The Good: Easy setup and easy to use, quick print speeds with a 250 sheet input tray and built-in automatic two-sided printing.
The Bad: For a small office printer I would like the Auto Document Feeder paper capacity increased from 30 sheets to 100 sheets.
The Bottom Line: The WorkForce 635 is a reliable Epson all-in-one small office printer that is easy to use (retail value of $229.99) that improved the popular WorkForce brand with the addition of the 250 sheet input try and time saving automatic two-sided printing.
Reviewed By: Bruce Downs
Reviewed on: November 1 - December 1 (30 days)
When Epson released the new WorkForce 635 designed for small business owners featuring print speeds up to 15 ppm in black and 7.2 ppm in color, a 250 sheet input tray, with a built in automatic two-sided printing I was extremely interested.
Features/Benefits
- Save time — with the world's fastest all-in-one in both one- and two-sided printing1
- Speed through critical documents — ISO print speeds of 15 ISO ppm (black) and 7.2 ISO ppm (color), two-sided print speeds of 7.5 ISO ppm (black) and 4.5 ISO ppm (color)†
- Save paper — save up to 50% of your paper supply with automatic, two-sided printing
- Print twice as much — get about 2x more prints with 127 Extra High-capacity Black ink cartridges2
- Individual ink cartridges — replace only the color you need
- Less hassle — built-in 250-sheet paper tray means you re-load paper less often
- Do more — 30-page Auto Document Feeder to quickly copy, scan or fax stacks of originals
- Easy wireless printing — built-in Easy Epson Wi-Fi makes wireless setup, networking and printing fast and easy3
- PC-Fax — fax documents directly from your computer5
- Front USB port — insert thumb drive and upload files directly to your PC
- High-speed faxing in black and color — as fast as 3 sec per page; speed dial storage up to 60 numbers; fax memory up to 180 pages
- Protect important documents — smudge, fade and water resistant prints; documents rival those from a laser printer
- Save energy — uses up to 70% less power than laser printers4
- Product protection you can count on — one-year limited warranty; phone support, without charge, for the life of the product6; plus, get free templates and "how to" tutorials
- Packaging Specifications (W x D x H) — Dimensions: Printing 17.6" x 21.9" x 9.1", Storage 17.6" x 14.2" x 8.9" and Weight 16.8 lb.
Design: The WorkForce 635 kept the same design as the previous generation (WorkForce 610). The printer is housed in a all black exterior with silver accents, an adjustable 2.5 inch LCD control panel, with a top automatic document feeder. A major improvement over the WorkForce 610 model is now the 250-sheet paper tray, up from 100 sheet was moved from the rear (which took up more room) to underneath the output bin. On top of the WorkForce 635 is an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) that can handle double sided documents up to 44 inches in length.
The front face of the WorkForce 635 is well laid out as was the previous models. From left to right; on the left side of the front face you will find will find the built-in memory card reader and front side USB/PictBridge slot. The WorkForce 635 is compatible with CompactFlash, MicroDrive, Memory Stick, MagicGate Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, SD, SDHC, MultiMediaCard, MMCplus and xD-Picture Card (Type M, M+ and H). In the center is the adjustable control panel runs across the front of the WorkForce 635 with a 2.5-inch LCD nearly dead center along with a navigation pad, numerical key pad, device quick keys and a power button.
On the back of the printer you will find all the connections including the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and Ethernet.
The carriage for the ink cartridge can be found under the scanning bed.
Installation: I installed the Epson software to my Windows XP desktop via the included CD with ease following an easy Start Here guide. Epson offers three ways to link the printer up to a computer: direct using USB 2.0, wired Ethernet, and Wi-Fi. All of the drivers you need to install the printer using a wired connection come on the driver disc, which also includes a network set-up utility that guides you through the process of establishing a Wi-Fi connection right on the front panel. Basically all I had to do was enter my router password and it was configured and ready to go.
Like many other printers on the market, the Epson's setup first asks you to keep the USB 2.0 cord plugged into a computer while it creates an ad-hoc connection to your wireless router. After you establish a connection, you're free to remove the cable and continue printing wirelessly using a PC, Mac, iPhone or BlackBerry (via apps).
Software: The software works like a dream with pop-up menus when you make a selection of what function (photo, copy, scan and fax) you want to do. But if you do need help with a project the software even includes a flash animation video that will walk you through common jobs and projects.
Print Quality: The Epson WorkForce 635 uses four individual (cyan, magenta, yellow, and a 127 high-capacity black ink) cartridges with DURABrite Ultra Ink which provides instant-dry smudge, fade and water resistant documents instantly. The printer also doesn't dissatisfy in terms of photo print quality in fact I would say that the WorkForce 635 more than lives up to the quality of the Epson name. Plus with many printer options to choose from, Epson makes it easy to cater to your prints in the most efficient way possible. While using the preset settings, the prints produced evenly saturated colors and shapes with good smooth quality line weights without graininess or blotchy facial tones with clear readability with small font size text.
Print Test: In my speed tests, the WorkForce 635 did good job when it comes to printing 4x6 photos, in about 1 1/5 minute, and an 8x10 photo in a little less than 3 minutes. The photo quality was a little above good but not great – the colors were not as bright as I was expecting and the blacks not as deep. Since the WorkForce 635 was developed with the small business owner in mind the photo printing quality is office standard. When printing black and white text documents produced 15 pages per minute (ppm) with the first page printing in 8 seconds, but in draft mode the output speed increased to 20 pages per minutes on 20-pound white paper; first page in 6 seconds. Speaking of draft mode, I would recommend using the draft mode for black and white printing (without images) for everything except display work, or final production documents. When printing images in text mode I was only able to produce 5 ppm with decent image quality.
During my testing, approx 300 sheets of paper, I have not experience one single paper jam.
Scan Test: The Epson Scan software is very easy to operate and offers three scanning modes (home, office, and professional) to choose from. The 48-bit color flatbed scanner has an optical resolution up to 2400 dpi and a maximum resolution up to 9600 x 9600 dpi that allows the option to scan and save electronic copies of printed reports, or turn forms and documents into editable text with the OCR software included. You can even scan-to-PDF, scan-to-email, -scan to memory card, or scan to PC then quickly archive and search important files. When you use the WorkForce 635 to scan in a document, and you're connected wirelessly, you can specify which computer you'd like to send the file to. Use the front-side USB port on the printer to upload files from any thumb drive straight to your PC.
Fax Test: With using the fax software, you can send a black and white or color fax from a file you have on your computer without having to print the document first, which saves you time, ink and paper. If you use the 30-sheet Auto Document Feeder the output fax speed is as fast as 3-seconds per page. The fax memory is an impressive 180 pages and you can store up to 60 speed dial numbers.
Specifications:
- 4-in-1 inkjet (print, scan, copy and fax)
- Print speeds: up to 15 ppm in black, 7.2 ppm in color
- Print resolution: 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi
- 2.5-inch LCD with expansive control panel
- 30-page ADF
- Built-in card reader with USB/PictBridge slot
- Paper capacity: 250-sheet paper cassette
- Connectivity: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
- Energy Star, RoHS compliant
- 1-year limited warranty
What’s in the Box: Instruction manual, CD-ROM with drivers and software, power code, telephone cord, and 4 DURABrite Ultra Ink cartridges; one 97 Extra High–capacity Black ink cartridge and three 68 High–capacity color ink cartridges: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow.
Warranty and Support: Epson backs the Epson WorkForce 635 with a limited two-year warranty with registration within 60-days of purchase. Added support is offered with a toll-free customer support line (weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT), online through a troubleshooting guide, FAQs, e-mail support, driver updates, and document downloads.
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