Epson WF-7710DWF
A bigger splash
Printer makes good impression
A good all-round inkjet that prints with decent quality at impressive speeds
We test a lot of printers here at Computeractive, and they come in endless configurations. But one thing they almost all have in common is that they’re A4 size. We’ve seen several models from Brother that print A4 sideways, and can therefore print the occasional A3 page as well (the short side of A3 matches the long side of A4), but their scanners are still limited to A4.
This wireless inkjet printer from Epson is in the same price bracket as many other multi-function units, yet it’s proper A3. That means it’ll take up more room on your desk, although it’s still pretty compact compared with some laser printers. Not only can it scan A3 pages and print A3+ (meaning up p to 329x483mm – big enough ugh for an eye-catching poster) but it can do both duplex, handling both sides of the paper automatically. That’s a rare capability at any price. Fax is also included.
The WF-7110DWF isn’t fast enough for a busy office, but it’s quicker than many inkjets. Black text printed at 17 A4 pages per minute, or 5.4ppm for colour. Five A3 pages took 43 seconds for black text, or just over two minutes for colour graphics. Ten A4 photocopies took 90 seconds in mono or 2 minutes 30 seconds in colour, while scanning a postcardsized photo at a sharp 1200dpi took under a minute.
We were generally very happy with the quality. The pigment inks won’t give you shiny prints on glossy paper that look like real photo prints, but they do keep costs down. Using Epson’s biggest XXL refills, a colour A4 page works out at a pretty average 7.1p, and third-party compatible cartridges are available cheaper.
The only direct competitor we’ve seen is Brother’s MFC-J6930DW (£190 from Amazon www.snipca.com/30335, see our review, Issue 514), which has similar features, including an easy-to-use colour touchscreen, and a useful extra paper tray, but costs more, prints slower in colour, and takes A3 paper but not A3+.