Epson WorkForce WF-2650 Review
By M. David Stone
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/epson-workforce-wf-2650
Small enough to share a desk with comfortably, the Epson WorkForce WF-2650 fits best as a personal multifunction printer, particularly in a small or home office.
$129.99 at Epson
$398.90 at Amazon
Prints, faxes, scans, and copies.
Supports Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct.
Prints though the cloud.
Automatic document feeder.
No wired network support.
Paper capacity suitable for personal or light-duty shared-use only.
With the WorkForce WF-2650 MFP ($129.99), Epson targets home office users. It's small enough to share a desk with, while still delivering all the most important office-centric features, such as faxing, copying, and an automatic document feeder (ADF). The same features also make it a good fit as a personal multifunction printer in any size office, or a shared printer for light-duty use in a micro office.
The WF-2650 ($129.99 at Epson) is similar to the Epson WorkForce WF-2660 ($129.99 at Epson) , which is the next step up in Epson's WorkForce line. In particular, both are built around the same print engine, which means they share the same rated speed and the same 150-sheet paper capacity, which is on the low side, but enough for most personal use or light-duty shared use in a micro office.
Arguably, the most important difference between the two printers is that the WF-2650 lacks an Ethernet connector. As with the Epson WF-2660, however, it supports Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, which means you can still connect it to a network or connect directly to the printer from a mobile device even if it's not on a network. Other differences include a monochrome LCD-based menu instead of the Epson WF-2660's color touch screen, and the WF-2650's lack of NFC support for easy connection to devices that support NFC.
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Core MFP features for the WF-2650 include the ability to print and fax from a PC, scan to a PC, and work as a standalone copier and fax machine. Extras include mobile support for printing and scanning.
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Install the WF-2650 on a network, and—assuming the network is connected to the Internet—you can print through the cloud and even scan, using the Epson Connect service, to selected websites, including Box, Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Drive. You can also connect to the printer through an access point to print from or scan to an iOS or Android (including Amazon's Fire OS) phone or tablet.
If you connect the WF-2650 to a single PC via USB cable instead, you won't be able to print through or scan to the cloud, but you'll still be able to connect directly to the printer from your mobile device to print and scan, using Wi-Fi Direct.
Also in the plus column are the printer's automatic duplexing (for two-sided printing) and its paper handling for scanning, with a letter-size flatbed and a 30-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) that can handle up to legal-size pages.
Setup, Speed, and Output Quality
At 14 pounds 10 ounces, the WF-2650 is light enough for one person to move into place easily. It's also small enough, with a footprint of only 16.7 by 14.2 inches (WD), to make it easy to find room for. The overall size, complete with open trays, is 9.1 by 16.7 by 22 inches (HWD). For my tests, I connected it via USB cable to a system running Windows Vista. Setup is typical for the category.
On our business applications suite, I clocked the WF-2650 at 3.8 pages per minute (ppm) (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing). Not surprisingly, considering that both have the same print engine, that makes it essentially tied with the Epson WF-2660. However it's slower than the Brother MFC-J470DW ($129.99 at Epson) , our Editors' Choice moderately priced color inkjet MFP for small or home office use, which came in at 4.9ppm on our tests.
Output quality is typical across the board, with text, graphics, and photo quality all falling within a fairly tight range that includes the vast majority of inkjet MFPs. For text, that translates to being suitable for almost any business use, as long as you don't need the level of quality you would want for, say, a resumé or have an unusual need for small fonts. Similarly, graphics are more than good enough for internal business needs. Most people would also consider them good enough for PowerPoint handouts and the like.
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For photos, I used the Premium Presentation Paper Matte that Epson recommends. Color photo quality was better in my tests than you would expect from most drugstore prints. One black-and-white photo showed a slightly off-black tint.
A potential issue for the WF-2650 is its running cost. Based on the ink cartridge prices and Epson's claimed yields, the cost per page works out to 6 cents for a black-and-white page and 17.3 cents for a color page. That's a lot higher than the claimed cost per page for the Brother MFC-J470DW, at 3.8 cents for black and white and 11.3 cents for color. Depending on how many pages you expect to print, the difference may be enough to matter.
If you're looking for an MFP for personal or light-duty shared use, a 150-sheet paper capacity is sufficient for your needs, and Ethernet or Wi-Fi Direct aren't must-haves, be sure to consider the Brother MFC-J470DW for its low running costs. Similarly, if you need a wired network connection, the Epson WF-2660 is of obvious interest. If you don't need Ethernet, however, and you want Wi-Fi Direct, the Epson WorkForce WF-2650's balance of speed, output quality, features, and price makes it a more than reasonable choice.
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About M. David Stone
M. David Stone is a freelance writer and computer industry consultant. He's a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David has significant expertise in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing.
David's 40-plus years of writing about science and technology include a longtime concentration on PC hardware and software. Writing credits include nine computer-related books, major contributions to four others, and more than 4,000 articles in national and worldwide computer and general interest publications. His books include The Underground Guide to Color Printers (Addison-Wesley) Troubleshooting Your PC, (Microsoft Press), and Faster, Smarter Digital Photography (Microsoft Press). His work has appeared in a number of print and online magazines and newspapers, including Wired, Computer Shopper, ProjectorCentral, and Science Digest, where he was Computers Editor. He also wrote a column for the Newark Star Ledger. His non-computer-related work includes the Project Data Book for NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (written for GE's Astro-Space Division) and occasional science fiction short stories (including publications in Analog).
Much of David's writing through 2016 was for PC Magazine and PCMag.com as a Contributing Editor and Lead Analyst for Printers, Scanners, and Projectors. He returned in 2019 as a Contributing Editor.
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Epson WorkForce WF-2650 $129.99 at Epson