Epson's little workhorse

A monochrome inkjet printer with integrated ink tank system, the Epson WorkForce M200 is designed for the home or a small office eager to save printing costs.

The M200, which comes with scanning and copy functions but without a fax, also has a fast printing speed.

Epson says it is capable of printing up to 34 pages per minute for text and 15 greyscale photos per minute. During the test, it took the machine 12 seconds to print three pages of text, with the printing speed counted from the start of printing, rather than when the order was given through Microsoft Word, as obviously a few seconds are needed to sending the file from computer the printer.

I tested it using plain paper and found the text impressively sharp and clean, just like that printed on a laser printer.

M200’s best feature is its integrated ink tank that allows user to save on ink costs. Epson says the ink tank system allows savings of more than 50 per cent compared to the use of refill toner of a laser printer. The company also says the use of its M100 ink tank system brings the ink cost down to just only 12 satang (Bt0.12) per page.

M200’s ink tank is located on its right side and has a sliding cover that allows for easy refill, a task that can be done without needing to call on a technician.

The printer comes with two ink bottles - 140 millilitres and 70ml- and Epson says the bundled ink allows you to print up to 8,000 pages. The 70-ml bottle is used for initiating the printer for first use and 140ml bottle for refilling it.

You can later buy T774-code refill ink bottle for only Bt690, which allows you to print up to 6,000 pages. 

Epson says its ink pigment is water and fade resistant. I tested its water resistance by sprinkling water onto a printed page and found that the ink did not come out and the text remained sharp.

Installation was easy with Ethernet or LAN ports for connecting to a router to use as a network printer. I tested it by connecting to a USB port and I then installed the driver from a companion CD.

The M200 can also scan at the resolution of 1,200 x 2,400 dpi.

The Epson WorkForce M200 has a suggested retail price of Bt7,490.

      

Key specs

_ Nozzle Configuration: 360 Nozzles black

_ Minimum Droplet Size: 3 pl, with Variable-Sized Droplet Technology

_ Printing Speed: 34 Pages/min Monochrome (plain paper 75 gm)

_ Printing Resolution: 1.440 x 720 dpi

_ Scanning Resolution: 1.200 dpi x 2.400 dpi (Horizontal x Vertical)

_ Scanner type: Contact image sensor (CIS)

_ Interfaces: USB 2.0 specification, Ethernet interface (100 Base-TX / 10 Base-T)

_ Paper Formats: A4, A5, A6, B6, C6 (Envelope), DL (Envelope), No. 10 (Envelope), Letter, 9 x 13 cm, 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm, 13 x 20 cm, 20 x 25 cm, 100 x 148 mm, Legal

_ Automatic Document Feeder: Standard (built-in)

_ Output Tray Capacity: 30 Sheets

_ Paper Tray Capacity: 100 Sheets Standard, 100 Sheets maximum

_ Dimension: 435? x 377 x 226 mm (Width x Depth x Height)

_ Weight: 6 kg

_ Compatible Operating Systems: Mac OS 10.5.8 or later, Windows 7, Windows 7 x64, Windows 8 (32/64 bit), Windows Vista, Windows Vista x64, Windows XP, Windows XP x64