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Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 Review

A strong all-around printer where photo and graphic printing, cost efficiency, user interface, and print speed all score well
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Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 Review (You can prop open the lid of the Epson WF-4820, which makes scanning even large items like text books quick and easy.)
You can prop open the lid of the Epson WF-4820, which makes scanning even large items like text books quick and easy.
Credit: Laura Casner
Price:  $220 List
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Manufacturer:   Epson
By Lesley Robinson and Benjamin Hickok  ⋅  Jun 14, 2024
71
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#4 of 9
  • Text Quality - 25% 7.5
  • Graphics and Photos - 25% 6.3
  • Operating Cost - 25% 7.6
  • Ease of Use - 15% 7.3
  • Printing Speed - 10% 6.8

Our Verdict

As one of the best printers we've tested, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820 excelled in the majority of our testing. It is a great, affordable inkjet printer thanks to its low operating costs and overall performance. It shines in its ability to print high-quality photos and graphics and prints large documents relatively quick. While we tested many faster models in our printer review, it scored in the above-average region of the curve for speed. This printer would make a great addition to the home or small office that needs consistently good prints at a fair price, with an emphasis on high-quality photos. See how it stacks up against other comparable products in our article on the best home printers.
REASONS TO BUY
Sturdy
Well-built
Awesome interface
Strong all-around performance
REASONS TO AVOID
Proprietary ink only

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards Best Buy Award
Best Budget All-in-One Printer
Best Buy Award
Budget Document Printer
   
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Overall Score Sort Icon
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Star Rating
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Bottom Line A great budget-friendly printer that performs well in every metric and excels at affordable, high quality photo printingA good document printer for home office useThis capable printer has low upfront costs, but its long-term operational costs might upset those initial savingsAn inexpensive printer that does the job, but is costly to operateExpensive to operate, but it does print some really exceptional photos
Rating Categories Epson Workforce Pro... HP OfficeJet 8015e... HP DeskJet 2755e Canon Pixma MG3620 Canon Pixma TR4720
Text Quality (25%)
7.5
7.0
5.3
3.5
4.5
Graphics and Photos (25%)
6.3
7.5
6.9
7.6
8.8
Operating Cost (25%)
7.6
7.3
2.2
4.2
1
Ease of Use (15%)
7.3
7.8
7.8
5.9
6.8
Printing Speed (10%)
6.8
7.6
5.8
1.8
3.4
Specs Epson Workforce Pro... HP OfficeJet 8015e... HP DeskJet 2755e Canon Pixma MG3620 Canon Pixma TR4720
Type All-in-one inkjet All-in-one inkjet All-in-one inkjet All-in-one inkjet All-in-one inkjet
Capabilities Print, scan, copy, fax Print, scan, copy Print, scan, copy Print, scan, copy Print, scan, copy, fax
Estimated Lifetime Cost of Ownership $634 $646 $1,269 $963 $1,449
Resolution (Black) 4800 x 1200 dpi 1200 x 1200 dpi 1200 x 1200 dpi 600 x 600 dpi 4800 x 1200 dpi
Resolution (Color) 4800 x 1200 dpi 4800 x 1200 dpi 4800 x 1200 dpi 4800 x 1200 dpi 4800 x 1200 dpi
Supported Paper Sizes 3.5 x 5", 4 x 6", 5 x 7", 8 x 10",8.5 x 11", 8.5 x 14", A4, A6, half letter, executive Letter; Legal; Government Legal; Executive; Statement; 4 x 6 in; 5 x 7 in; 13 x 18 cm; 8 x 10 in; 10 x 15 cm; L; Photo 2L; Envelope( #10, Monarch, 5.5 bar); Card (4 x 6 in, 5 x 8 in) Letter; legal; 4 x 6 in; 5 x 7 in; 8 x 10 in; No. 10 envelopes 4 x 6", 5 x 7", Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 Envelopes 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", Letter (8.5" x 11"), Legal (8.5" x 14"), U.S. #10
Envelopes
Custom Size: Width: 4" - 8.5" / Length: 6" - 26.6"
Borderless Printing 11: 4"x6", 5"x7", 8"x 10", Letter (8.5"x11")
Measured Dimensions (excludes extensions) 14.8" x 13.7" x 9.1" 18.1" x 13.4" x 9.2" 16.7" x 12" x 6" 17.7" x 12.0" x 6.0" 17.2" x 11.7" x 7.5"
Measured Weight 15.0 lb 18 lb 7.7 Ib 11.9 Ib 12.7 lb
Paper Handling Input 250 Sheets 225 Sheets 60 Sheets 100 Sheets plain paper or 20 sheet 4 x 6″ photo paper 100 Sheets plain paper
photo paper: 20 sheets 4" x 6″ or 10 sheets 5" x 7"
Monthly Duty Cycle 5,000 Pages 20,000 Pages 1,000 Pages Light-duty use (does not specify beyond this) Not specified
Auto 2-Sided Printing Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Ink Cost per Ream: B/W $28.56 $34.98 $74.96 $55.53 $84.95
Ink Cost per Ream: Color $23.94 $22.21 $94.95 $72.19 $109.95
Claimed Pages Per Minute 15 24 8 (black)
6 (color)
8 9
Measured Pages per Minute: Single-Sided B/W 24 15 11 9 8
Connectivity 100Mbps Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0 1 Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n; 1 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Hi-Speed USB PictBridge (Wireless LAN)10 Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b/g/n) Hi-Speed USB
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n wireless networking, 2.4 GHz)1
Wireless Direct Connection (Access Point Mode Only)
Wireless Connect9
Operating System Compatibility Windows 10
Windows 8, 8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit)
Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)
Mac OS X 10.6 — macOS 10.13.x11
Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7,Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit, Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit (SP1), Windows Server 2012 64-bit, Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit, Windows Server 2016, Chrome OS Windows XP and Windows Vista not supported Windows 11; Windows 10; Windows 7; macOS 10.12 Sierra; macOS 10.14 Mojave; macOS 10.15 Catalina; macOS 11 Big Sur; Chrome OS Windows:19 Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Vista SP1, Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3 32-bit
Mac:20 Mac OS X v10.7.5 - 10.10
Windows:20 Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 SP1
Mac:21 macOS 10.12.6 — 10.15 (Catalina)
Chromebook Compatible 22
Mobile Operating Systems:23 iOS, iPadOS, AndroidTM

