A flexible MFP that can even print on discs
Epson’s Expression Premium XP-620 is an inkjet multifunction printer (MFP) designed for general use in the home. As its name promises, it’s got reasonably high-spec features, including wireless networking, a colour screen and automatic duplex (double-sided) printing. There are two paper trays - one handles sizes up to A4, while the other handles photo paper up to 5x7in. You can load both trays and the printer wall choose the appropriate one for the job. Tucked away underneath is a tray for loading printable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
While most basic inkjet printers use four colours - black, cyan, magenta and yellow - this MFP uses five inks with two separate black cartridges. One is optimised for text on plain paper, while the other is for graphics and photos. All five cartridges are available in two sizes. But even when using the larger cartridges, an A4 page of mixed text and graphics costs 11.3p, which isn’t cheap.
More expensive models in the Expression range come with motorised control panels and paper-output trays, but with the XP-620 you must open both manually before you can start printing. The screen itself isn’t touch-sensitive, but the buttons and onscreen menus are relatively easy to grasp. To the left there’s an SD card slot which you can use to quickly print photos without using your computer. Helpfully, you can also use the printer to back up the card’s contents to your computer.
Print speeds were reasonably quick in our test, with five pages of text delivered in 32 seconds, and five pages of colour graphics in just under a minute. Photo prints were swift at the highest-quality setting, with a single borderless 4x6in photo taking 80 seconds and an A4 print just over three minutes. The scanner was fast, too, needing just 10 seconds to capture an A4 page at 150 dots per inch (dpi) - a low resolution, but good enough for archiving documents. With the detail raised to 600dpi, it took 18 seconds to capture a 4x6in photo.
Moreover, the scanner did a great job of reproducing colours and preserving detail in our test documents. We were also very happy with print quality. Photos were particularly good, especially our black-and-white test shots, although colour graphics printed on plain paper weren’t quite up to the standards of some MFPs we’ve tested.
The XP-620 is a good-quality, versatile MFP, but it’s also a bit expensive (to buy and run). Canon’s PIXMA MG5650 has only one paper-input tray and does without an SD card slot, but otherwise has similar specifications, performs to the same level, and is cheaper to run.
A good inkjet MFP, but its more expensive to buy and run than the best of the competition.
SPECIFICATIONS
5760x1440dpi maximum print resolution • 10ppm colour/13ppm mono quoted speeds • 2400x1200dpi maximum scan resolution • USB • Wi-Fi • SD card slot • One-year warranty