- World's Fastest 2-sided printing
- 500-sheet paper capacity
- 40% lower printing costs vs color laser
- Mobile device printing
- 3.5-Inch touchscreen with gesture navigation
1) printing print quality is very good, and perfect for home school use. This includes photos, and two sided printing.
2) scanning set up to scan wirelessly to 3 different Macs. Scanning of photos, documents worked well. Was able to initiate scans from the printer touch screen and the computer. Worked with both the Flatbed and ADF. We don't have any specific quality requirements, but output was great for our use.
3) copying copying is fast and quality is good. Copied single sided to single sided and single sided to double sided using ADF. Copying was fast and flawless. Lid is hinged so that it lifts up over thicker items and can handle books of an inch thickness with no problem.
4) set up set up for use on 3 Macs (2 are 10.6.8, and one is 10.7.5). Set up was easy. I didn't use the disc that came with it, just downloaded from Epson. Wireless network set up was simple and straightforward.
5) AirPrint if you have iPhones and iPads, AirPrint works great with zero set up!
6) no faxing here, so I have no comments on that.
Before i found the 3540, I was hesitating on buying the Work Force 845 for a couple of reasons: 1) the model was a year old, and 2) issues with handling thick paper. Well, the 3540 model is new and in my tests, it handled photo paper through the rear slot and paper tray with no issues.
I whole heatedly recommend this printer.
Don't have a good handle on ink usage yet, but will update when I do.
*** Update on ink usage (from one of my comments below) ***
To those who are looking for ink usage, I'm afraid I'm not very scientific on that front. We home school 2 children (8th and 10th grades) and this is the primary printer / copier. In other words, it gets a lot of use. My thoughts on ink usage are: better than the HP it replaced (an older Officejet 5500), better than the Canon we use mostly for photo's (iP6600D), but not quite as good as my Brother MFC-J6710DW. BUT, the print quality on the Epson is much better than on the Brother.
Having said all that, my qualitative assessment is that the ink usage is pretty good. We have gone through one black and two color cartridges. The printer reports having printed:
223 color pages
446 b/w pages
Unfortunately, I can't tell you what the counts were when cartridges were replaced.
A recent review at PC World (), has the ink costs as a little above average. The comments from PC World:
"Ink costs for the WorkForce WF-3540 are decent, if you opt for the extra high-capacity (large) cartridges: 3.2 cents per page (cpp) for black and 2.7 cpp per color, or 11.3 cents per four-color page."
Buy Epson WorkForce WF-3540 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Copier, Scanner Now
March 19th, 2013 Long story short, I hate modern day printing. Doesn't seem to matter if you buy inkjet or laserjet, there are almost no decent printers on the market today which can print reliably for under $200 and do not use the silly f#$%@#! microchip ink cartridges or laserjet toner cartridges. In the ole days, printers were heavy as hell and didnt print fast, but they didnt break down often either, and ink was dirt cheap. (When ink costs more than blood banks charge for human blood plasma, you know your taking it in the butt :)The current business model for most printer companies (Epson, Canon, Brother, Lexmark, etc..) is to roll out unfinished, a super duper technological wizard of a printer which unfortunately is fragile as hell, and for whom only three out of ten software/firmware functions actually work on release day. You are left with a half-baked printer that works occasionally if you sacrifice a goat during a solar eclipse. And, even if you do manage to get the thing to work, you will need to mortgage the house to pay for the ink (you didn't think the microchips on each ink cartridge were there to improve printing resolution did you?). Since pigment based printer ink is sold for $9 per gallon (about 3.7 liters) in Sri Lanka, you can be pretty sure it does not cost $15 for one tiny single color cartridge in first world countries. The only real way out of this mess to start spending in the $1000 range or higher for a real office printer that is built to withstand heavier duty use.
In the past ten years, I have owned four other printers before this; a heavy ole Lexmark that smelled bad and was slow, but never failed until my wife spilled her coffee in it (or I would still have it with a smile on my face). An older Brother machine that mysteriously died on me (it was not bad either) and two Canon MultiPass/Pixma pieces of s$@!. In particular, the Canon ink was outrageous in price and I was always going to third party ink suppliers to save money. I love Canon high end cameras, but their lower price printers have always failed me.
So after my latest Canon MP 830 stopped working (to be fair, it never worked that well on its best day), a frown formed on my face as I knew I would have to spend time researching another super crapper to take its place. Fortunately, Amazon shows real reviews from people who actually purchased the products (I will address the Vine program in a moment) they are reviewing. Out of all the lower cost printers, one Brother monochrome laser jet and the Epson 845 Workforce stood out, when only real reviews were counted. I need the ability to print in color from time to time plus scanning so the 845 spiked my interest. Checking the Epson website, I saw the WF 3540 which is the 845 rebuilt for 2012. So with some trepidation, I ordered it from Amazon.
It came and I began setting it up. With its rounded edges and black facade, it sure looks nice, was a first impression. For myself, I run Windows 7 from two computers and Debian/Mint/Ubuntu on the other three. I set it up in Windows 7 first and it printed fine, copied fine, scanned fine and the Wi-Fi worked fine. Step one okay so far, and further than Canon ever made it. Next I printed from Ubuntu and Debian and that worked fine. Great. Then the tricky part of getting wi-fi working with my Mint laptop. Even that worked fine. So far so good (and more than I expected).
