Review, Hands-On Test Report, Photos & Video: Hands-On with Epson’s WorkForce Pro WF-5690 Business-Class MFP (Updated)

Tested Productivity

Tested print speeds using our proprietary suite of test originals were competitive at up to 20.08 ppm printing black text using the Epson ESC/P-R print driver, while color print speed was up to 18.20 ppm, both of which either matched or were very close to Epson’s rated ISO print speed of 20 (black)/20 (color) ppm. However, tested print speed using the Universal Print Driver were significantly slower. Additionally:

• Tested print speeds in copy mode were up to 6.17 ppm (using the ADF), but were significantly faster (17.45 ppm) using the flatbed platen.
• Tested scan speeds were somewhat slow at 6.31 ipm (simplex) and 4.68 ipm (duplex) compared to scan speeds of competitors in this class.
• However, duplex printing and copying speeds were efficient at 10.09 and 9.15 ppm respectively.

Business-Feature Set

WorkForce Pro WF-5690 provides a competitive business-class feature set, including wired and wireless network connectivity, Universal Print Driver (PCL 5/6) and PostScript 3 emulation print drivers, automatic duplex printing, automatic duplexing document feeder with two-sided scanning of originals, two paper sources with a total 330-sheet capacity (expandable to 580 sheets), mobile and remote printing, and scan to: email (with LDAP lookup), folders, and cloud. In order to control user access, there’s also user authentication (users must enter their name and password) for printing, as well as for walk-up copy, fax, and scan.

Ease of Use

Ease-of-use from the control panel and touch screen to print drivers and software is good. The control panel’s touch screen is notably very responsive, and print drivers and software, from Status Monitor, to Scan Utility, are intuitive and easy to use, especially for users familiar with Epson printers.

Administrative Management

The Embedded Web Server (EWS) has been markedly improved over previously tested Epson units and adds access to an extensive list of page, mode, and media counters, as well as all management settings, such as access controls, and security, email server and LDAP settings. Finally, the WorkForce Pro WF-5690 is also compatible with optional print-management software from PrintFleet, fmaudit and Print Audit..

Installation

Hardware set up was reasonable at approximately 30 minutes, including installing the four ink cartridges and ink priming, and the print head is pre-installed. However, there are no deployment tools such as installation packagers or print-driver deployment tools, and all three print drivers have disparate setup procedures.

Build Quality

In typical Epson fashion, build quality is above-average for a device in this class. It also has one of the most accurate and high-quality touch screens that we have tested to date..

Maintenance

Replacing the four separate ink cartridges is easy, and even the most novice users will be ably to quickly and easily replace ink cartridges. Simply unwrap the four CYMK ink cartridges, lower the front panel, press on and then slide out the depleted cartridge; then slide the new color-coded ink cartridge into its color-coded slot, and close the front door. The cartridge clicks securely into place, and high-yield 711 XXL cartridges are available (each yields up to 3,400 pages).