When it comes to printers, there’s no doubt that two of the competing printers in the market comes from HP and Epson. Both companies offer high quality yet cheap printer products. The Epson SX100 is an entry-level all-in-one printer at a very affordable price.

Design

All-in-one printers used to be so chunky that it seems that you have to set up another table beside your computer table just so it could fit. Gone are those days, thanks to the Epson SX100. This printer is very compact and offers a conventional design. The secret of the portable design probably lies in the fact that it has no LCD in front and there are very few buttons.

Performance

For a printer at this price point I’m not expecting much but most printers I’ve tested always comes close to their claim speeds, this printer should be sued for misleading the public. Epson claims the SX100 has print speed of 26ppm, I tested it in both normal and draft modes, the draft mode (which I know most companies use this mode when claiming their print speeds) didn’t even come close to half of their claimed speed. Plus, the print quality in draft mode looks like it has been printed on a dot matrix printer. The print quality in normal mode is okay but print speed came out at 2.5ppm.

Photo prints on the other hand are okay but still slow with the slowest print speed clocking in at 5 minutes for a 15 x 10cm photo.

One of the things I like about Epson printers is their individual ink cartridges which can save you a lot of money. The ink for the Epson SX100 costs around $12 with compatible Epson SX100 ink cartridges at only half of the price.

Conclusion

Yes, this is a budget printer but for those who’re looking for speed and don’t mind the price, look elsewhere. Otherwise this can be a good printer to accompany your kid’s computer.