A few days ago, FoS published the review of the Epson TW9200 Gaming Projector, built for high performance. This time around we switch to Epson’s bread and butter, a printer. More specifically, the Epson ITS L210 Printer. The L210 is an all-in-one inkjet printer (print, scan and copy), which has an intriguing ink tank system and “ultra-low” running cost. The printer carries a recommended retail price of R2,649.00. This isn’t the most modest of pricing points, so we have to assume that it has a lot to offer the consumer. We find out.
Design and Build
The L210 is a compact and lightweight printer that measures 472x300x145mm at 4.4KG. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the L210 in terms of its design, apart from the addition of the compartment alongside the main printer unit. The ink tank is housed by means of a few plastic clips that ‘hang’ onto the side. The main unit follows the basic, modern printing build and design, with its curved rectangular shape and slide out trays. The front of control panel is straightforward enough, with power, copy black, copy colour, and print test page buttons for ease of use. Lifting the top cover reveals the scanning bed for scan-to-print options.
Despite obscure look of the attached ink tank along the side, it does perform its function by not being included in the main unit’s design. For starters, it makes things quite a lot easier to refill the respective colour tanks with ink. Since you pour the ink in as opposed to swapping out the entire cartridge, easy access is essential to avoid spillage. In addition, the ink tanks are transparent, allowing users to physically see the ink levels of the cartridges, without the requirement of a warning by means of the software.
Setup and Running Cost
Setup for the L210 is effortless. Even without the necessary installation drivers, Windows 7/8 users shouldn’t have any trouble simply connecting the printer and powering up. In fact, you could start printing documents, scanning, and copying from USB without requiring PC setup of any sort. This quick turnaround in print time is great feature to have, and although not a necessity, is always appreciated whenever you’re in a tight spot for time with a few last minute assignments and documents to get signed off at the office. The only real time delay is the initial setup, which takes approximately 20 minutes upon first use.
If you’re stickler for running costs, then the L210 is the ideal option. With its refillable ink tank system housed on the outside of the printer, the running costs are extremely low. The system allows printing of up to 4,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour per bottle refill. Although its unlikely that you’ll yield pages as high as that mentioned, it’s still expected to be around the 3,500 mark for black, and 5,000-5,500 for colour printing.
Specifications and Performance
The ITS L210 is an all-in-one printer that can print, scan and copy with relative ease. As mentioned previously, setup is a breeze, and coupled with the speed of printing, there’s a definite sense of efficiency. Print speeds vary depending on colour and print quality. The L210 achieves print speeds of 27ppm on black and white draft quality, 15ppm for colour draft, 6ppm for black and white higher quality, and 3ppm for quality colour printing. Even at the highest of speeds achieved above, printing is still relatively quiet. The paper tray holds 50 sheets of paper, while the output tray holds 30 sheets. The maximum print resolution is 5760x1440dpi for both black and colour printing.
The CIS (Contact image sensor) scanner produces am optical resolution 600x1200dpi, an interpolated resolution 9600x9600dpi, and a colour depth of 48bit. While there are no measurements in terms of speeds between the highest and lowest resolutions, scanning is completed within a few seconds. Using the default copy settings, the L210 scans and prints a full colour photo in under 20 seconds.
There are two obvious omissions from L210, the first being the lack of duplex functionality, and the second the lack of Wi-Fi support. While the both functions may not be too much of a concern for home use, it does raise some questions as to why it was overlooked, considering the modern-day push toward connected devices and ease of use. Be that as it may, the overall performance is still sufficient for almost all your home printing needs.
Conclusion
The Epson ITS L210 may be categorised for home use, but, essentially, it will better fit the small business environment. While the starting cost of R2,649.00 may be slightly out of reach for the average household, it should fit right into the requirements of a business searching for the ideal printing solution. If you have a higher than average printing requirement for your home, then the L210 is a worthwhile investment, if you can manage the initial start-up cost. The saving in cost over time is something of great appeal.
