Epson Expression Home XP-5200 review: only cheap at the surface
Table of Contents
Even as we move away from the art of paper printing, occasionally you might just need one or two files on paper – or even photos that are handy to have. In this case, a convenient all-in-one budget printer that gives you flexible printing options, without costing a fortune, is a fine solution.
Well, that’s exactly what I’m reviewing today: the Epson XP-5200. A cartridge printer that has plenty of printing and copying options, from different sizes to various media types, including photos. It doesn’t offer the best quality out there, but if it’s just for the occasional print, this might not be a dealbreaker. So, here’s in-depth look at the Epson Expression Home XP-5200 printer.
- Printer Output: Color
- Printer Type: Inkjet (Epson Micro Piezo print head)
- Connectivity Technology: USB, WiFi, Wi-Fi Direct
- Duplex Printing: Yes (A4, plain paper)
For a low-cost printer, the XP-5200 does a good job of getting things printed, scanned, or copied. With an average quality and slow speeds, it’s not going to be the right fit for everyone, especially when it comes to the expensive cartridge-based ink it uses. It’s more suited for the occasional user at home who can enjoy prints every so often and the tools the printer provides.
- Lightweight and compact
- Cheap entry price
- Automatic duplex printing
- Slower printing times
- Not the best quality prints
- Expensive and low-yield cartridges
Box contents and setup
As per usual, the XP-5200 comes in a fairly standard Epson-esque box that boasts marketing materials and photos of the printer on the exterior. Inside, users will find a bunch of parts that make up the printer, including the main unit, power cables, setup guide, and four individual cartridges to start your printing journey.
- 4x Individual Ink Cartridges
- Main unit
- Power cable
- Setup guide
- Warranty document
Getting the usual Epson printer treatment, the XP-5200 is packaged up expertly. Wrapped up in plastic foil and with all the flaps and pullouts held up with tape for transport, it actually takes a decent amount of time to unpack and get ready, even for setup.
Epson XP-5200 box contents, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 cartridges, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 cartridge sled, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 display, Image by PC Guide
Once you have unpacked everything, you will have plenty of literature and components to take care of. Even with all the papers that come with the printer, there is just a small instructional one that is handy for the setup. In fact, you’ll only need a small portion of the setup guide anyway, as after the first few steps, you continue on to your smartphone or PC to finish the installation.
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During that time, it provides a very hands-on and detailed explanation on how to get everything where it needs to be. It starts off by following the instructions on the printer and then the ones on the app. There is a rather detailed explanation of each step that is very handy to those who might not be too technologically savvy.
Once you get to the ink installation, you do have to deal with cartridges in this model. Giving them a shake and putting them in the right slots, it then takes quite some time to initiate, with around 11 minutes to get through that whole process. At least you can set up the WiFi connection at the same time, but with the lack of 5GHz support, I had to connect to the 2.4GHz network instead, manually.
After all that, you are immediately pressed to do the test print and check the alignment. First, check that the black and CMY lines remain intact. Then there are the boxes, lines, and rectangles to check, alongside the separation, where you choose the best results to input in the printer, enabling it to adjust its settings and get it in the right spot for printing.
Then, at the end of all that, you get a prompt for a firmware update, which takes its time to finish. Ultimately, after nearly an hour of setup, you are finally up and running and ready to print.
Epson XP-5200 connect setup, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 cartridge setup, Image by PC Guide
Design
When it comes to the look and design of the printer, the XP-5200 is all rather boxy, more so than the likes of the Epson ink tank printers. It cuts back on any bulkiness and odd shapes, and keeps to a basic box. Just the front tray sticks out from the bulk of the body.
The paper tray is part of the front that protrudes out from the main body. It sits at the bottom and is a thick pull-out tray that can fit 150 sheets inside. On top, you can have an extendable tray with a lip at the end that provides a convenient place to pick up your papers from without an extra flimsy part.
Above the trays are the controls and display on the fold-out bracket for convenience. There, you can find a reasonably sized 6.1cm LCD display with plentiful buttons for controls. It is a bit crowded, but it does save money, not including a touchscreen, and gives some easy control for whatever you need to do on the printer.
Epson XP-5200 box, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 display and buttons, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 front on, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 insides, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 left side, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 output and input tray, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 paper roller rear, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 rear, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 right side, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 scanner bed, Image by PC Guide
On top of the printer, you get access to the scanner bed after raising the bumpy lid. There is also access to the inside after lifting the scanner itself, which is held in place at the hinges, so your arm doesn’t get squashed by the lid falling down. Even implementing a slow close mechanism to prevent any harm or damage during opening and closing.
