Review: Epson Expression Premium XP610

This is the fifth printer I have bought in the last 11 years. I have enjoyed using every single one of them and everyone of them have all been well and truly utilized. When I finally upgraded to Windows 7, I had no choice but to retire my trusty HP Laserjet and my old faithful HP PSC 2310 inkjet. Both were still in good running condition but are incompatible with the newer OS.

So here comes my new "toy" - a spanking new up-to-date printer that has all the important and necessary features for modern home use. I won't list down all the features, but only the ones I am thrilled about.

Perhaps the most exciting new feature is the built-in wifi, which I have wanted for a long time. Setting up was quick and easy. I can now print straight from my smartphone, my laptop, or my PC. The printer sits far away from my PC. It does not need to be connected up with a PC. It is also compatible with Apple's Air Print and Google's Cloud Print.

I can scan by using the front panel, straight into a memory card, a PC, or to any cloud storage location. On my old scanner I had to launch a scanner program on a PC in order to scan. The scan quality is practically flawless, both in terms of sharpness and colour reproduction.

This printer has 5 separate ink cartridges, including a photo black. The ink levels can be viewed easily on the printer's front panel or on a computer. Third party (much cheaper) replacements can be bought from the Caribbean Market or on eBay. It has very good reviews for its colour prints. I have yet to try it out on high quality archival paper. I have quite positive vibes about it.

I would certainly recommend it to anyone for home use, especially due to the fact that it works almost straight out of the box (for heavy usage, consider the Epson Workforce series). Setting up was easy and hiccup-free. In spite of all the advanced wifi and cloud features, the front panel is very simple to use and a non-techie should feel comfortable with it.