Epson WorkForce Pro WF-5930--25 ppm in Black and Color, AirPrint and a macOS 27 Driver for $399.99

2026October 12, 2026Macs Only!Peripherals
A white Epson WorkForce Pro WF-5930 printer with a small color touchscreen and two paper trays sits on a white desk beside a silver all-in-one computer showing an invoice, with a keyboard and a white mouse in front of it; a printed copy of the invoice lies on the desk and a mesh office chair is in the foreground.
Photo: Epson · A white Epson WorkForce Pro WF-5930 printer with a small color touchscreen and two paper trays sits on a white desk beside a silver all-in-one computer showing an invoice, with a keyboard and a white mouse in front of it; a printed copy of the invoice lies on the desk and a mesh office chair is in the foreground.

Epson America announced the WorkForce Pro WF-5930 on October 1, the flagship of eight new cartridge inkjets: a $399.99 print, copy, scan and fax all-in-one that Epson's press release rates at up to 25 ISO pages a minute in black and in color, with 500 sheets of paper and a 50-sheet document feeder. It supports AirPrint, Epson lists its own driver for macOS 27 Golden Gate, and the release calls it an "inkjet alternative to laser printers". For a Mac office that is a driverless network color printer within a cent of what a Mac catalog asked for an Epson laser in 1999, with high-capacity cartridges that cost more than half the printer to replace as a set.

The WF-5930 prints both sides at 16 pages a minute

Epson's product page describes two 250-sheet trays, a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, automatic two-sided printing, copying, scanning and faxing, DURABrite Ultra pigment inks, and PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology that, unlike a laser, "requires no warmup". Epson's specification sheet adds the numbers the release leaves out: 16 ISO pages a minute two-sided in black and in color, a maximum resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi, a monthly duty cycle of up to 33,000 pages against a recommended volume of up to 1,600, and a one-year limited warranty. The release says all eight printers were on sale at retailers and in Epson's own store on October 1.

A Mac reaches it by AirPrint, USB, Wi-Fi 5 or Ethernet

The sheet lists Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi Direct and 10/100 Ethernet, and Apple AirPrint beside Mopria. Apple's AirPrint page says an AirPrint printer needs no "additional drivers or other software": put it on the Wi-Fi network your Mac uses and choose it in the print dialog. For the fax and Epson's own scanning software you install Epson's package, and the sheet names Mac OS X 10.10.x through macOS 10.15.x and "macOS 11 or later", with a footnote that some applications and functions may not be supported on the Mac. Epson's download page for the WF-5930 is more specific: on October 3 it offered Printer Driver v13.43 and Epson Scan 2 v6.7.88, both dated August 3, with macOS 27 Golden Gate first among their compatible systems. The box holds the printer, a setup guide, a power cord and four cartridges; a USB cable is not on the list.

A set of cartridges costs more than half the printer

The WF-5930 takes four 852 cartridges. The sheet gives the standard ones 1,000 pages of black and 700 of color, and the 852XL 2,200 and 1,900, on ISO yield tests. Epson's store page for the 852XL listed black at $76.99 and cyan, magenta and yellow at $45.49 each on October 3. By our arithmetic that is 3.5 cents a black page, about 10.7 cents a color page, and $213.46 a set. Other brands are out: Epson's ink notice says the printers take "EPSON cartridges only", that firmware updates "may affect the functionality of third party ink", and that the restriction "can be avoided" with its EcoTank models. Epson's July 1 EcoTank release prices those from $159.99, with what it calls up to three years of ink in the box, at 11 pages a minute in black.

The seven other printers in the release, with Epson's prices and ISO speeds in black and in color:

  • WorkForce Pro WF-4930, $279.99: 25 and 12 pages a minute, 500 sheets
  • WorkForce Pro WF-4920, $249.99: 25 and 12, 250 sheets
  • WorkForce Pro WF-3920, $199.99: 21 and 11, 250 sheets
  • WorkForce WF-2990, $179.99: 15.5 and 8.5, 150 sheets
  • Expression Home XP-5250, $149.99: 15.5 and 8.5, 150 sheets
  • WorkForce WF-2940, $119.99: 10 and 5, 100 sheets
  • Expression Home XP-4250, $99.99: 10 and 5, 100 sheets

Epson sold Mac users a $399.98 laser in 1999

Our September 1999 note on an Epson laser for the iMac passed on a source's word that one was coming, and in our October 12, 1999 item on the EPL-5700i Dana Baggett found it on the cover of a MacZones catalog at $399.98, with what looked like a blueberry cover on the paper tray. Our 2002 note on its Mac OS X driver followed. Epson has since said it is leaving that business: according to this ZDNet article of November 30, 2022, Epson said it would end global sales and distribution of laser printers by 2026. Its $399.99 flagship, one cent more by our subtraction, is an inkjet sold against the laser.