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820 is a great all-around inkjet printer. With a fairly low initial purchase price and low operating costs, this printer is a great buy for those who prioritize budget and high quality. The WF-4820 pulls ahead of the pack with its stellar photo and graphic printing capabilities and fast print speeds.

Performance Comparison


epson workforce pro wf-4820 - the epson workforce pro wf-4820 is a respectable home office...
The Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 is a respectable home office workhorse.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Text Quality


We found the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 to print consistently good-quality monochrome text in our testing. We tested prints in various fonts, text sizes, and lighting conditions, and the WF-4820 had consistently good black and white quality and text resolution.


Thinner fonts did not display any noticeable fuzziness, as we saw with printers that did not perform well in this metric. What was noticeable was an alignment issue (though we were able to fix it). In general, text was consistently dark, with no blemishes and only the most minor streaking on bold text. We also noticed minor bleed-through when printing double-sided jobs.

epson workforce pro wf-4820 - in our testing, the wf-4820 produced high-quality, monochrome text...
In our testing, the WF-4820 produced high-quality, monochrome text prints.
Credit: Laura Casner

Text clarity and edge detail were also great. Large, bolded fonts looked clean and solid, but small font sizes did lose the same high quality clean lines and crispness of larger text. Overall, the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 performed well in this test metric.

epson workforce pro wf-4820 - smaller text loses definition but still stays legible to the naked...
Smaller text loses definition but still stays legible to the naked eye.
Credit: Lesley Robinson

Graphics and Photos


The Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 did an impressive job in our graphics and photos testing. We saw consistency and high quality between both graphs and images.


In our first major set of tests, we tasked each model with printing a standard high-resolution test photo. The Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 was up for the task. We found that the images were better than those produced by many other printers in our lineup but not exceptional under the microscope. While the photo prints produced by the WF-4820 were better at showing fine detail like hair or clothing material than many other printers, they included some minor graininess, and colors were warmer than in the originals.