I then tested out some of the Epson software features like WebPrint, Epson Connect, Event Manager and Download Manager, and they all worked as promised. (from Windows 7). Unfortunately, these software programs are not available for Linux users, but I knew this from reading the product details. I did not test for Apple OSs because I only use those at work. Got to say, aside from the few Linux lapses, I was fairly surprised by this point. The iPrint software did work fine from my Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone. (Did not test the Apple AirPrint option) Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I tested Google Cloud Print, and it works just fine. You can also sync the software to Google Drive (online cloud storage).
I will say the ink prices look like they will be middle of the road. Certainly not the high prices of Canon or Dell, but not dirt cheap. This Epson 3540 has four ink tanks for standard Epson pigment based ink (not dye based), and the ability to install ultra high capacity tanks as well. A check at third party vendors also shows generic ink available at cheaper prices as well. I will just be happy if I have a refill once every six months to one year. With Canon, thanks to their firmware coding, all tanks were used even for grayscale printing, resulting in expensive ink purchases and a loud tirade every three months or so. With this Epson 3540, when you check the tab under printer properties for grayscale printing, the Epson WF 3540 does indeed print only from the black tank. Thank you Epson for not shafting me.
Since the initial setup, it has been about four months, and so far everything is working well. My only minor problem has been that when I wish to print on 4x6" inch photo paper, the roller does not grab the paper sometimes (but all other paper sizes are grabbed fine did not try envelopes). I also find the photo reproduction quality to be just fine, but I am not a photography specialist. If you are really in to high quality photo printing you may want a seven ink tank printer. Most cheaper printers work well for the first few months and then start failing, so I will update this review at the one month, three month, six month, one year and three years marks (if it lasts that long). I never give an initial computer product a five star review, so I will wait and see how it continues to function. The fifth star can only be earned by durability over the long haul. My relation with printers over the last ten years has been miserable, so hopefully, this Epson WF 3540 will be the start of a better relationship.
As to the one star reviews for this printer, reading install directions and setting up drivers is paramount, especially if you want wireless printing to work. This printer does work very well indeed, but you must be meticulous in setting up the drivers correctly to receive their fully functionality. Some people have complex work environments with Windows, Mac and Linux computers all in the same home or office. For them, setting up the printer in the correct order (printer driver first, then hardware USB cable, etc..) is critical. Obviously, if you dont do this, you are likely to run into wireless problems, especially in a mixed OS environment. With Windows 7, you must head to control panel -> network and sharing center -> change advanced sharing settings, and then make sure that network discovery, file sharing and printer sharing are turned on, and that your home network (and ideally, homegroup) are set up correctly. If not, your wireless laptop is not going to see the Epson WF 3540 (whether it is stand alone or connected to your desktop by USB cable). There is also a correct install order to the print drivers and if you install the Epson Connect after the main lump driver package, it will over write the previous registry values in the kernel and you will have to redo the Wi-Fi setup wizard on the printer touchscreen (no biggie, but this stumps many buyers I suspect). (this is true for Windows and OS X 10 and Mountain Lion). Many of the problems people complain of, are with Windows XP, but come on guys, the kernel for XP was written in 1999. It is like asking your 1999 Chevy Cavalier to perfectly mesh with Onstar Live.
One positive and negative about the WF 3540 is the software suite. The good news is that each program actually does a needed function and is coded correctly, and works in Windows 7 64 bit. The bad news is that the total software suite is very large (almost 750 MB installed) and you are left with about twelve entries under My Programs. You can choose which ones to install thankfully and several (like Epson WebPrint, Epson Connect, the Fax stuff and the online stuff) are not really essential if your main mission is just printing, copying and scanning.
As to the Amazon Vine Program Cancel it Amazon admins, .... please. As any idiot in Congress knows firsthand, receiving donations to your campaign from health care companies makes fair impartial judgement on a health care bill almost impossible. The same is true for sending select semi-pro reviewers free printers (or any other products). It is pretty hard to give a printer a one star review if you received it for free. This Epson WF-3540 page is filled with Amazon Vine Program reviews all of which are questionable from the start. Rarely do I see Amazon make a misstep, but this would be one. Reconsider the Vine Program please.
Finally, about one out of every 17 people rate this review as not helpful, which has me curious. Interested to see what people will note.I reviewed the Epson WP-4540 some time back which is the big brother to this machine, and whereas the 4540 has a bigger footprint, slightly faster speed, double paper tray, and some other features, this unit excels at it's job, for less money, and the addition of air print comparability from your smartphone.
It's still a bulky unit, the delivered package is 24 pounds, and you need a reasonable amount of room to set it up.
That's not a problem however with Wifi, so you don't have to have it sitting next to your computer. A central location actually works well so everyone in the house can connect for shared printing.
Big question for all printers is of course ink, like it it's big brother the 3540 takes 4 cartridges, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and of course Black, and these run individually almost $10 cheaper per unit than the 4540.
