Best Epson Printers for Home and Office Use in the UK

Multifunction inkjets are usually quite greedy. The Epson EcoTank ET-4700 is anything but. No, the model offers the lowest running costs we've seen from MFPs yet. Assuming that you're not printing or copying more than 400 - 800 pages per month, this unit will cost you practically nothing down the line. Getting ink not from cartridges but from reservoirs that you fill from bottles, the model will cost you ~0.25 pennies for one monochrome page and ~0.8 pennies per colour one. Sure, you're also somewhat trading off speed, capacity, and volume, but this is the deal when you're working with entry-level MFPs that can handle bulk printing.

Looking at its footprint, this model sits at 10 (H) x 14 (W) x 22 (D) inches (25 x 35 x 55 centimetres), easily fitting most desks. Even more, the unit weighs just 11 pounds (5 kilogrammes), enabling hassle-free relocation.

Because this machine ditches the touchscreen approach, you'll be dealing with its somewhat busy multi-button control panel and 1.44-inch (3.7-centimetre) display. For the most part, these controls will make configuring and performing walk-up tasks (like making copies or printing to the cloud) pretty easy, with the navigation keys, command keys, and numpad making the controls accessible and straightforward. While some might find them a little last-century, maybe even not as convenient as full-blown touchscreens with graphical menus, they get the job done, and that's all that matters here.

The Epson XP-6100 barely costs anything considering what the product brings to the table. You'll be able to print, scan, and copy documents. You'll have no issues printing CD and DVD labels. The device's performance is absurd (again, considering the affordable price) and its space-saving design will let you easily squeeze this unit onto some shelf.

Measuring 34.9 x 34 x 14.2 centimetres, the printer's modest footprint makes sure that as little space is sacrificed as possible, whilst its classic, clean, concealed profile will make this device look good from any angle, look enough to complement most settings. Compact and pretty elegant, the product combines style with substance.

Before delving into substance though, there are obvious downsides that come from the printer's nimble size. First and foremost, the unit's capacity is fairly modest. The paper tray won't fit more than 100 standard sheets, while the auxiliary tray above it will be able to hold up to 20 premium photo sheets.

On the bright side, you'll have no problems controlling this device. You can use voice commands via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, as well as standard IFTTT (If This Then That) scripts. The small tray above the output tray accepts CD and DVD discs, so the device will also let you print labels onto pre-surfaced discs.

The Epson WorkForce WF-2850DWF checks most boxes without leaving the budget price bracket, an impressive feat even considering the few sacrifices the model makes to accomplish this feat. Of course, when you're paying less than 100 quid, expecting an MFP to be perfect across the board would be ludicrous but there are aspects where this machine is almost perfect.

Belonging to the company's WorkForce brand, this model fits the line's excellent output quality mould to a tee. Using its staple PrecisionCore printheads that use small, tight-spaced ink nozzles, the unit delivers tight, well-shaped, and legible texts down the point sizes that an average person will not be able to recognise without magnification. At the same time, large, headline-size fonts also look smooth, without noticeable jagged edges that they're usually suffering from. Different charts and handouts look brilliant as well, featuring solid fills, smooth and even gradients, and well-delineated hairlines. Taking into account that we're dealing with an inkjet model here, the output quality here is almost unparalleled.

Yes, the running costs are high, inkjet printers that do not adopt the company's cartridge-free printing tech (or some alternative) always prove costly long-term, but this is not something that can be fixed without elevating the initial price or sacrificing printing quality, so we can see where the folk at Epson were going with this one.

The Epson EcoTank ET-M1120 cannot print colours, not the most positive note but the one we'll start with nonetheless. There's nothing necessarily upsetting about it as long as you understand what you're looking at here. While you're sacrificing colours, you're also gaining printing speed, with this model easily popping out 15 pages per minute. Plus, the model offers both quantity and quality, producing crisp and sharp texts. You'll have to smooth out an occasional jam, but they will not be happening on a frequent basis, so we wouldn't worry too much about that.

Not unlike its more expensive (and more capable) relative, this model ditches cartridges, favouring a refillable ink tank and InkTank™ bottles instead. The one bottle that comes with the package will give you ~3,000 pages and replacement bottles are much less expensive than standard toner cartridges, so you'll be slashing costs as well as saving time since you won't be refilling the ink tank with the same frequency that you normally replace toners.

To add more, the front-facing tank will enable mess-free refills, whilst the bottles adopt an airflow system, which means that you don't have to squeeze them to make the ink flow. Contributing towards the same cause, the front ink level display will tell you when it is time to refill the ink tank.

The Epson Expression XP-2100 represents the company's cheapest line today. The model is not bad per se, but this is also not something you buy when you have the financial means to afford something a little more impressive. That being said, small offices these days seldom need more than this appliance can provide, so you can just as well pay ~40 quid and go with this one instead.

Is this the fastest printer yet? Not even close. Capping at 8 ppm (black) and 4 ppm (colour), this appliance is actually quite slow but, keeping in mind that you can print, scan, and copy, that this is not a monochrome model, and that, again, you're paying less than 50 quid, the aforementioned printing speed is nothing to scoff at, all things considered.

You would presume that, at the very least, you'll be sacrificing output quality yet almost the opposite is the case here. No, Epson's standard 4-colour 603 ink set will be able to provide reliable, vibrant, and crisp printing, all while reducing the outlay. Using pigment black and dye colour inks, the model churns out well-defined and vivid prints that look almost like the ones that you print with ~£150+ printers. Sure, photos and high-resolution images will not necessarily look stunning but the appliance more than covers graphs, charts, and handouts. Plus, the colours are supplied individually, meaning that when you run out of one, you'll only have to replace the colour(s) you need.