Hi Folks,
Welcome Back!
I have a scenario question for you:
You realize that you have a deadline coming due, and you need to print out a large banner advertisement, but your printer can only print 8.5" x 11" (standard letter size paper) or 8.5" x 14" (legal size paper). Perhaps you need to print out a large blueprint, but you realize that it will not fit onto letter size or legal-size paper.
What do you do?
Do you print out your advertisement on separate letter-sized pages and use a glue-stick or a stapler to connect them? Maybe you can print out your blueprint on a letter size page and a legal-size page and just staple them together? I truly hope your answer to both questions would be a resounding "NO"!
What you need to have is a printer that will allow you to print out in Wide-Format, which you can use for not only printing out your banner advertisements and your blueprints, but one that will also allow you to print in large, borderless format, as well as printing in high-quality for all of your needs, including photos, documents, and more!
That brings us to the topic of our discussion today, wide-format printing. I have had the pleasure of reviewing the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7310 Wireless Wide-format Printer, and I am happy to share the results of the tests I have done with the "WF-7310", and at the end, I will provide you with the detailed technical specifications (the "specs").
First Impressions:
The one thing you will notice about the WF-7310 is the size and weight of the unit. It is quite a hefty device, but one that feels like it could "take a punch", in other words, it is durable, and it is built to handle large print jobs!
Epson did not take any chances for damage that can occur during shipping and transit; this is a very well-protected printer, with an abundance of packing material, and blue safety tape in all locations. Just when you think you have removed all of it, you will still find more. It is imperative to locate and remove all of this tape first.
In the box, along with the printer, you will find an instruction manual, a CD-ROM for set-up, as well as a power cord. Additionally, it comes with the ink cartridges that it requires to print with, which are "DURABRite", and the colors included are black and the standard three colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow).
Before you begin setting up the Epson WF-7310, you will notice a few things at first glance:
* The WF-7310 has two paper trays in the front, which can hold 250-sheets per tray (500-sheet paper capacity), and with that amount of capacity, you know that this printer is ready for your heaviest of workloads! The output tray can hold up to 125-sheets and opens (and retracts) automatically when printed pages come out, which is a really neat option, because there have been several times that I forgot to open an output tray on a printer, and then I wind up chasing printed pages as they slide across the floor!
* Additionally, the WF-7310 also has a rear feed, which allows you to print on specialty paper that you may need to use for your project(s).
Setting Up The Epson WF-7310
Once you have removed all of that elusive blue tape, plug in the power cord, and turn on the WF-7310. The unit turns on quite fast, and there is not a lot of waiting time, at all.
In my opinion, the first thing that jumped out at me when it was powered up is the gorgeous, sharp, brilliant color 2.4" adjustable display, that we will use to navigate around the WF-7310 and to get it configured. You can tilt or adjust the LCD screen until it is at the most comfortable angle for you to begin.
As mentioned earlier, there is a guide that comes with the printer, showing you the step-by-step procedure to add the ink cartridges, paper, etc., but all of these steps are so intuitively arranged within menus on the LCD Screen, as you proceed with set up.
The next step is to add the ink cartridges that come with the unit, and it is highly suggested that you shake each cartridge before installing it, and you must remove the piece of tape before fitting it into its designated slot. You can install the cartridges, but if you forget to remove that piece of tape, it will not print. I got distracted for a moment when doing this step, so trust me on this one!
Once the cartridges are installed, it takes about 4 or 5 minutes for what I call the printer "making friends" with the new cartridges (on a more technical note, I think it is charging up the ink for usage). Once this charging of the ink is completed, you will then move on to paper selection, which is as simple as selecting the paper size you want to print on, and then removing the paper cassette/paper tray in the front, moving the tabs in order to place the paper inside of the cassette, adding in the paper size you have selected, and putting the loaded cassette back into the printer.
Once you have added the ink and the paper, your next step will be to install the software and start printing!
In the box that the WF-7310 comes in, there is a CD that you can use for set up, or, you have the option of navigating to the Epson website, which you will find in the documentation that is also in the box. This is the option that I selected, and downloaded the required drivers, as well as the utilities/software. Once I had all of this downloaded, I began the installation, which is intuitive and very easy to follow. I might have done this a little out of order, just due to the fact that I have a technical background, but at some point during the installation, I connected the printer to my Wi-Fi network, which was really quick and painless. I did this using the LCD screen on the printer, and when I went to the Wi-Fi connectivity screen, it picked up my available Wi-Fi networks. I then selected the network I wanted to use, and then entered my Wi-Fi password, and the printer was then accessible on my Wi-Fi. Due to my own set-up, I gave the WF-7310 a dedicated IP on my router, but that is outside the scope of this review, and is more on the side of my "inner geek"!