I would recommend the Epson brand ink, and definitely the XL cartridges, they are worth it for longevity. Also, i continue to run my cartridges long after the on screen low ink warning, and they do seem to last well. You can also save on multipacks, but I would suggest staying away from bargain brands.
Ideal for a small office, the multi document feed on top like an old fashioned copier is great for scanning multi documents into a single file, or PDF for easy emailing, and storing. The copy function is also touch and go, without having to constantly lift the lid on the scan bed.
Printing is pretty fast too, for home use printing, even in color.
Overall I gave it 4 stars, with a string of features too long to list here, wireless accessibility, and good ink consumption. Even photo reproduction is good, although probably not quite good enough for pro's.
Want Epson WorkForce WF-3540 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Copier, Scanner Discount?
This printer is feature rich, yet simple to set up and intuitive to use. It will act as a wireless network printer, a scanner, a full featured copier, and a fax machine.Installation was a snap, and I had it up and running in under 30 minutes. The printer software does need to be installed on each computer you intend to print from, but after the first computer is done, the other ones go quickly.
Things I liked:
1) Easy set up
2) Intuitive to use
3) Color touchscreen on printer is bright and clear, and makes using the machine very simple
4) Excellent printouts
5) Relatively quick printing for an inkjet
6) Ability to print front and back.
7) Nice scanner interface software
8) Exceptionally nice color prints when using the special papers.
9) Fairly simple to print on envelopes and different sized papers
Things I did not like:
1) Nonstandard cordCord is not like a normal one you see on just about all electronic devices today. Not only is the cord nonstandard, it is too short. This caused a little bit of a hassle in getting it plugged into my power strip. Wish they would stick with standard power cord.
2) It is an inkjetwhich means endless $$$ on cartridges, and wasted ink on printhead cleaning if you do not use it that often. I much prefer a color laserject, and home units are coming out that are becoming very affordable.
3) Can not scan directly from photoshop CS5. Tried several things and then found something on the Epson WEB site that indicated that it was not possible to scan directly from CS5, and the work around was to scan using Epson software and then load file into photoshop. Yes, this is a workaround, but boy did I enjoy scanning directly into photoshop when I had lots of scans to do.
Overall, this printer represents a feature rich machine which is easy to use and delivers exceptional results. Well designed, well engineered, and it produces wonderful output. Overall, this machine is a winner.
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The printer is very easy to set up. You can print from your iOS device, using AirPrint, directly. Very simple. The printer is easy to unpack, simple instructions on setup, step by step. I was using the printer in less than 20 minutes after lugging the box into the office.I had a couple of minor issues setting it up on the Mac side (10.8.2). All but one were quickly fixable (item 3 below will take some additional research):
1. Since the default paper tray is 1 (top), if you put a stack of envelopes in tray 1 and then print with the defaults, you'll print on an envelope, not on the paper in tray 2 (bottom) as you expect. The way I found to get around this was to create a printing "Preset" in Word or any other application. That preset is then available for all other applications. I created a preset that used the "Alternate" tray (tray 2, bottom) so when I want to print on regular paper, I just make sure I pick the Alternate preset. If there's a better way to do that, I'd like to know about it.
I thought it was cool that Epson thought about giving you two trays and even then, thinking about making one of them for multiple envelopes! This printer seems very well thought out.
2. Scanning didn't initially work from the EPSON itself (to the Mac from the printer), but after a Mac reboot it worked fine. Probably just a setup issue. It's been fine since then.
It's nice in that if you put a stack of pages in the ADF part of the printer and select Scan from the printer, it automatically creates a separate file for you for each page. Using Image Capture from the Mac side worked flawlessly. As with my last printer, you can stack multiple pages into the ADF and then tell the Image Capture Mac application to create one PDF file with all the scanned pages. You can create individual files too if that's what you want.
3. I wasn't able to figure out how to get the AirPrint to use Tray 2 (bottom) so I'm currently not able to use that unless I forget about having the stack of envelopes in tray 1, which I'll probably end up doing. AirPrint prints to tray 1 as the default so for me, it prints whatever, or tries to, to an envelope. There may be a way to configure the EPSON for AirPrint to use tray 2 (bottom); I just haven't found it yet.
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Envelope handling is amazing. You can, as mentioned above, put a stack of envelopes in tray 1 (top) or you can feed them individually from the rear of the printer. Coming from an ink jet printer that totally lacked envelope support, this printer supports envelopes perfectly.
I called the free technical support (toll number) and they were very good and very friendly as well. The only issue I had with support was that nobody I spoke with actually had a Mac. So, at some point, their help became a bit more "high level" when they said: "Could you hold please so I can consult my resources..." The support was still fine and no complaints here, but I figured out the Preset workaround for tray 2 when I was talking to them and actually explained it to them so they could update their ... "resources". I'm sure if they had a Mac they could have figured it out as well.
Hooking up the printer to the Ethernet network was as painless as plugging in the RJ-45 cable. No worries there at all. Not using wireless.
I won't go into all the features this printer has since you've probably already read about them before reading reviews, but I haven't had anything other than good results. The printer is just great. And, it's fast.
I highly recommend it!
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