Epson PowerLite 109W Business/Education Projector Review

The Epson PowerLite 109W is a WXGA (1280 x 800) business and education projector claiming a wall melting 4,000 lumens. This brightness claim makes it suitable for classrooms and conference rooms where there is little control over the amount of ambient light that enters the space. Its 3LCD technology, coupled with the high brightness, means this projector will not only cut through the ambient light, but maintain excellent color while doing so. 3LCD projectors produce the same amount of color lumens as they do white ones, so you can expect the Epson PowerLite 109W to be vibrant whether the room is fully darkened or not.

Like always, I’ll begin this review of the Epson PowerLite 109W with a brief overview, followed by some highlights before moving on to a list of its special features. We will also tour the hardware, discuss picture quality, and talk about performance before summing it all up for you on the last page. By the end of this review, you should know if the Epson PowerLite 109W  is the right projector for your business or education applications. Let’s get started!

We wish to thank Epson America for sponsoring this year’s Best Classroom Projectors report.  

The Epson PowerLite 109W is a 4,000 lumen projector, and if past experience is anything to go by, you can expect this Epson to meet or exceed that brightness claim. The W in the “109W” model number stands for WXGA resolution (1280 x 800). Consider WXGA to be the business and education world’s 720p – so, expect a nicely sharp image, though not as good as 1080p (or WUXGA, in this case). For most business and education applications, WXGA will perform brilliantly. With a list price of just $749, this projector will be quite attractive to K-12 school districts, and offices requiring more than one projector.

It has an impressive lamp life of up to 12,000 hours in ECO Mode – remember, however, that ECO Modes tend to reduce the brightness of the projector by up to half. Still, even if you were running the projector at full power all the time, you can expect the lamp life to be around 6,000 hours. That’s quite a bit more than the average! That is substantial when you consider the projector will likely be used about 20 hours a week or less.

Running 20 hours a week, 10 months out of the year is only 870 hours per year, so it will be over 7 years before you’d have to replace that lamp running at full power. Good deal! And, when you do need to replace that lamp, Epson has an excellent education program that gives discounts to school districts on the projector and its accessories. So, if you’re looking for a projector for education applications, Epson is a brand to seriously consider.

The Epson PowerLite 109W weighs just over 6 lbs, making it a portable projector. This means it can easily be shared amongst conference rooms or classrooms if necessary. The projector has some features desirable amongst those looking for a business and education projector such as wireless capabilities and compatibility with the iProjection app by Epson, which we’ll get deeper into on our Special Features page! Let’s check out the projector’s highlights before taking a closer look at its features and performance.