Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Printer Review
Manufacturer: Epson
Product Name: Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Printer
Review Date: 09/19/08
Author:
In my time as a reviewer I’ve gotten many products for review and I’ve found that quite bit of them don’t live up to their marketing hype, it’s not that they’re bad products it’s more the expectations are very high with some. The product I’ve got for review today though lives up to and exceeds the hype, it’s an all around great product with virtually no flaws to be found.
On the review block today is the Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Printer, and as soon as you open the box you’ll be impressed by this printer. My wife, who normally couldn’t care about the stuff I get for review, was thoroughly impressed by this printer, so that’s saying something right there. Anyway, the WorkForce 600 just looks great, even without powering it on you can just see that this thing means business, but yet look stylish enough to fit in your home. After all, the WorkForce 600 is meant for small and home businesses, so it’s made to be a work horse and that it is. The 600 includes some great features like WiFi capabilities, laser quality printing, fast printing speeds, built-in memory card reader, and even an LCD to preview your pictures and operate the 600 easily.
It’s just an excellent choice if you’re in the market for an all-in-one printer, personally I like these types as then you don’t have to have separate devices for all the things you need to do…
The box is huge and heavy, when the FedEx guy delivered it I heard a big thump on my porch, and I was like ‘what was that?’. Of course there are several pictures along with specs and features listed on the box. The printer itself is packaged very well with styrofoam padding, wrapped in a plastic bag and more plastic covering the surface of the printer to protect it even more during shipping.
There’s a bit of stuff included with the WorkForce 600 including ethernet cable, power cable, driver/software disc, user manuals, sample paper, phone cable and of course the printer cartridges. No USB cable though, but that’s common nowadays for printers not to include one.. I’ve always wondered why they don’t include USB cables, I mean they’re cheap…
The housing of the WorkForce 600 is plastic as is expected, most of it shiny, and overall the look is classy but yet subtle, it should fit in with any decor.
The main interface of the WorkForce 600 in on the front panel, here you’ll find all of your function buttons and even a color LCD panel to make navigation, operation and even editing your photos easy. Off the the far left of the panel is the card reader and USB port as well, I found that the card reader doubles as a storage device for the printer as well. You can scan documents, save them to a memory card or USB drive and then just transfer them to your computer, no need to use any software to scan documents anymore, a very nice feature indeed.
The top is the automatic document feeder that can hold up to 30 pages for faxing or scanning multiple documents. Under that is a flat bed scanner that can be used for scanning or as a standard copier, under the scanner is where the ink cartridges go.
The paper goes into the back of the WorkForce 600, it can be adjusted to fit several sizes of paper and even envelopes.
The finished prints come out the front and land on the collapsible paper tray.
In the back of the untit we find the main power connection, ethernet jack, USB connection and telephone jack.
Specifications:
Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Printer Model: C11CA18201 MSRP: $199.99 Overview: * 5-in-1 — Print, Copy, Scan, Fax, Photo, Wi-Fi Show the world what your business is made of with WorkForce, Epson’s new line of printers and all-in-ones, engineered for the small business and home office. Get laser quality output at laser fast speeds for prints that make you look your best. Make your business look its best with brilliant color output from the Epson WorkForce 600 all-in-one. Why waste money on a laser printer when you can get so much more for less, including the ability to wirelessly print and archive critical documents, or fax stacks of originals in seconds. Because time is money, the WorkForce 600 races through every task. In fact, it’s about two times faster printing documents than leading competitive models. And, it uses up to three times less energy than a laser printer. Fast, affordable and built to grow with your business, the WorkForce 600 does it all, so you can focus on the business at hand. Features & Benefits: Above is just the basic specs and features listed, you can stop over HERE and visit the full listing on the Epson site.
* Draft speeds up to 38 ppm (black and color)
* Laser quality documents about 2x faster
* Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking built in
* Extra High-capacity Black ink
* 2-year limited warranty with registration
* Smudge, fade, water resistant, highlighter friendly
* Uses up to 3x less power than a laser printer
* Fax and 30-page ADF
* Built-in memory card slots and 2.5-inch LCD
* Boost your productivity — Fast draft and copy speeds — up to 38 ppm (black and color)
* Get speed without sacrificing quality — Laser quality documents at about 2x the speed of competitive ink jet printers1
* Easily network within your workgroup — Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking
* Print more, change cartridges less often — High-capacity Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow ink cartridges; Extra High-capacity Black also available
* Protect important documents — Smudge, fade and water resistant, highlighter friendly documents rival those from a laser printer and photos rival those from the lab
* Send faxes fast, even in color — Fax in as fast as 3 sec per page; store up to 60 speed dials and receive up to 180 pages in memory; also faxes legal size
* Print photos without a computer — Built-in memory card slots, PictBridge and 2.5-inch LCD
* Make quick color copies and enlargements — One-touch copying with high quality scanning; reduce and enlarge 25 to 400 percent
* Do more with useful software included — OCR and creativity software to create flyers, brochures, calendars and more
* Save energy — Uses up to 3x less power than a laser printer
* Save paper — Built-in double-sided printing1
* Do more in less time — Copy, scan or fax stacks of documents with built-in, 30-page ADF
* Get product protection you can count on — Epson Preferred program with 2-year limited warranty and 2-year toll- free support, with registration, plus quick product exchange
Included with the printer is also ABBYY Fine Reader OCR, and ArcSoft Print Creations software, along with Epsons own utilities and programs.
