Epson WorkForce WF-2930 review: a low-cost home printer

Epson WorkForce WorkForce 2930

MSRP $110.00

“Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 is a good choice for home office use with high-quality print, scan, copy, and fax capabilities.”

Pros

• Low initial cost
• Good print quality
• High-capacity optional black ink
• High-resolution scans, copies
• Compact and attractive

The Cons of Using

• Over time, the cost of ink will increase.
• Slow printing
• Document feeder has some issues

These days, not everyone needs a facsimile. Okay, let’s be honest — The following are some of the most popular ways to get in touch with each other people don’t. Some people do. For them, a complete home solution can be costly.

Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 printer is a very low-cost, all-in-one solution that’s designed for the home office. We tested the WorkForce WF2930 printer to see if Epson was able to strike the right balance between keeping the price low and delivering all the features needed for the office.

You can also Design Your Own

Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 is small for a work-focused printer that combines color printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. The printer occupies only 22.7 by 14.8 inches and is 9.5 inches high.

The glossy control panel, round corners and diffused charcoal black finish will make it look great in your home office. The center panel can be tilted up to make viewing easier. And the color display, despite its small size of 1.4 inches, is still readable.

The WorkForce WF-2930 isn’t a touchscreen model, but large buttons on either side work well, and it’s simple to navigate the menu system with the arrows, back, and OK buttons. There’s also a number pad for the fax feature.

The printer has a good build quality and all the adjustable parts have labels. It is easy to understand how to load papers for printing, and insert documents in the automatic feeder when scanning or faxing. The top panel of this printer is thicker than other all-in one printers because it also includes a document feed and bin for catching documents after digital capture.

On the back of the phone, you will find a port for an extension to plug in your phone. There is also a USB connector to connect your computer.

It can be difficult to see the guides on the back of the WorkForce WF2930 if it is placed on a standing counter-height desk. As I am 6 feet tall, it is easy for me to see the paper guides. However, my wife must lean out to see them.

Printing performance

Epson WF-2930 Inkjet Printer is affordable and has good color accuracy. Photo prints are also detailed enough. The text looks nice and crisp as an office printer.

You will have to wait longer for more expensive models due to the print speed. It is 10 pages per minute in black and white, and 5 in color. That’s to be expected — Epson does pitch this as a home office printer rather than as a solution for a fast-paced workroom.

Double-sided printouts were reliable and gave good results in general, but the first one had a slight smear around the edge. The printer automatically prints the second side after printing the first side.

This is a great way to print long documents without having a huge stack of paper.

Special Features

Epson WorkForce is a four in one printer that can print, scan, copy, and fax. This all-in-one device is ideal for establishing a small business, or working occasionally from home.

The scans are of high quality. They can be done at up to 600 dots per inch using the mobile application and 1,200 dots per inch from a computer. Automatic document feeder (ADF), allows you to place up to thirty sheets of paper on the ADF and continue with other tasks.

ADF is not without its problems. If you use the mobile app, you can’t multitask while scanning. When you switch apps, scanning will stop. The Android app doesn’t support split-screen, but it works on an iPad. On a computer, you can have the scanner running in the background.

A more troublesome problem can occur if you use old or thin paper. My old school papers got jammed. The WorkForce WF 2930 found the problem and removed it easily, although the page was slightly wrinkled. The feeder can cause some bowing even when using new paper. When scanning old documents or something particularly important, it’s best to use the flatbed scanner.

I wasn’t able to test the fax feature since I use a smartphone exclusively for calls and don’t have a physical phone line. The technology is over 60 years old, so there shouldn’t be any new surprises when faxing with the WorkForce WF-2930’s high-quality scanner and printer.

Software compatibility

With Epson’s Smart Panel app, you can take care of anything you need from the WorkForce WF-2930, walking you through installation relatively quickly. To get the best print quality, you will need to print several inkjet-head alignment pages. Some all-in one printers automate the process using their built-in scanner.

It’s compatible with iOS and Android. It was easy to connect with both my iPhone and my Pixel 6a. The printer should automatically be recognized by Windows, Mac or Chromebook users. If you are in need of a driver, your operating system will walk you through it.

If you choose to use the USB printer cable, (not included), or connect using Wi-Fi, there are two options. Check out our guide on printer sharing if you decide to use a direct connection. This will allow you to access the Epson WorkForce wf-2930 from your iPhone or Android device. Epson provides software utilities to allow scanning and faxing directly from your computer.

Budget Pricing

The WorkForce WF2930 is priced at $110 and it sounds almost too good to true. Epson had to minimize costs to make such an affordable printer, but it didn’t cut corners on print or scan quality. The print speed and ink capacity are affected. For most home offices, waiting a bit longer is acceptable. The cost of ink will start to mount up.

The starter ink cartridges that ship with the printer will run low quickly, so it’s best to order another set immediately. Epson says that you can print up to 150 pages with a full-sized black cartridge ($20). A high capacity 232XL black cartridge (31 dollars) will last for 380 printed pages. A set of three color cartridges totaling 21 dollars can produce about 140 color documents.

That’s for an average document that prints ink on a portion of the page. Since they cover the entire page, photo prints use more ink. The bottom line is that you’ll pay 8 to 15 cents per document and much more for a full-page borderless photo print. The cost of printing photos can quickly add up if you are a fan.

What is the best printer for me?

Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 is a good option for work-from-home use where you don’t anticipate frequently rolling through reams of paper. Documents and photos are printed with excellent quality. Scans are sharp and color is captured accurately. Epson combined all of these features to allow you to make color photocopies at home. This all in one printer can work as a facsimile.

You’ll need to spend a bit more if you need fast printing. That’s one of the tradeoffs to keep the cost of the WorkForce WF-2930 so low. Ink costs are another potential concern. High-capacity Black is essential to lower the cost of documents and labels in black-and white. For color, there’s only one size — small.

If you plan to print more than a handful of photos, consider an inkjet with larger cartridges. Epson’s EcoTank ET-2850 is a good option for volume color printing. If you don’t need office features, the Epson Expression Home XP-4200 might be a better fit.

If you’re just getting started in your business or find the need to print, scan, copy, and fax on the days you work from home, the Epson WorkForce WF-2930 is a great choice.

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