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The Epson Expression Home XP-430 ($99.99) is the latest base model in Epson’s aptly named Small-in-One series of inkjet multifunction printers (MFPs). In that role, it retains the line’s diminutive frame and low price while providing a few enhancements over its predecessor, the Epson Expression Home XP-420 Small-in-One ($489.18 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) . These include a slightly larger display and a new ink formulation. Among the XP-430’s ($315.76 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) strengths are good overall output quality including above-average text, and a good range of connectivity features, including Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and the ability to edit, scan, and share photos directly to Facebook or the cloud. It’s a good choice as a budget three-function (print, copy, and scan) MFP for a tight space such as a dorm room.
Design and Features
The glossy-black MFP measures 5.4 by 15.4 by 11.8 inches (HWD) when closed and 11 by 15.4 by 20.4 inches (HWD) with trays extended. It weighs just 9 pounds. The XP-430 has a top-loading paper feeder that fits 100 sheets, which is fine for home use but less than what we’d consider suitable for a home office. It lacks an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides, as seen in the Canon Pixma MG5720 Wireless Inkjet All-in-One ($586.45 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , our Editors’ Choice budget MFP for home use.
The XP-430 prints, copies, and scans, but doesn’t fax. The tilt-up control panel houses a 2.7-inch non-touch color LCD, flanked by a four-way controller with a central OK button, plus buttons with icons for home, start, and backspace. The flatbed scanner can scan or copy at up to letter size. The XP-430 lacks an automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning or copying multi-page documents unattended. A memory-card reader accepts cards in the SD family.
You can connect the XP-430 to a computer via USB, to a network via 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, or make a direct peer-to-peer connection with a compatible device with Wi-Fi Direct. It is Apple AirPrint compatible, Mopria-certified for easy printing to Android devices, and supports Google Cloud Print. It also supports the suite of Epson Connect software solutions including Email Print, Epson iPrint, Epson Creative Print, Epson Remote Print, and Epson Scan To Cloud. I tested the XP-430 over a USB connection with the driver installed on a Windows PC.
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Print Speed
I timed the XP-430 on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic(Opens in a new window)‘s hardware and software for timing), at 2.6 pages per minute (ppm), a typical speed for a budget home inkjet MFP. It ties its predecessor, the Epson XP-420, as well as the Canon MG5720. The Brother MFC-J470DW ($349.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , our Editors’ Choice budget MFP geared mainly to office use, turned in a much faster average of 4.9ppm.
The XP-430’s average of 2 minutes 16 seconds to print out a 4-by-6 photo in our testing was nearly the same as what we saw with the Epson XP-420 (2:13), but considerably slower than the 54 seconds turned in by the Canon MG5720.
See How We Test Printers
Output Quality and Running Costs
Text quality in our testing was slightly above par for an inkjet, fine for most home, school, or business correspondence but short of what we would expect for resumes or other documents with which you want to create a good visual impression.
Graphics quality was par for an inkjet, good enough for business use up to and including PowerPoint handouts, although I would hesitate to give them to important clients or customers I was seeking to impress. I noticed mild banding, a regular pattern of faint striations, in the backgrounds of several of our test illustrations.
Photo quality was typical for an inkjet. Prints tended to be on the light side, with some loss of detail in brighter areas, and I noticed some posterization—abrupt shifts in color where they should be gradual. It did well in preserving the blackness of a monochrome print. In general, print quality was about what we’d expect from drugstore prints.
Epson doesn’t quote cost-per-page figures for its printers, but based on the price and yield figures of their most cost-effective cartridges, the running costs work out to 6.2 cents per monochrome page and 17.5 cents per color page. This is considerably more than the 4.7 cents per monochrome page and 13.7 cents per color page that we saw with the Canon MG5720. You can save some money by buying a set of Epson’s extra-large cartridges in a four-pack, but even doing that, the running costs for the XP-430 are still about 10 percent higher than those of the MG5720.
Conclusion
Manufacturers have to sacrifice some features in order to build a sub-$100 MFP. Absent from the Epson Expression Home XP-430 Small-in-One are Ethernet, an auto-duplexer, an ADF, fax capabilities, and a USB port for thumb drives. Most of these omissions are office-centric, making the XP-430 strongly geared toward personal use. (If you need of a budget MFP mostly for home-office work, you should look at the Brother MFC-J470DW, our Editors’ Choice MFP for that role). The XP-430’s small size is one thing that sets it apart. It’s more compact and lighter than the Canon MG5720, which retains its Editors’ Choice as a budget home MFP in part on the strength of its stellar output quality. The XP-430 could still be your best choice if you need an MFP for a tight space.
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The Epson Expression Home XP-430 Small-in-One is a budget MFP geared toward home use, with good text quality, a modest feature set, and the ability to fit into small spaces.
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