The WorkForce 600 is very easy to setup, since I’ve got wireless I opted for the WiFi installation. You need to hook the ethernet cable up to your router, then follow the instructions to install everything, then you just unplug the ethernet cable and your wireless! Setup in total took about 30 minutes, which is about average for most printers. I also connected the printer to my wifes computer as well, when you put in the disk it gives you an option to start the install for a second computer, that setup is even faster and it’s easy as well.
Using the printer is very easy with the LCD screen and navigation buttons, there is a shortcut button on well located the left of the screen to easily access the most commonly used features quickly.
The menu choices are Fax, Copy, Photo, Scan, Backup Data, Print Ruled Papers, Setup and Problem Solver.
and yes you read that correctly there is a Data Backup function in the WorkForce 600, you can backup whatever is on your memory cards to a USB drive. Also you may have noticed the Print Ruled Papers choice, I think that’s rather cool, you can print lined or even graph paper in various sizes..
There’s also a very cool greeting card feature, you pick a picture, print a template, fill out the template and then re-scan it, the WorkForce 600 will understand your choices and print out your cards. Here’s the template, then filled out, then the actual cards, clicking on these picture will take you to hi-res views at 1587×2187 resolution.
Actual printing is just excellent, they were not exaggerating when they say laser quality, the print quality is truly laser quality. It just so happened that my wife had a project for school were she had to print up 15 booklets for the class for a presentation, in total it was about 90 pages. The quality was excellent all around, and they printed fast even with pictures on them.
Regular pictures printed very nice as well using photo paper, they look just like something you would get at a photo lab, my wife was very impressed by them, and it takes a bit to impress her… she still uses a film camera and send her pictures out to be developed because she doesn’t like how the pictures look when they are printed at home with our other ‘photo printers’, but with the Epson she was impressed by the quality of the pictures. One thing she said immediately was ‘no dots!’ which of course she means pixels, but with our HP Photosmart and Brother Photo printers if you look closely you can see the dots, with the Epson you can’t…
Faxing is fast, and it’s nice that you can put up to 30 pages in there, when you’re done you can even print out a report of the things that were faxed if need be.
This thing can do pretty much anything you want it to, it truly is an all-in-on printer.
The only possible gripe I could have is that there is no handset to talk through, my previous all-in-on had the handset and I guess I’m just very accustomed to using it as a phone, but of course you can hook up a phone to the WorkForce 600 and use it that way.
I could just go on and on about this printer, but trust me, it’s an excellent choice if this is the type of product that you need.
Honestly, try as I might I can’t really find any faults with this printer… for the price it’s perfect! I’ve done everything possible with this printer and it has done it all perfectly and flawlessly
For more information about the WorkForce 600 click here.
More Images:
Conclusion:
As I mentioned I tried to find something wrong with the Epson WorkForce 600, but I couldn’t, it does everything exactly the way it’s supposed to and it does it with quality and efficiency.
If you’re in the market for an All-in-one printer then be sure to check out the WorkForce 600, you’ll be very happy you did.
Coming in at around $200 it’s well worth it, I can easily see this thing costing more really, it performs and has the features of products much more expensive than itself.
Pros:
-Fast printing
-Excellent quality printing both text and pictures
-Wireless network capable
-Easy to use
-Easy to setup
-Numerous great features
-Low price
Cons:
-Large and heavy
-No handset
Grades:
Overall: 
Design:
Performance: 
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I am having a similar problem to Gertrude. My equipment is all within 10 feet of each other and my Epson won’t stay on line. We have WiFi and on my husband’s computer we just gave up and are using a usb so that he can print. Everytime I try to repair the problem, it throws my router off line and I have to reset my whole network. Not that computer savy but should be a little simplier. Thanks in advance.
My Epson Stylus RX500 has died – and I loved it. Staff at Best Buy and Office Depot just don’t know enough about the printers to answer basic questions. I run lots of card stock – varying wights. I have had best luck with the straight through paper path. I need great quality photos. I also need pretty inlimited options for paper/envelope width. I don’t need a fax. Will the Workforce 600 be what I need? Is it more than I need?
Paper Jam!!! I have had my Epson printer for about 8 months now and after replacing 3 ink cartridges and finding out it wont work unless all 4 ink cartridges are full had to go purchase another ink cartridge even though I only wanted black and white… well the was not the issue after having gone a few days with the new ink PAPER JAM. I followed the instructions thinking there is a paper stuck inside but there isn’t. I have tried power cycling it, and I have checked every crevice that you could possibly check and there is no paper in the printer but as soon as I try and print anything is says Paper jam, anyone have any ideas on how to fix it other than beating the S— out of it.
