red, blue. They are all the same size, even the black. They snap in easily. They are very expensive. A new set of the standard "high capacity" cartridges will set you back about $60 for OEM. "Extra High-capacity" cost even more. Wow! They better last a long time.
Printing worked well. I tested printing via USB, via Wi-Fi, and via Airprint from my phone. All worked flawlessly. Print quality was excellent. Double sided printing worked well.
Photo printing on glossy paper produced sharp prints, although they seemed a little dark. This can be tweaked.
Scanning was where this printer falls short. All methods of scanning produced frequent hangs and connection problems. This was true even when scanning via USB. The problem seems to be with initiating the scan from the printer''s control panel. When it didn''t hang or lose the connection (again even with USB!) it produced a file that contained nothing an empty JPEG.
The solution to the scanning woes was to initiate the scan form the computer using the program Image Capture. Using Image Capture allowed me to successfully scan via Wi-Fi and USB. Scanning via Wi-Fi is very slow. This is due to data transmission times. Scanning via USB was faster, but not as fast as my Canon Pixma MX860.
They printer''s copy function worked well. 2 sided copying worked great.
The two sided document feeder worked very well, but is noisy.
It has the options to print paper, such as sheets of graph paper, right from the control panel.
It has fax capabilities. I didn''t test them. I don''t have a landline.
In conclusion, I wish the scanner functions worked as well as the printer functions. If they did, this would be a 4 star product. Throw in cheaper ink for 5 stars.
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Added 12/29/12
The Airprint featured seemed unreliable, the phone didn''t always list the printer as available. The problem is that the phone can''t find the printer while the printer is in sleep mode. Wake up the printer, and it is there. This means you have to physically go to the printer to wake it up, which defeats some of the convenience of Airprinting from a phone.
Buy Epson WorkForce WF-3520 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer (C11CC33201) Now
It''s only been a couple months since I bought my Epson Artisan 837 printer. I got that to replace an HP photosmart printer. Nothing really wrong with the HP, but I wanted something that would do a better job on the photos, and the Artisan was really an outstanding model for that. But that left me without duplexing again, about the the only thing that the HP had that the Epson I bought didn''t. So when I saw this offered on the Vine program, I figured it was worth taking a shot on. I didn''t want to print photos on it, just to use it as a scanner and printer for normal office type documents.
I use a Mac laptop, and while I''m not a fanatic about it (and still use windows on it, and on all my other systems), this is one area that the mac just shines printing and scanning. The "It just works" motto of theirs always applies, and this was no different.
I got it unboxed, all the safety tape off, powered it up, and got the cartridges installed. Set up the wireless, and went to add it to my Mac. It already showed up as a nearby printer, I selected it, and was done. Took about 20 seconds to install, no CD or software needed (although the disc does have software for PC''s and Macs if you want to use it that offer some advanced options).
First thing I did was print off a simple three page text document, single spaced. And I was floored at how quickly it spit it out. And it looked great, very crisp lettering. So I took the same thing I just printed, threw it up in the document feeder for the scanner, and picked "scan" from my computer. Told it to use the ADF (which I almost always forget to do, so usually end up with a first scan of a blank white space when it scans from the flatbed that is empty...) and hit SCAN. Feeder worked fine, three pages fed in, and I got my single JPG image of all three pages stitched together. The quality of the scan was simply amazing. Light years better than my HP was. With my retina laptop screen, there was just about no difference looking at the paper right next to the image of the scan on my screen.
The screen, as other reviewers mentioned, is not a touch screen there''s an "OK" button surrounded by four directional buttons to maneuver around the on screen menus, and a text/numeric pad next to that like a normal phone keypad. They''re well lit, and the lighting changes based on feature (i.e. the numeric keypad doesn''t light up until you go to Fax or pick something that will use those buttons). Touch response is very good, no missed presses, and no doubled presses. One nice option during the setup was the 24 hour option. Being a veteran, I prefer the 24 hour format and use it wherever I can. Kudos to Epson for offering it as a choice, since many electronics don''t.
The paper tray is deeper than my other printers has a great capacity. And it has one of the better systems of locking paper sizes in the adjusters move easily and lock in place precisely. Feeder in the back for envelopes and such as needed.
