Epson WorkForce 635 Color Inkjet All-in-One (C11CA69201) Review

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(More customer reviews)I received the Epson Workforce 635 from Amazon 4 days ago. The retail box arrived packaged nicely inside a large Amazon brown box. It came with a power cord and a standard telephone cord for the fax machine. No USB cord was included.
Un-boxing and setting up Epson WorkForce 635 with the provided "Extra High Capacity Ultra ink" cartridges was real easy. Since I was setting up this device to work with my wireless network, I did not need a USB cord (not included). I raised the Epson WorkForce 635 control console (keypad) with the built in small LCD monitor up and after a few keystrokes on the keypad, I was able to enter my wireless network name and password and I was connected. After glancing quickly at the quick guide, I turned off the printer and I installed the software. Once the installation was complete, I turned the "WorkForce" back on and I was able to print a test page in color that printed beautifully on plain 8.5x11 papers.
Here's my detailed review on the performance of the "Epson WorkForce 635".
* As a Black and White printer: Excellent
* As a color printer: Very good to Excellent
* As a photo printer:
I tested the photo printing capabilities on different stocks including Kodak Premium Glossy Photo paper and Epson Premium photo paper and the overall quality was good. There was some lines on some of the photos especially visible in dark areas the blue sky, which required going to the Epson Utility and doing the head cleaning or the Nozzle check. Quite frankly, I didn't expect to deal with head cleaning when I only had this printer for a few days. I have seen this issue with previous Epson printer that I owned in the past and some I still have. The Nozzle check and or head cleaning process does use up some of the valuable ink that you need to print photos or documents.
There are several ways to print your favorite photos: You can print directly from your computer utilizing the provided software or insert any popular memory card such as CF, SD, and you'll be able to view and select and print your picture easily.
My test results were darker images directly from a memory cards versus printing directly from my computer. However, the "Epson WorkForce 635" has many options to even brighten or edit your pictures before you print. I was also impressed with the option to connect any USB Flash card or even USB Card reader to the front USB port next to the memory card slots. Reading the memory cards was fast and the total number of pictures was calculated very fast.
* As a color copier: Very good to Excellent. It was also a great advantage to be able to place a 4x6 photo on the scanner glass and be able to print a photo quality copy if you load 4x6 photo papers. This feature allowed me to make copies of older or other photos to quickly share with family members or friends.
* As a black and white copier: Very good to Excellent.
* As a fax machine: Very good to Excellent
If you read the online manual you'll be directed to a link to install a fax software that allows you to fax a document wirelessly from your computer without having the actual paper in your hand. The software was not included on the provided disk but it is easily downloaded and installed to your operating system. I was even able to install it on my mac.
* As a wireless device:
Installation of the wireless set up was very easy and it is very convenient to be able to print from any computer within the range of the network (wired or wireless) PC or Mac. Everything worked fine!
* As a scanner: The quality was satisfactory and sufficient for most office or home requirements
* As a wireless printer: Fast!
* As a wireless scanner: This was an added advantage to be able to scan documents or even photos wirelessly to my computer.
Epson Customer Service: I needed to mention that unfortunately there was a defect on my "Epson WorkForce 635". There was a piece of cardboard or paper right below the scanner/copier glass that shows up on every scan and copy. This was clearly a defect in manufacturing the product and the lack of quality control. I contacted Epson customer service and they said they will be able to replace the unit with a new one. They gave me 2 options:
Option 1: They'll send a replacement when they receive the defective unit-it could take up to "7 business weeks" as stated by Epson customer service. Epson will cover the shipping both ways. Just take the unit to the nearest FEDEX and provide the reference number.
Option 2: Pay $180 or the actual price by credit card, and they'll send the replacement right away (about 5-7 days) and then you can send the defective unit after receiving the replacement. Once they receive the defective unit, they'll credit your credit card the amount charged.
Conclusion: Overall, Epson WorkForce 635 is a great ALL IN ONE unit. It is definitely a bargain for what it can do in this price range and the overall ease of operation.
There are 2 reasons I didn't give it 5 stars:
1-The repeated need to clean clogged heads- this is an inconvenience and a waste of time, ink and paper.
2-The defective unit I received shows lack of quality control and the inconvenience to repack and send the unit back and wait for replacement.
I will update this review once I receive my replacement unit.
***Update 11/17/2010
I received my replacement unit from Epson! The unit was new and all is well. They also included a new set of ink cartridges!
I had taken the defective unit to my local Fedex as Epson had requested and was able to ship it at their expense (they provided their Fedex account number). It took 6 days (including weekend) for the unit to arrive at Epson and a replacement unit minus the software and cord that I didn't send (based on their instructions) was shipped the same day they received my defective unit. It took another 6 days for the replacement to arrive. The total wait was 12 days. . When I sent an email inquiring if they shipped the replacement, they replied promptly and acknowledged receiving the defective unit and provided a tracking number for the replacement as I requested!
* I would rate Epson customer service as excellent!

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