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Reviews
Epson WorkForce 600
Posted 12/03/2008 at 3:47:00am | by Leslie Ayers

image of Epson 600 printer
It does everything but make coffee—and looks great doing it.

Rarely do we run across an all-in-one printer as capable, affordable, and easy to use as the Epson WorkForce 600. On top of that, the device—which prints, scans, copies, and faxes—is attractive enough to share desk space with a MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro, without sticking out like a soccer mom at a death-metal concert.

Setup is a breeze, although you should decide from the outset whether you want to network the WorkForce 600 via Wi-Fi or a wired 10/100 Mbps Ethernet. If you just want to connect the printer to one Mac to get started right away, it’s a simple matter of installing the Epson software, connecting the device to your Mac via a USB cable (not included). Photos print beautifully on the machine at impressive speeds, depending on the print size and options selected. Most 300-dpi 4-by-6 images we printed at Best Photo setting (with High Speed also checked) came out in about a minute and a half, give or take a few seconds. Larger shots, such as an 8-by-10 portrait with a highly saturated background, took longer: 2 minutes, 42 seconds, in that case. Copies of full-color presentation slides printed nicely and took just 18 seconds apiece. And scanning the same color slides to PDF files took less than 30 seconds each. Printed photos came out beautifully and showed true-to-life color and accurate skin tones.

The device also offers plenty of options for bypassing a computer and printing directly from a flash memory card, PictBridge-compatible camera, or even a USB flash drive—though the USB slot on the front of the device requires a drive with a slim form factor, due to the port  being inset from the face of the printer. Because of its networking abilities and built-in Wi-Fi, the WorkForce 600 is ideal for a small business or workgroup of a handful of computers. But for only $200, it’s an awesome home printer too. It doesn’t handle paper wider than 8.5 inches, but for most standard photo print sizes, including panoramic shots, the WorkForce 600 more than pulls its own weight without making you wait, delivering drop-dead gorgeous prints and offering a slew of business-savvy options, like double-sided printing, optical character recognition (OCR), and enlargements up to 400 percent.

THE BOTTOM LINE
This ultracapable multifunction printer wowed us with stunning photo prints and speedy full-color copies, scans, and document prints, all wrapped up in a good-looking device that pairs stylishly with any late-model Mac.

COMPANY: Epson
CONTACT: www.epson.com
PRICE: $199.99
REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 10.3.9 or later, USB 2.0 for direct connection to Mac
Gorgeous photos. Great color copies. Fast, easy direct-to-PDF scans. Networkable via Wi-Fi or  Ethernet. Built-in double-sided printing and copying.
USB port on front of unit is inset too far to fit some USB drives without an adapter.
5/5
COMMENTS: 2
TAGS:  Epson
COMMENTS
avatarReview incorrect: Double-sided printing not supported on Mac

The "Awesome" rating is based upon incorrect information. The Workforce 600 does NOT permit double-sided printing on Macs. This is verified on Epson's website:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&infoType=Specs&oid=63076679&category=Products

Vague disclaimer: "Some applications and/or functions, like double-sided printing, are not supported by Mac."

The "Awesome" rating should be downgraded as it's based upon an incorrect feature set. If a printer manufacturer can't figure out duplexing(and additional "some" unspecified functions) for OS X, it probably shouldn't be in the business. I will not be buying one and I will be reading MacLife reviews with considerably more scrutiny in the future.

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avatarFalse Info: Shame on MacLife, Shame on Epson.

C'mon. This review is as unacceptable as Epson's lack of duplexing support for Mac. You guys are supposed to actually *try* the features Epson claims to provide.

I bought this printer as a Christmas present for my Dad to replace his Canon MP780. And I made the mistake of believing your 5-square "Awesome" rating and the "It does everything but make coffee—and looks great doing it" opener of your review...

Your gushing review does not merely neglect to mention this printer's lack of full Mac support, but the closing lines of the review actually MISLEAD a person to think that the printer will, in fact, do double-sided printing. If you're on a Mac it won't. And Epson doesn't appear to care about that. I'd have been better off getting my Dad another Canon (he was replacing the MP780)... it won't fax on a Mac, but it will print double-sided.

There was a time when your reviewers would explicitly and forcefully discredit a product when it failed to fully support Macs (you are "MACLIFE" afterall). Mac-centric reviews are an important part of why I subscribe to MacLife. It's my job to vet the things that I buy, so shame on me. But part of that process used to rely in part on the reviews you published... Shame on you.

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