Thin colored lines against darker backgrounds were nearly lost in a couple of illustrations. Some of the graphics in our testing showed significant banding (a regular pattern of faint striations). Text quality is fine for standard business documents, but not for ones like resumés with which you're seeking to make an extra special impression. Output Quality Overall output quality is a little below average for an inkjet, with slightly subpar text and graphics, and average photos. That said, the need for photo printing from a mobile business inkjet is minimal. That's more than a minute-and-a-half longer than the notably slow 3:08 turned in by the HP Officejet 100. We measure photo-printing speeds for all inkjets, and the WF-100 averaged a snail-like 4 minutes 40 seconds per 4-by-6 print. It falls between the HP OfficeJet 100 and the Canon iP100, which we clocked at 1.8ppm and 2.5ppm, respectively, on the same tests. Print Speed I timed the WF-100 at an average speed of 2.2 pages per minute (ppm), which is typical for a mobile inkjet. If your need for mobile document printing is strictly light duty, running costs may not be a significant factor, but the more you print, the more the difference in running costs could increase your expenses with the WF-100, compared with these other two models. This is substantially higher than the Canon iP100 (6.3 and 13.1 cents, respectively) and even more so than the HP Officejet 100 (4.8 and 11.9 cents). Running costs for the WF-100, based on Epson's price and yield figures for its cartridges, are 8.8 cents per black page and 17.8 cents per color page. However, it's considerably short of the HP Officejet 100's claimed 560 pages for its high-yield color cartridge and 500 pages for black. This is a smidge greater than the Canon iP100, with claimed yields of 249 pages for its color cartridge and 191 pages for black. The black cartridge has a rated yield of 250 pages the color cartridge, 200. Epson gives you the option of having an email address assigned to the printer during the setup process, which you can later change to an address more to your liking.Ĭartridge Capacity and Running Costs The WF-100 uses two ink cartridges, one for black ink, and the other combining cyan, magenta, and yellow. It supports printing from the Epson iPrint app for iOS or Android, and Epson Email Print and Epson Remote Print, both of which allow users to automatically print to the WF-100 by sending it documents via email. Either way, fully recharging the battery takes about 2.5 hours, and a charge should be good for printing about 50 color or 100 black-and-white pages, according to Epson.Ĭonnectivity The WF-100 can connect to a computer via USB 2.0, to a local-area network via 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, or make a direct peer-to-peer connection to a computer or mobile device via Wi-Fi Direct. The battery can be charged either from the adapter, or from a computer over a USB cable when the printer is turned off or in Sleep mode. The printer can be powered either from the included AC wall adapter, or from a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. These are this printer's only physical controls.
These are flanked by the power switch (with the standard icon), and a cancel button (the icon is a red circle containing a triangle). Just in front of the paper feeder is a 1.8-inch LCD for navigating the menus with the aid of a four-way rocker switch, with a central OK button, located just to the display's right. The WF-100, glossy and matte black in turn, folds open so that its lid becomes the paper holder for the input tray, which accpets a mere 20 sheets of plain paper. Although it falls short of the competition in several other areas, the WF-100's ($172.99 at Amazon) ability to connect to wireless networks and mobile devices should make it a welcome choice for many business travelers.ĭesign and Features When closed, the WF-100 measures 2.4 by 12.2 by 6.1 inches (HWD), and it weighs just 3.5 pounds, making it more lightweight and compact than its peers, the HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer and the Canon Pixma iP100 Photo Printer.
This, and its lightweight, compact form factor, makes it a good tool for road warriors who need to print documents in a pinch, from smartphones and tablets, as well as laptops. Best Malware Removal and Protection SoftwareĪ mobile inkjet printer geared toward business professionals, the Epson WorkForce WF-100 ($349.99) brings a variety of connection methods, generally absent from the mobile inkjets we've reviewed.