We have not ordered one, and before we did we would price a year of 852XL cartridges, because that sum, more than the $399.99, is what this printer costs.

Sources

  1. Epson, “Epson Expands WorkForce Pro, WorkForce and Expression Portfolios to Deliver Fast Printing for Small Businesses, Home Offices and Families” accessed Oct 3, 2026The October 1, 2026 release from Epson America: eight new printers led by the flagship WorkForce Pro WF-5930 "inkjet alternative to laser printers"; the WF-5930 at up to 25 ISO ppm black and color, 500-sheet capacity, 50-sheet ADF, MSRP $399.99; the MSRPs, ISO speeds and paper capacities of the WF-4930, WF-4920, WF-3920, WF-2990, WF-2940, XP-5250 and XP-4250; all eight "now available" through select retail stores and Epson's retail site; and the WF-5930 photograph; accessed October 3, 2026.
  2. Epson, “WorkForce Pro WF-5930 Wireless All-in-One Printer | Products | Epson US” accessed Oct 3, 2026Two 250-sheet trays, the 4.3-inch color touchscreen, automatic two-sided print, copy, scan and fax, DURABrite Ultra instant-dry pigment inks, PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology and the sentence that unlike laser printers it "requires no warmup"; accessed October 3, 2026.
  3. Epson, “WorkForce Pro WF-5930 Wireless Printer Specification Sheet (CPD-71598R1 9/26)” accessed Oct 3, 2026The specification sheet linked from Epson's product page: 2-sided print speed 16 ISO ppm black and color; maximum print resolution 4800 x 1200 dpi; monthly duty cycle up to 33,000 pages, recommended up to 1,600; 1-year limited warranty; Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi Direct, Ethernet (10/100 Mbps); Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service; operating systems Mac OS X 10.10.x to macOS 10.15.x and macOS 11 or later, with the footnote that some applications and/or functions may not be supported under Mac OS X; what's included (printer, Quick Setup Guide, power cord, four cartridges); 852 standard-capacity yields of 1,000 black and 700 color ISO pages and 852XL yields of 2,200 and 1,900, based on ISO/IEC 24711; accessed October 3, 2026.
  4. Apple Support, “About AirPrint - Apple Support” accessed Oct 3, 2026That to use an AirPrint-enabled printer "you don't need to install additional drivers or other software", and the steps: connect the printer to your Wi-Fi network, have the Mac on the same network, choose the printer in the app's print dialog; accessed October 3, 2026.
  5. Epson, “Epson Workforce Pro 5930 | Support | Epson US” accessed Oct 3, 2026The WF-5930 downloads listed for macOS 27.x (Golden Gate) as read on October 3, 2026: Printer Driver v13.43 dated 08/03/26 and Scanner Driver and Epson Scan 2 Utility v6.7.88 dated 08/03/26, each with macOS 27.x (Golden Gate) first in its compatible systems, and the combo package that installs the Epson FAX Utility and scanning software.
  6. Epson, “DURABrite Ultra 852XL, Black Ink Cartridge | Epson US” accessed Oct 3, 2026Epson's own prices on October 3, 2026 for the 852XL cartridges that work with the WF-5930: black $76.99; cyan, magenta and yellow $45.49 each. The per-page figures (3.5 cents black, about 10.7 cents color) and the $213.46 set are our arithmetic from these prices and the specification sheet's yields.
  7. Epson, “No Third Party Ink Cartridges | Epson US” accessed Oct 3, 2026"Designed for EPSON cartridges only"; that some firmware updates "may affect the functionality of third party ink"; and that such restrictions "can be avoided with some other printers such as Epson EcoTank cartridge free printers"; accessed October 3, 2026.
  8. Epson, “Epson Introduces Its Most Affordable Supertank to Date in Seventh Generation EcoTank Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer Line” accessed Oct 3, 2026The July 1, 2026 release: the EcoTank ET-1910 at MSRP $159.99, "enough ink in the box to last up to three years", and 11 black ISO ppm; accessed October 3, 2026.
  9. ZDNet, “Epson is going to stop selling laser printers. Here's why” accessed Oct 3, 2026Liam Tung's November 30, 2022 report that Epson said it would transition fully to inkjet and end global sales and distribution of laser printers by 2026; accessed October 3, 2026.

Then and now

All pairings

A $399.98 Epson USB laser on a MacZones catalog cover, October 1999; a $399.99 Epson inkjet sold as the alternative to laser, October 2026.

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