“Epson's WorkForce WF-2930 is a good choice for home office use with high-quality print, scan, copy, and fax capabilities.”
- Low initial cost
- Good print quality
- Optional high-capacity black ink
- High-resolution scans and copies
- Compact and attractive
- Ink costs will add up over time
- Slow printing
- Document feeder has some issues
Not everyone these days needs a fax. Okay, let’s be honest — most people don’t. But some do, and for those people, an all-in-home solution can be expensive.
Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 printer is a very low-cost, all-in-one solution that’s designed for the home office. Keeping the price low while delivering the features required for work is demanding, so we tested the WorkForce WF-2930 to check whether Epson could find the right balance.
Design
Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 is small for a work-focused printer that combines color printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. It occupies just 22.7-by-14.8 inches of your desk space, standing 9.5 inches tall.
It will look good in your home office with its diffuse, charcoal-black finish, rounded corners, and glossy control panel. The center panel tilts up for easy viewing, and the color display is readable despite its small 1.4-inch size.
The WorkForce WF-2930 isn’t a touchscreen model, but large buttons on either side work well, and it’s simple to navigate the menu system with the arrows, back, and OK buttons. There’s also a number pad for the fax feature.
The printer is well-made and adjustable parts are clearly labeled, making it obvious how to load paper for printing and insert documents into the automatic feeder for scanning and faxing. The top panel is thicker than some all-in-one printers since this also has a document feeder and bin to catch documents after digital capture.
The line port to connect a phone line for faxing is at the back, alongside an extension port to plug in a phone and a USB port to physically connect a computer.
One note about the design, it can be hard to see the paper guides at the back if you place the WorkForce WF-2930 on a counter-height standing desk. At 6 feet tall, I can lean over and see the guides, but my wife has to go to the side when adjusting to a different paper size.
Printing performance
The Epson WorkForce WF-2930 is a remarkably affordable inkjet printer with good color accuracy and sufficient detail in photo prints. As an office printer, the text is crisp, easy to read, and color documents look nice.
The print speed of 10 pages per minute (ppm) in black-and-white and five ppm in color will leave you waiting longer than more expensive models. That’s to be expected — Epson does pitch this as a home office printer rather than as a solution for a fast-paced workroom.
Double-sided printing worked reliably and yielded good results overall, but had a smear at the edge on the first print. After printing one side, the printer rolls the paper back in, flips it over, and prints side two without human assistance.
That makes a big difference when you want to print a long document without creating a large stack of paper.
Special features
Epson WorkForce WF-2930 is a four-way all-in-one printer, including printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. This single device covers all those needs, which might be ideal for setting up a small business or occasionally working from home.
Scans are high quality, allowing up to 600 dot-per-inch when using the mobile app and as much as 1,200 dpi from a computer. The automatic document feeder (ADF) lets you place a stack of up to 30 sheets of paper and move on to other tasks.
Unfortunately, the ADF has a couple of problems. If you use the mobile app, you can’t multitask while scanning. If you switch to another app, scanning stops. The Android app doesn’t support split-screen, but it works on an iPad. From a computer, the scanner can run in the background.
A more troubling problem occurs if you load the ADF with thin or old paper that is delicate. My old school paper got jammed. The WorkForce WF-2930 detected the problem, and removal was easy, but the page was wrinkled slightly. Even with new paper, you can see the feeder causes some bowing as the paper gets pulled in. When scanning old documents or something particularly important, it’s best to use the flatbed scanner.
I wasn’t able to test the fax feature since I use a smartphone exclusively for calls and don’t have a physical phone line. The technology is over 60 years old, so there shouldn’t be any new surprises when faxing with the WorkForce WF-2930’s high-quality scanner and printer.
Software and compatibility
With Epson’s Smart Panel app, you can take care of anything you need from the WorkForce WF-2930, walking you through installation relatively quickly. You do need to print a few inkjet head alignment pages to visually assess and guide the printer to get the best quality. Some competing all-in-one printers use the built-in scanner to automate this process.
It’s compatible with iOS and Android. I used my Pixel 6a for the initial setup but connected easily with my iPhone as well. If you use Windows, a Mac, or a Chromebook, the printer should be recognized immediately. If you need a driver, the operating system guides you through the process.
You can use a USB printer cable (not included) or connect via Wi-Fi. If you do choose a direct cable connection, you might want to check out our guide to printer sharing so the Epson WorkForce WF-2930 is accessible on your iPhone or Android phone as well. Epson provides access to software utilities for scanning and faxing from your computer.
Budget pricing
At $110, the WorkForce WF-2930 has a price that sounds too good to be true. Epson had to minimize costs to make such an affordable printer, but it didn’t cut corners on print or scan quality. Print speed is affected, however, as well as ink capacity. Waiting a little longer is fine for most home offices. Ink costs will begin to add up, though.
The starter ink cartridges that ship with the printer will run low quickly, so it’s best to order another set immediately. With a full black cartridge ($20), Epson estimates you can print 150 pages. A high-capacity 232 XL black cartridge ($31) lasts for 380 pages. A complete set of color cartridges ($21 total) provides about 140 color documents.
That’s for an average document that prints ink on a portion of the page. Photo prints use much more ink since they cover a page entirely. The bottom line is that you’ll pay 8 to 15 cents per document and much more for a full-page borderless photo print. It looks great, but the expenses add up quickly if you become enamored with printing photographs.
Is this the printer for you?
Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 is a good option for work-from-home use where you don’t anticipate frequently rolling through reams of paper. The print quality is excellent for documents and photos. Scans are crisp and capture color accurately as well. Epson combined those features to let you make color copies at home. This all-in-one can even work as a facsimile machine.
You’ll need to spend a bit more if you need fast printing. That’s one of the tradeoffs to keep the cost of the WorkForce WF-2930 so low. Another potential concern is ink costs. The high-capacity black is a must-have to reduce the cost of black-and-white documents and labels. For color, there’s only one size — small.
Consider an inkjet printer with larger cartridges or a tank printer if you anticipate printing more than a few photos. Epson’s EcoTank ET-2850 is a good option for volume color printing. If you don’t need office features, the Epson Expression Home XP-4200 might be a better fit.
If you’re just getting started in your business or find the need to print, scan, copy, and fax on the days you work from home, the Epson WorkForce WF-2930 is a great choice.
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July 01, 2023 at 01:54AM
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Epson WorkForce WF-2930 review: a low-cost home printer - Digital Trends
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