Once the printer is on your Wi-Fi, and your computer is able to see it during the driver/software installation, you are in a good place! From that point forward, the real fun of testing can begin!
Testing the Speed of the WF-7310
The WF-7310 uses a heat-free technology, called "PrecisionCore", that allows you to do some pretty fast printing, whether you are printing in all black or in color. My first step here was to test out and see if we could match the claim of 25 pages per minute (25 PPM) of black text and 12 pages per minute (12 PPM) of color text. I had two different documents that were perfect for this; an all-black text services contract of 20 pages, and several color text pages from a advertising run that my company did (I pulled theses color pages together into a single document of 10 pages).
As I sent each print job, I kept track using the stopwatch function on my phone, and the results were as follows:
For the 20-page all-black text print job, it took 49 seconds to print, and given the 25 PPM claim, this was extremely close enough to call it a success in hitting that mark.
For the 10-page color text print job that I sent, it took 52 seconds, and given the 12 PPM claim, this, too, was close enough to call a success. During both jobs, printing was effortless, and the WF-7310 was relatively quiet while rendering both jobs.
How about the Quality of the Print Jobs?
Both print jobs came out in bold, sharp, and gorgeous text. For the sake of the review, I used a small magnifying glass that I had in my desk drawer to look at the text up close, and it really was sharp! I noticed that the ink on both print jobs was instantly dry, with no smears or smudges visible, even with the magnifying glass I used. Sometimes when you print, the previous page can bleed onto the next printed page that lands on top of it, but this did not happen with the WF-7310, which is fantastic!
I also wanted to comment on the color, and just how perfect it was, because the text in the color print job I sent did not just use the basic colors, and some of the text were shades and mixes of colors, and the WF-7310 captured these nuances perfectly!
Going a step further, I had a document filled with several color images within a diagram of networking equipment, and I sent this job through to see the quality of images in print jobs, and I found the quality and the sharpness of these images to be uncanny! I would certainly say that if I printed this document at a local print shop, they could not have printed it any sharper and any more precise than the WF-7310. Once again, I am saying this after using my handy magnifying glass once again!
I can further back up this comment, because I sent a photo that I had on my computer to the printer, using the glossy print paper I had, and it came out perfectly. Once I clipped the edges off the photo, I would have a hard time distinguishing the difference between printing on the WF-7310, or having a 3rd party printing service print out the photo. Yes, it is just that good!
For my last test, I had a server room blueprint for a current project for my job, and this document is a wide-format document, which should print out and measure about 11" x 16". I had plain paper that was 11" x 17", which I loaded into the cassette and sent the print job, which printed exactly as I had hoped with the proper measurement/size. In order to print this blueprint on a printer without the wide-format option, I would normally need to print it on 2 pages of letter size and connect them (which is completely unprofessional, as you can imagine!).
Mobile Printing
With the WF-7310, you have the option of printing wirelessly from your smart phone. In order to do this, you simply need to download the Epson Smart Panel App from your App Store (i.e. Google Play). Once you have downloaded the app, and have connected to your printer, you can send print jobs to the WF-7310 effortlessly. Personally, once I configured my Android with the app, I sent an E-mail to the WF-7310, and it printed quickly and perfectly, just like the print jobs I sent from my computer earlier during this review.
Summary
Overall, I found the WF-7310 to be a powerful and precise tool to help me stay on top of the print jobs that I need to complete. I found that being able to change the paper settings across a variety of different sizes was incredibly helpful.
Further, I did notice that there was an option to print without any borders..."borderless"...up to some pretty large sizes, but even though I did not use this option, as it is not relevant to my daily print jobs, it still is a great feature to have, especially for advertisements and banners.
If someone asked me if I could say anything negative about the WF-7310, I really could not point to anything specifically. I did have a small issue with the ink cartridges, but that was really on me, because I failed to remove the tape on one of the cartridges before inserting it into the printer. But again, that was user error!
The Epson WorkForce WF-7310 would be a great printer for either an office or for a home office, and for anyone needing to print out quickly, with sharp and bold colors and text, and for many of those folks, like myself, that need an option to print out in format that is larger than the standard letter size, making this wide-format printer a great tool in your arsenal!
Kudos to Epson on the WF-7310, as this truly is a quality printer on the cutting edge of technology!
As mentioned earlier, the Technical Specifications ("specs") for the Epson WF-7300 are listed below.
Thank you!
Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes - Rent to Own Homes, since 2002
"Located at the Corner of Technology and Real Estate"
Rent to Own Homes and Real Estate Blog for HomeRun Homes: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com
TAGS: #Epson #WF-7310 #Wireless #WideFormat #Color #Printer
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
PRINT:
Printing Technology PrecisionCore Heat-Free Technology,
MicroTFP2
Printer Language Epson ESC/P®-R, ESC/P-Raster
Max. Print Resolution 4800 x 2400
Print Speed 25 ISO ppm (black), 12 ISO ppm (color)
2-Sided Print Speed 16 ISO ppm (black),
9 ISO ppm (color)
Min. Ink Droplet Size 3.8 picoliters
Duty Cycle Up to 50,000 pages monthly
(recommended monthly page volume up to 2,500 pages)
MOBILE PRINTING:
Epson Connect™ Solutions2 Epson® Email Print,
Epson Remote Print
Mobile Apps Epson Smart Panel App
Other Apple® AirPrint® Mopria®
CONNECTIVITY:
Hi-Speed USB
Wireless 2.4GHz and 5GHz (802.11 b/g/n/a/ac)
Wi-Fi Direct
Wired Ethernet (10/100 Mbps)
OPERATING SYSTEMS:
Windows® 10 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 8/8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit),
Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista® (32-bit, 64-bit),
Windows XP SP3 or later 32-bit, Windows XP Professional x64
Edition SP2 or later, Windows Server® 2003 (SP2) – Windows
Server 2019
Mac® OS X® 10.6.8 – macOS® 11.0.X
PAPER HANDLING:
Max. Paper Size 13" x 19" (A3+/Super B)
Paper Sizes 3.5" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", 8.5" x 11",
8.5" x 14", 11" x 17", 13" x 19", A4, A6, Half Letter, Executive,
User-definable (3.5" – 47.2" in length)
Borderless Sizes 11" x 17" (A3), 8.5" x 14", 8.5" x 11" (A4),
8" x 10", 5"x7", 4" x 6", 3.5" x 5"
Paper Types Plain Paper, Bright White Paper, Multi Purpose
Paper, Presentation Paper Matte, Premium Presentation Paper
Matte, Photo Paper Glossy, Premium Photo Paper Glossy,
Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy, Premium Photo Paper
Semi-gloss
Envelope Type No. 10
Input Paper Capacity 500 sheets plain paper (250 sheets
plain paper x 2 trays)
Rear Feed Capacity 1 sheet
GENERAL:
Display 2.4" Color LCD
Temperature
Operating: 50 ° to 95 °F (10 ° to 35 °C)
Storage: -4 ° to 104 °F (-20 ° to 40 °C)
Relative Humidity
Operating: 20 – 80% RH
Storage: 5 – 85% RH
Sound Level
Power (Plain Paper default color printing): 6.2 B(A)
Pressure (Plain Paper default color printing): 48 dB(A)
Rated Voltage AC 100 – 120 V
Rated Frequency 50 – 60 Hz
Rated Current 0.6 A
Power Consumption
Printing (ISO/IEC24712 pattern): 26 W
Ready Mode: 6.3 W
Sleep Mode: 0.8 W
Power Off Mode: 0.2 W
TEC Number: 0.12 kWh
Safety Approvals:
Safety: UL60950-1, CAN/CSA-C22.2 No.60950-1
EMC: FCC Part15 Subpart B Class B, ICES-003 Class B
Country of Origin Indonesia
Weight and Dimensions (W x D x H), printer only
Printing: 20.3" x 34.9" x 17.6" (515 x 887 x 447 mm)
Storage: 20.3" x 15.7 x 11.7 (515 x 400 x 298 mm)
Weight: 29.8 lb (13.5 kg)
Weight and Dimensions (W x D x H), box
Dimensions: 23.2” x 18.7” x 17.9” (590 x 475 x 455mm)
Weight: 36.4 lb (16.5 kg)
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
WorkForce Pro WF-7310 printer, instruction manual, CDROM for product setup, power cord, 4x DURABrite Ultra Ink
cartridges (1x Black ink cartridge and 3x color ink cartridges:
1x Cyan, 1x Magenta, 1x Yellow)
Software Included Epson printer driver
Warranty 1-year limited warranty in the U.S. and Canada
INK:
Ink Type DURABrite Ultra pigment ink
Ink Cartridges 4x individual ink cartridges
(1x Cyan, 1x Magenta, 1x Yellow and 1x Black)
Fade Resistance/Print Longevity Up to 400 years
dark storage
Replacement Ink Cartridges
812 Standard-capacity Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
(Yield, ISO pages — Black: 350, Color: 300)
812XL High-capacity Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
(Yield, ISO pages — Black: 1,100, Color: 1,100 )
812XXL Extra High-capacity Black
(Yield, ISO pages — Black: 2,200)
Printer is designed for use with Epson cartridges only,
not third-party cartridges or ink.
ECO FEATURES:
Save up to 50% of your paper supply with automatic,
2-sided printing
ENERGY STAR® certified
RoHS compliant
Recyclable product
Epson America, Inc. is a SmartWay® Transport Partner