In NZ this unit is calledTX600FW, and yes, here it is still a pain in the rear. I have a Power PC G5 iMac running 10.4.11. The scanner driver does not appear if downloaded from the software disc or on-line, in fact using the scan button on the machine results in nothing as well. I have connected via USB. Reading the manual, which only deals with the obvious is no help. This is the 5th Epson in a row over a 12 year period I have owned, (and the last). It has now wasted about 2 extremely frustrating days of my life. Sure it looks great, but this is a huge step backward. If there are so many issues with this model they should bite the bullet and recall the lot. This can only degrade Epson’s reputation. It should be easy to operate, plug and play, as they used to say, not plug and pray. This piece of junk’s going back to the factory, now where’s that boat to Indonesia?
Thanks, Steven for the info about the settings for black-only printing. One clarification, though. You’re talking about the “Printing Preferences” under the Printers on the computer’s control panel, aren’t you?? I couldn’t find any “Printing Preferences” on the WF600.
To print on 3 hole paper the correct way and without it saying, “Paper Jam!” you must insert the paper with the holes on the left side of the printer. Then, go to printer properties and under the page layout tab select the mirror image check box. Finally, save the settings under a particular printer profile if desired. Also, selecting “reverse order,” obviously, will make the document come out in a more complete manner.
how do i set up a workforce 600 epson with wireless.
what are the differences between workforce 600 and 500?!?!?!
Can this printer scan in legal size documents? I see it can fax them. Also generally what size are the pdf files when you scan them in?
Bought hubby an Epson Workforce 600 on his birthday a year ago. It has been a dream and is everything the reviewer said it would be. A few months back, I purchased a laptop with wireless capabilities. I was able to get my laptop to recognize the Epson immediately and have had no problems since – although I am not too up on wireless technology.
I am sorry to hear about everyone’s problems, but we have had absolutely no problems with ours. My mother bought one recently, as well.
My only con is that when the cartridges run out of ink, the whole works shuts down. I’ve tried the Black ink only, but it still would not print. As for not printing when one of the cartridges runs out … I’ve owned several HP and others. None of them worked without ink, so I don’t think this should be a huge negative on behalf of Epson 600.
Yes, I seem to go through the ink faster, but then … they are 1/2 the size of my HP cartridges and almost 1/3 the price. I just keep extra on hand.
I love my Workforce 600. I use it to print my art onto canvas paper using the dye stable inks and they usually come out really great. However I have an intermittent problem when I try to print – the image prints perfectly, except for the bottom 3/4 of an inch. That part shifts and makes a “ghost” or blurred image at the bottom of the print – anyone have any ideas, I’m open!
I’ve tried both putting it on the floor and on a table…it happens both ways.
Thanks!!!
I love this printer…it is easy and I have three computer hooked up to it!
It is a little loud but other then that it rocks!
Do not buy this product ! I have had this for a year and every time I print I want to throw it out the window. I never write reviews but I would hate to see anyone go through what I have been through.
1) Don’t ever Jam this printer you will be in for it, you need spaghetti fingers to remove it due to the lack of access doors.
2) Make sure you stock up on plenty of color if you plan to us it, they simply do not last because of the size of them.If the cartridge gets low it will shut down until you purchase more ink even if you change it to black only. ( Per Epson support )
3) Printing is terrible, I was getting lines and fading after just a few uses.
This is by far the most frustrating printer I have ever used..and I had plenty. I am sure that I have not had more than a couple hundred pages go through this machine and it has caused nothing but grief. Spend the extra money and buy a real multi function unit.
Am I using a impostor Workforce 600?? This review is the reason I bought this printer and I have regretted the decision ever since. I wanted a few things- print good quality pictures from my camera, print greeting cards and fax. It only does one of these- fax. The printed picture color quality is terrible- my old printer (HP something) had better pic quality- and I thought that wasn’t so good- so I’m back to printing pics at the camera shop. The cards- what a nightmare! Went and bought cardstock to print on- the printer feeds the paper right on through and out the other side, but will not print on it (though it will print on plain paper). I contacted Epson to ask how thick the paper can be and my cardstock is well within the limit- they have no explanation as to why it will not work, and of course the “handbook” is useless. I am so disappointed in this printer that I took my old one out of the box and plan to donate this one to the local school- hope they can use it for something!
I’m not too impressed. I’ve had this unit for several months. The scanner is ridiculously slow and won’t work automically with the wireless set up (you have to use a memory device). It is noisey and the screen that tells you your printer status is the most annoying thing I can think of. It is huge and always in the way. As someone else mentioned, the printer also won’t work unless all 4 cartridges are full — it is a rip.
Well have tried to set up wireless multiple times with VISTA ,XP still no luck I have tried to set it up wired with network router still no luck. I am not an expert with printers but I am more than savy with computers and networks just no luck. Not sure if it is probwm with my FIOS router or something else just n luck after multiple tries in every direction.
On the other side of things- After speaking with EPSON’s support because of the printers failure to print in Black & Blue even after a $20 ink purchase of black and 20 mins of a phone call Epson has taken a deposit on my credit card for a full replacement 11 months into my purchase. This is pretty good of a company no riga marue for a warrenty replacement. LET”S see how things turn out on the new model- Lemonade Please !
Just a guy and a broken printer!