Printer Review: Epson Workforce Pro WP-4533

The Epson Workforce Pro WP-4533 is a sturdy multifunction printer for small offices and workgroups that's easy to set up and performs its duties quickly. For $399 list, the WP-4533 delivers a networked, two-sided color CMYK inkjet printer, plus scanner, copier and fax machine with the ability to operate and print from local and networked printers. Adding a Wi-Fi access point brings the ability to print from devices over Apple AirPrint and Google CloudPrint too.

Once out of the box, the WP-4533 took literally seconds to set up. Installing the four color ink cartridges was a snap, and before we knew it the printer was humming, clicking and pumping out the test pages. When printing a page consisting mostly of color graphics, the WP-4533 took about 22 seconds to print the first page, and it spit out the remaining 19 pages in 2:44. That's a rate of about 6.7 pages per minute, shy of the printer's rated speed for color out of 11 ppm. For black-only printing, the WP-4533 got closer to its rating of 16 ppm, completing a 20-page stack in about 1:46, which we calculate to be 11.4 ppm.

NEXT: Scanning And Printing Tests For scanning, the flatbed simplifies the job more than most with a duplex unit for two-sided scanning plus a 30-page automatic page feeder. For color work, the contact-image sensor (scanning camera) below the glass supports a maximum resolution of 2,400 x 1,200 dpi with an interpolated resolution of 9,600 x 9,600 dpi with a 48-bit color pixel depth. Scanned images can be saved to a computer or a USB drive using a port on the unit's front, saved to PDF file format or sent as an email attachment.

For printing and copying, the WP-4533 is equipped with a 250-page paper drawer plus a duplex unit to handle copying two-sided originals to one- or two-sided copies. A bypass tray can hold a stack of No. 10 envelopes or as many as 80 letter-size letterhead or secondary sheets. For $99 list, an optional second drawer will add 250 sheets for a total page capacity of 580. The copier can handle originals up to legal size, and an auto-scale feature can automatically enlarge or shrink to fit the available outsize. A copy counter maxes out at 99 copies. The LCD control panel -- though a bit on the small side -- is easy enough to navigate and use.

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This capable printer performed well in all output tests. However, when returning from power save mode, the CRN Test Center found that the WP-4533 would lose its IP settings for the Wi-Fi port, rendering it invisible on the network. The problem persisted throughout our tests and occurred with static and dynamic IP addresses. We ultimately switched the connection of our test PC to the 10/100 Ethernet port, which was unaffected by the problem.

In all, Epson's Workforce Pro WP-4533 proved itself a flexible and capable multifunction printer for the small office with a 25,000 page-per-month duty cycle. And when combined with Epson Connect software, it offers remote printing options not found on many competitive products. While it lacks PCL and PostScript, the $399 WP-4533 offers a rated cost-per-page of about 1.5 cents for black and less than 7 cents for color, and it delivers a solid value in an 18-by-26-inch footprint.

PUBLISHED APRIL 16, 2013