Despite these disappointing figures, the WP-4095DN has no warm up time, and produced a page of text from sleep within nine seconds; much quicker than a typical laser. On the less frequent, one- or two-page jobs it's likely to encounter, speed is actually competitive.
We were impressed with the Epson's print quality. At the Normal quality setting, black text on plain paper was sharp and bold without any visible inkjet artefacts, and was resistant to smudging. Colour prints were also good, with solid and strong if slightly sombre fills, accurate shade control and no evidence of banding or streaking. It was possible to make out dots of ink in lighter regions of graphics and photographs, and such prints lacked the sheen of a laser's toner.
The WP-4095DN weighs in at 10.9kg and can fit in compact spaces
Design
Anyone who doubts the ability of an inkjet to withstand the physicality of corporate environments shouldn't worry about the WP-4095DN. The couriers who delivered our review sample subjected it to such severe handling that the base of its cardboard box was crushed, polystyrene packing smashed and the panel covering the consumable slots knocked off its hinges. This was easily re-seated, and the printer was otherwise none the worse for ware.
Unlike most lasers, the WP-4095DN has no hatches, panels or air vents, meaning it can be placed right next to a wall or other desktop equipment, useful when office space is at a premium. Day-to-day running such as changing ink or feeding and retrieving paper is all possible from the front. Rear access is only required should a paper jam occur in the duplexer, or to replace the maintenance box every 50,000 pages. The Epson inkjet is also quieter than most lasers, and doesn't produce noticeably loud noises.
Like other WorkForce Pro models, this inkjet has an 80-sheet rear feed designed to accept thick or special media, and a 250-sheet main paper cassette, which slots in at the front underneath the 150-sheet paper output. All are robustly engineered from thick plastics and seem stronger than equivalents on some other printers. The printer is also lighter than any laser we've encountered, weighing in a 10.6kg.