Ink dries quickly, so even printing multi-page documents, I had no smearing. They do mention that if you use the duplexer and get smudging on the first side, there is an option in the setup for "drying time" to give it a bit of a pause during the process to prevent the smudges when printing on both sides. Nice thinking. Something else my HP didn''t do.
They claim it''s the fastest all in one I haven''t timed all printers in existence, but I can say based on every all-in-one printer I''ve ever used, nothing printed documents this fast.
I fired up the Epson software on my iPhone 5, and it found the printer immediately. Was even able to check for a firmware update from the phone. I like the IOS software since it gives you everything from IP, to MAC address, all the settings for the network, even the ink levels. And printing from Safari, right in the print options you can select single or double sided printing and number of copies quite useful.
But printing websites that have a lot of graphics does the usual "over-saturated feeling" paper if you''re just using regular paper, curls some and just feels WET. But that''s pretty normal for most ink jets unfortunately.
All in all, for the price it''s a great printer. Scans are very crisp and relatively quick, printing is blazingly fast for text. Wireless worked flawlessly, saw my B/G network as well as my N network, connected without any issues. Does all it claims, which is a nice change of pace.
Read Best Reviews of Epson WorkForce WF-3520 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer (C11CC33201) Here
Pros:
High Capacity Ink Cartridges INCLUDED
Card Slots for PC-Free Printing
Large 250-Sheet Paper Tray
Rear Feed for Envelopes and Specialty Media
Relatively Compact Size
Lightweight
Two-Sided Printing
Two-Sided Scan and Copy
Wireless
iPhone and iPad Printing
Cons:
Less than perfect text alignment (may be related to print speed)
Average photo speed and quality
I just installed my Epson WorkForce WF-3520 Wireless All-in-One. Thusfar, it has exceeded my expectations. The workmanship, design, quality, are all superior.
Setup was simple, and excellent instructions are provided. Four high-capacity ink cartridges are included! This is a real bonus compared to competitors.
The test page printed very well. I sent a FAX successfully. I also scanned a document with no problems whatsoever.
I particularly like the relatively small size and light weight. It is designed with the user in mind. The front panel even tilts upward to make it easier to see.
I have noticed less than perfect text alignment, but I believe it may be related to the extremely quick print speed.
Photos take much longer to print and are of average quality. If you are looking for high-quality photo printing, this may not be the perfect machine for you. However, if you are looking for high-efficiency features like an auto document feeder, an auto duplexer, and less expensive ink cartridges then this machine may be just what you are looking for.
Obviously, I have yet to confirm Epson''s claim of "New and Improved -2x the Durability." I hope the Epson WorkForce WF-3520 Wireless All-in-One lives up to this expectation. I have printer failures far too often in my small insurance agency. It has become a drain on my hardware budget.
All in all, I would highly recommend the Epson WorkForce WF-3520 Wireless All-in-One for a small office environment.
Want Epson WorkForce WF-3520 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer (C11CC33201) Discount?
PROS various web savvy features, alternate feed for different paper, wireless printing from a tablet or smartphone.
CONS nozzles subject to clogging, poor manuals
I had no idea the additional capabilities of printers these days until my old all-in-one broke. Besides the usual all-in-one features, this one has additional tricks:
You can scan to a cloud address, as well as to a computer or memory card, great for paperless record keeping.
This printer has an email address, so when you are away, you can email things to it which you want printed.
You can print lined and graph paper (though it is probably not cost effective, it could be handy in a pinch).
You can define an image to use as a watermark for personalized stationary.
It prints two-sided.
It will "autofit" if you are copying something small, automatically figuring out the enlargement percentage to fill the entire page.
It has an ID card mode so you can copy both front and back of an id card onto a single page (though it is a bit cranky about proper placement).
I have used this printer with a Mac and with an iPad, and the software seems to work just fine.
