NEW DELHI: When it comes to printers, Epson is a name to reckon with. The Japanese tech firm has had a large footprint in the printer market with a range of devices catering to both regular customers and for businesses. Out of its wide range of offerings, we recently got our hands on the Epson L485. The L485 falls in the company's Ink Tank series as it comes with a separate ink box attached on the left side.
The Epson L485 is an advanced version of the L380, which we reviewed back in June (put the link here). It is up for sale from the company's own shopping website for Rs 17,499 but is available from third-party online retailers at a much lower price tag. So, what are you getting from the Epson L485 at the given price tag? Although it looks the same as other consumer-grade printers, what makes it worthy? Read our review to find out.
Design
The L485 at the first glance looks just like any other regular printer. However, give it a closer look you will see the large 'Ink Tank' that comes attached on the right side. You can change it whenever you want. The model we received was in all-Black colour and much like other L-series printers had multiple buttons at the front to navigate across different options. There is a small screen as well for easy understanding.
The device weighs a generous 4.5kg, making it not so portable. In the past, we have seen several other printers from Epson rivals like HP sporting a similar look and design but carrying less weight. In Epson's case, a major part of its weight comes from the large Ink Tank.
It measures 482x300x145mm and has plastic as the dominant material used on the outside for its build. Like what we saw with the L380, the L485 also has a matte finish, which makes it less prone to fingerprints and smudges. As usual, the input paper tray is placed at the back and the output tray is at the front. The printer-cum-scanner-cum-copier machine has a microSD card reader at the front towards the left side along with a power and a USB connector at the back.
At the front, you have the power button, Home button, four navigation buttons with a central 'Ok' button and two more buttons on the right side to cancel the current operation and take a copy. There is also a 1.44-inch LCD screen at the centre for easy operation. You can also select images using the display for printing from the memory card.
All in all, the Epson L485 gives you a stealth look with its all black matte finish but at the same time has a bulky appearance, given its large size and the attached Ink Tank. However, it has more features than a regular printer for home use.
Performance
The Epson L485 carries a lot of features on board. It can definitely carry out all the basic functions like printing, copying and scanning. But a big plus point is the ease in which one can perform these functions. It has Wi-Fi support (including Wi-Fi Direct) so users can print documents without connecting their laptops with the machine. It does come with an installation software disk but you can even simply connect it with a USB cable to install the drivers and get going.
With a maximum print resolution of 5,760 x 1,440 dpi, the L485 inkjet printer on an average can print a coloured image in around 10-12 seconds. In our tests, the device rolled out as many as 11-12 pages in a minute. While this was when the printer was connected with a cable, using it wirelessly takes a few seconds more. Naturally, a monochrome image takes slightly less time than what it takes for a coloured photo. It is worth mentioning that changing the print quality is directly proportional to the time taken to print the page.
The printer supports different paper sizes including A4, A5, A6 and B5 and has an input paper capacity of up to 100 sheets. The maximum paper size it can support is 8.5x44 inch.
The Epson L485's CIS or Contact Image Sensors delivers satisfactory output. The images, however, come with a warm tint as compared to what is visible on the screen. The colour reproduction is not quite perfect at the given price point but is good enough for presentations and projects. The Blacks are not completely black and the overall image is slightly faded.
Scanning the document was quick and the colour reproduction was near accurate. A time taken to scan a full page (A4) image takes around 20-25 seconds, which is at par with some of the other critically well-acclaimed printers in the market.
As for wireless connectivity, the Epson L485 might take a while in connecting with a Wi-Fi network. However, once connected, it supports functionalities such as Epson iPrint, Email Print, Remote Print Driver and Scan to Cloud. These let users print documents wirelessly from the source device, directly from emails, to any compatible Epson printer in the world using internet connectivity and scan documents and save it in the cloud storage.
Verdict
The Epson L485 is a printer that has pretty much everything a regular user seeks. It delivers an above average quality print within good timespan and is quick in scanning images. The printer also aims to take over its rivals that are made for small and medium-sized businesses. Wireless connectivity in the Epson L485 is a delight and smooth at once, provided it gets connected successfully. Understanding the functionalities and installing drivers is a cakewalk.