Analyzing the photo printing abilities of the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820.
Credit: Matt Lighthart

The clarity for graphics prints in our business graphic testing was also great. Sharp and clear details were easy to observe, and our only criticism of graphic prints was slightly washed-out or muted colors that were perfectly representative of the originals.

On a normal print setting, graphics and photos exhibited muted or slightly washed-out colors with undertones that didn't accurately represent the colors in the original works. However, when we played around more with the settings, we were able to get the colors in graphics and photos to be vibrant and true. Overall, you won't be disappointed with the photo and graphic printing quality of prints produced by the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820, as it outshines many other models. Still, it wouldn't be our go-to recommendation for printing a photo at home to hang on a wall.

epson workforce pro wf-4820 - the workforce offers greater detail in prints than many other...
The workforce offers greater detail in prints than many other printers, like the ones shown on the top left and right.
Credit: Matt Lighthart

Operating Cost


The Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 is unique in that while its initial purchase price and color cost per ream is relatively low at $23.94, its black and white cost per ream is a bit higher at about $28.56. This is an important consideration for this printer. This means that if you're printing mostly black and white text, this printer will cost more over time than if you print predominantly color photos with some black and white text. Black and white prints cost about 6 cents per page, whereas the average for the models was 5.5 cents.


Keep in mind that while the black and white cost per ream isn't terrible, other printers in our lineup perform just as well or better for less. The key takeaway is that the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 is great at printing high-quality, inexpensive photos at 5 cents per page. However, if your priority is lots of black and white text and very few photo or graphic prints, this might not be the best choice for you.

A large paper tray will keep the Workforce working, with relatively low long-term costs.
Credit: Matt Lighthart

Despite its slightly higher cost per black and white ream, estimated combined lifetime costs for the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 are among the lowest in our lineup, making it a great budget-friendly option with a lower upfront price.

epson workforce pro wf-4820 - this unit's ink cartridges will get you a considerable amount of...
This unit's ink cartridges will get you a considerable amount of mileage at an economical price.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Ease of Use


Our testing of the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 offered mixed results for our ease of use metric. Though, overall its cumulative score was solid. It scored highly with the initial setup because of its intuitive and easy-to-use large display screen that guided us through the process. It was also easy to connect the printer to a network.


What we loved about this printer was its 2.4 by 4-inch intuitive touch display. This feature made it a pleasure to navigate settings and adjust things as needed. There are helpful sounds that indicate when ink is loaded correctly. The scanning lid can be propped open so that you can scan bulky items like textbooks. The Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 has one of the most impressive monthly duty cycles of any printer we tested, making it a great choice if you have to print in large volumes — like thousands of pages per month.


What we didn't love was the customer support for this model. Manuals were informationally outdated, in addition to looking quite outdated, and we had to wait on hold for a while to be put in contact with a live support agent whom we asked to help us through some weak connectivity issues. Despite the less-than-great customer support and resources, we liked how easy it was to operate the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 for casual home printing and small business use alike.

epson workforce pro wf-4820 - we like the large touchscreen of this model.
We like the large touchscreen of this model.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Printing Speed


While not the fastest across all of our printing speed tests, the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 can print most large documents and mixed media at a reasonable pace.


This model averaged a slower 2 minutes and 55 seconds for our 10-page mixed media test, 5 minutes and 55 seconds for a full-page photo, but offers faster than average printing of 10-page documents with a rate of 12 pages per minute using duplex settings and 24 pages per minute using simplex print settings. The averages for our test group during this update were just over 10 pages and 17 pages, respectively.

This unit has respectable printing speeds.
Credit: Matt Lighthart

Should You Buy the Epson WF-4820?


The Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820 is a budget-friendly printer with regular operating costs. It is worth noting that this printer is heavy and has a large footprint, so if you're in a space-limited office, make sure that the dimensions of this machine will fit your requirements.

What Other Printers Should You Consider?


Our top choice for a home printer is the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw, which has higher text quality than the WF-4820. However, it's quite expensive. If you just need a highly affordable document printer that works relatively well all around, you'll want to consider the HP OfficeJet 8015e Wireless Color. It's slightly less than the Epson and produces better photos, but it isn't an all-in-one printer.

epson workforce pro wf-4820 - a great all-in-one option for those looking for value.
A great all-in-one option for those looking for value.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Lesley Robinson and Benjamin Hickok