A potentially serious issue with this printer is that since the nozzles are part of the printer (rather than replaceable with each ink cartridge). While this makes the ink cartridges cheaper (since they don''t need to include nozzles and the nozzle control electronics), the nozzles can get clogged over time, and you need to blast out more ink in the cleaning operation. After printing out maybe 50+ pages, some of which included color graphics, I printed some photos, and already there were spots skipped where a nozzle was clogged. I am hoping this is just a fluke (another older epson printer I have hasn''t had any clogged yet) but if it occurs regularly I''m will downgrade my rating. [ETA: one month later, after using up the ink it came with and installing new ink cartridges, I printed some more photos, and by then whatever was clogging the nozzle had cleared itself.]
Another problem is that the documentation is lacking and/or wrong, and scattered. The printed guide that comes with it only scratches the surface of what it does. There is an online version of the manual that includes some of the interesting features which I mentioned above, but they are a series of hyperlinked paragraphs, so it isn''t easy to print out a full complete manual (or save a pdf of it to read paperlessly), and people who are not inclined to poke around might not discover some of these handy features at all. Additionally, to use the web and cloud features, you need to set that up, but the url given in the manual only took me to an ad for this "Epson Connect" feature. I finally used their online help system to find the correct dotcom page, EpsonConnect, where there is yet another 40 page manual about how to use these features.
[2/21/13 updated with little details which I have discovered with continued use.]
I waited a little while to actually write my review on the Epson Workforce printer simply because I wanted to get a good feel for it, see how it works on multiple projects, and, a huge one for me, to see exactly how long the ink lasted. First of all, this is a pretty nice size printer that''s great for a business and office use. Not saying the regular Joe wouldn''t love it, but if all you are planning on doing is printing, you can find cheaper and smaller models that do the same thing. I use it mainly for personal/business use as I teach a Sunday school class that calls for a lot of different projects. From printing pictures, to flyers, worksheets, lessons, etc., the Epson printer was a fantastic choice! Upon removing the printer from the box, I could tell immediately that from the weight and feel of it that it is not cheaply made by any means. The only area that felt slightly cheap was the actual lid simply due to how the lid is attached to the printer. I can hear/feel the springs when I left it up. Otherwise, top notch construction!
As for printing areas, it has rear load for special items such as envelopes and legal paper, top load (I truly loved this!) that can hold up to 30 sheets of paper, and front load. When I unpacked everything there are four individual ink packages, one for blue, yellow, red, and black, the power cord, an installation disc. The first thing to do in the setup process is take all the tape off the printer, then hook the power cord up to the printer and outlet. Once I pressed the power button you simply read the directions on the massive 2.5 inch screen, and follow them! It was amazingly easy and the only hard part was waiting the five minutes for it to initialize! The touchscreen interface was a gem to use! The buttons are all large, and when you start the printer, each key that you would need to be using for a certain process (say entering the time), would light up. So only the number keys were lit while I entered the time. When it ask for you to place the ink inside, I was happy to note there would be no guessing! All ink areas are color marked for easy installation, and the ink cartridge area has a covered case that''s easy to open. The remainder of the installation process took seconds, and the only difficulty I had was in opening the sliders on the cassette. I ended up taking the whole thing out to see the end of paper.
Wifi was a breeze to set up! Just enter your password and your good to go! The green wifi light showed up as soon as I pressed enter, and this was even before I installed the cd on my computer. The actual copying process, again, is so very easy, and the touchscreen gives you so many options. With copy you can change the density for darker colors, print in black and white, or color with one simple touch on the screen. Scanning was a wonderful experience too, as I can scan to a memory card, scan to Cloud, to your computer, convert it to a PDF or even send it to email. There are just so many options! For photos, you can copy and restore the photo to its original glory, or color restoration for all those faded photos you might have. You can even add a watermark, print ruled papers, or set up a fax header! The actual printing is crazy fast! Took about two seconds to print a copy, which is great when you have a lot to print.
As for printing photos, I did find the printer lacking. When I did an 8 by 10 photo, you could see "roll" lines all over it. However, the ink has held up for quite a while! I''m still printing since I received it last month, and I''ve used nearly all the black ink so far, but a nice feature is that it will ask if you would like the printer to convert the other colors, to make black for you. So once you are out of a color, it will not shut down the whole printer until you replace it, which is great. This printer does everything I need it to do, the prints are high quality, and I am exceptionally pleased with it!