The rest of the printer doesn’t offer much more variety. The sides are flush with a couple of indents for holds or connections. The back features a pinch mechanism that lets you open the back and access the rollers for clearing any paper jams and issues.
Print results and speed
After going through the evaluation and setup, it’s now time to see how it functions. Putting it through our testing lab and printer tests to check out the quality and speed of the printer. Running both a range of color and grayscale prints to check the quality and how long it takes, but also a range of photo sizes to see how it deals with that.
Epson XP-5200 color test, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 grayscale test, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 photo test, Image by PC Guide
Epson XP-5200 copy test, Image by PC Guide
Running a test of six pages split across three colors and black-and-white sheets, I got a variety of quality checks and times to compare. In that run, the color pages were slower. The initial page from sleep took 20 seconds, the second 15 seconds, and the last photo sheet took up to 21 seconds. Grayscale drops that number, but is still only around 10 or 11 seconds per sheet. It’s not a very fast printer at all, even for black-and-white pages.
I didn’t time the photo prints, but they took even longer than other photo printers I’ve tested previously. Trying out A4, A5, and 15×10 photo paper, each one was definitely taking a long time to get done. But it’s still a good thing to be able to do as a photo printer as part of its package.
As for the quality of these, the standard basic prints show it does an ok job, nothing incredibly impressive, but not awful either. At first glance, it passes our general quality control checks, but close up, it loses out on some of the finer details – as the likes of smaller text sizes get a bit fuzzy around the edges; the gradients aren’t the cleanest.
That comes clear in the copy ability of the printer. There, it generally does a top job in copying; just once again, the finer detail gets lost. Such as the color intensities where the lines begin to fade, and the black color turns more purple in a gradient rather than staying pure.
As for printing on photo paper, it does a surprisingly good job for a budget all-in-one printer. It might not be as economical, but it does a great job of conveying color on matte paper. The ones on gloss, even with changing the setup on the printer and PC, do turn out a lot more matte, in fact, and somewhat drained in comparison, so results vary.
Specifications and cost
| Printing Technology | Inkjet Epson Micro Piezo print head |
| Maximum Print Resolution | 4,800 x 1,200 DPI |
| Ink Type | Cartridges |
| Scanner resolution and type | Contact image sensor (CIS) 1,200 DPI x 2,400 DPI |
| Operating Systems | Mac OS X 10.9.5 or later, macOS 11 or later Windows 10 (32/64 bit), Windows 11 or later, Windows 7 (32/64 bit), Windows 8 (32/64 bit), Windows 8.1 (32/64 bit), Windows Vista (32/64 bit), Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2 or later, Windows XP SP3 or later (32-bit) |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 375‎ x 347 x 187 mm |
| Weight | 5.4 kg |
| Connectivity | USB, Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Mobile and Cloud printing | Apple AirPrint, Epson Smart Panel App, Epson Creative Print App, Epson Connect (Email Print, Scan-to-Cloud) |
| Paper Sizes | A4 (21.0×29.7 cm), A5 (14.8×21.0 cm), A6 (10.5×14.8 cm), B5, B6, 13 x 18 cm, 10 x 15 cm, 16:9, No. 10 (Envelope), DL (Envelope), C6 (Envelope), Letter Legal, 9 x 13 cm, 13 x 20 cm, 20 x 25 cm, 100 x 148 mm |
| Input Paper Capacity | 150 Sheets Maximum, 20 Photo Sheets |
| Display | 6.1cm LCD |
As for the cost, you can find the XP-5200 is available for $129.99 or £82.69, making it a more budget-friendly printer to buy initially. However, being a cartridge printer, it’s the refills that begin to get expensive.
Looking at a full set of four XL cartridges, a pack of those comes to $63.46/£94.99. With an expected print quantity of 470 color pages and 550 pages, the print cost results in a $0.101/£0.152 cost per color sheet and $0.029/£0.0.43 per black sheet. That is definitely not as efficient as an ink tank in the long run, but might be okay if you’re not exactly printing that many sheets.
Conclusion
- Printer Output: Color
- Printer Type: Inkjet (Epson Micro Piezo print head)
- Connectivity Technology: USB, WiFi, Wi-Fi Direct
- Duplex Printing: Yes (A4, plain paper)
Overall, the XP-5200 is an effective budget printer. With a low price tag, it does produce good quality prints, even though they might lose some of the finer details and doesn’t offer the most vibrant color palette. However, it is cartridge-based, so it’s only economical if you don’t print that often or a lot, as ink tanks are better at that. In which case, if you have occasional prints and have a need for photos and scanning/copying, it is an effective pick.
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