However, given the price of the Epson L485, it is difficult to recommend it for home use as there are printers with the scanning, printing and Wi-Fi abilities available at a much lower price point. But it fits perfectly for small/medium businesses. If you are looking out for alternatives, you can go for the Canon Pixma G3000 or some HP-branded Deskjet printers.
The Epson L485 is an advanced version of the L380, which we reviewed back in June (put the link here). It is up for sale from the company's own shopping website for Rs 17,499 but is available from third-party online retailers at a much lower price tag. So, what are you getting from the Epson L485 at the given price tag? Although it looks the same as other consumer-grade printers, what makes it worthy? Read our review to find out.
Design
The L485 at the first glance looks just like any other regular printer. However, give it a closer look you will see the large 'Ink Tank' that comes attached on the right side. You can change it whenever you want. The model we received was in all-Black colour and much like other L-series printers had multiple buttons at the front to navigate across different options. There is a small screen as well for easy understanding.
The device weighs a generous 4.5kg, making it not so portable. In the past, we have seen several other printers from Epson rivals like HP sporting a similar look and design but carrying less weight. In Epson's case, a major part of its weight comes from the large Ink Tank.
It measures 482x300x145mm and has plastic as the dominant material used on the outside for its build. Like what we saw with the L380, the L485 also has a matte finish, which makes it less prone to fingerprints and smudges. As usual, the input paper tray is placed at the back and the output tray is at the front. The printer-cum-scanner-cum-copier machine has a microSD card reader at the front towards the left side along with a power and a USB connector at the back.
At the front, you have the power button, Home button, four navigation buttons with a central 'Ok' button and two more buttons on the right side to cancel the current operation and take a copy. There is also a 1.44-inch LCD screen at the centre for easy operation. You can also select images using the display for printing from the memory card.
All in all, the Epson L485 gives you a stealth look with its all black matte finish but at the same time has a bulky appearance, given its large size and the attached Ink Tank. However, it has more features than a regular printer for home use.
Performance
The Epson L485 carries a lot of features on board. It can definitely carry out all the basic functions like printing, copying and scanning. But a big plus point is the ease in which one can perform these functions. It has Wi-Fi support (including Wi-Fi Direct) so users can print documents without connecting their laptops with the machine. It does come with an installation software disk but you can even simply connect it with a USB cable to install the drivers and get going.
With a maximum print resolution of 5,760 x 1,440 dpi, the L485 inkjet printer on an average can print a coloured image in around 10-12 seconds. In our tests, the device rolled out as many as 11-12 pages in a minute. While this was when the printer was connected with a cable, using it wirelessly takes a few seconds more. Naturally, a monochrome image takes slightly less time than what it takes for a coloured photo. It is worth mentioning that changing the print quality is directly proportional to the time taken to print the page.
The printer supports different paper sizes including A4, A5, A6 and B5 and has an input paper capacity of up to 100 sheets. The maximum paper size it can support is 8.5x44 inch.
The Epson L485's CIS or Contact Image Sensors delivers satisfactory output. The images, however, come with a warm tint as compared to what is visible on the screen. The colour reproduction is not quite perfect at the given price point but is good enough for presentations and projects. The Blacks are not completely black and the overall image is slightly faded.
Scanning the document was quick and the colour reproduction was near accurate. A time taken to scan a full page (A4) image takes around 20-25 seconds, which is at par with some of the other critically well-acclaimed printers in the market.
As for wireless connectivity, the Epson L485 might take a while in connecting with a Wi-Fi network. However, once connected, it supports functionalities such as Epson iPrint, Email Print, Remote Print Driver and Scan to Cloud. These let users print documents wirelessly from the source device, directly from emails, to any compatible Epson printer in the world using internet connectivity and scan documents and save it in the cloud storage.
Verdict
The Epson L485 is a printer that has pretty much everything a regular user seeks. It delivers an above average quality print within good timespan and is quick in scanning images. The printer also aims to take over its rivals that are made for small and medium-sized businesses. Wireless connectivity in the Epson L485 is a delight and smooth at once, provided it gets connected successfully. Understanding the functionalities and installing drivers is a cakewalk.
However, given the price of the Epson L485, it is difficult to recommend it for home use as there are printers with the scanning, printing and Wi-Fi abilities available at a much lower price point. But it fits perfectly for small/medium businesses. If you are looking out for alternatives, you can go for the Canon Pixma G3000 or some HP-branded Deskjet printers.
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