Epson EcoTank ET-2800 review: the great prints keep rolling

Epson EcoTank ET-2800

MSRP $280.00

“The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 produces nice picture prints and scans at high-resolution, making this a great household printer.”

Professionals

• Nice picture print high quality
• Excessive-resolution 1200 dpi scans
• Nice cellular app
• Small footprint

Cons

• Print pace is sluggish
• No full-page borderless choice

Epson’s EcoTank ET-2800 is an all-in-one printer with refillable ink reservoirs that final a very long time and prevent cash. It’s not a brand new thought, and Epson makes a number of different EcoTank fashions, however that is presently essentially the most inexpensive mannequin. The query is whether or not it’s top-of-the-line printers obtainable.

I like the value, however wished to confirm the worth of the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 to ensure it offers sufficient high quality and efficiency in your wants. I’ll check out the design, print high quality and pace, multifunction options, and ease of use to find out whether or not that is the correct printer for you.

Design

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 stands out as a remarkably tiny all-in-one printer. Spanning simply 14.75 inches in width, it’s one of many smallest I’ve examined. Depth is a extra commonplace 22.8 inches with the paper tray and output bin open, and it’s solely 11 inches tall with paper within the tray. As anticipated, it’s gentle, weighing 8.8 kilos.

Regardless of the diminutive measurement, the design is eye-catching, with the ink tanks extending over 2 inches past the entrance panel. The management panel tilts upward for straightforward viewing. I examined the matte white mannequin, but it surely’s additionally obtainable in matte black.

A small, 1.44-inch shade show with giant buttons on both facet offers entry to printing and settings. The cellular app proved dependable and full-featured sufficient in my testing.

A 100-sheet paper tray is on the again, however is well accessible. Paper guides are clearly marked and might be adjusted to carry media as small as 4×6 picture sheets and No. 10 envelopes.

Epson takes a little bit of artistic license within the product images, displaying the black, yellow, magenta, and cyan ink tanks in shade. I might see the ink ranges via the translucent tanks, however the colours weren’t seen.

Printing efficiency

Epson’s EcoTank ET-2800 offers nice image high quality on picture paper. Shiny, semigloss, and matte picture paper prints had been crisp and vibrant with no shade solid. A devoted picture printer, just like the five-color Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 or the six-color EcoTank ET-8500, presents better dynamic vary, however often prices extra.

The EcoTank ET-2800 can print on all commonplace paper sorts and sizes. It handles No. 10 envelopes with no issues, even from the cellular app.

Distinction is low when printing on plain paper since blacks seem darkish grey and whites are duller. That’s common, however some printers, just like the Brother MFC-J1205W, deal with plain paper images a lot better.

Quick printers price extra, and the EcoTank ET-2800 is a price range mannequin. At simply 10 pages per minute (ppm) for monochrome and 5 ppm for shade, I needed to wait a bit longer than normal for paperwork and labels to complete. Which may not be a deal-breaker in case you aren’t in a rush.

Epson saved a bit on paper-handling prices by limiting the EcoTank ET-2800 to single-sided printing. Duplex printing on each side of the paper is essential for some companies, in order that trade-off is price contemplating.

Particular options

Epson is beneficiant with scan high quality for its all-in-one printers. Like a number of different fashions, the EcoTank ET-2800 helps as much as 1200 dots per inch (dpi) for high-resolution scanning from a pc after putting in Epson’s Scan 2 utility. That’s nearly as good as some devoted scanners.

The Epson Good Panel app for iOS and Android permits as much as 600 dpi. That’s spectacular since many printers are restricted to 300 dpi when utilizing the cellular app.

There’s no computerized doc feeder, however the flatbed scanner makes good shade copies, saving me a visit to an workplace retailer.

Scan and duplicate speeds are comparatively sluggish, however present good high quality with good element.

Software program and compatibility

Set up is straightforward with the Epson Good Panel app for iOS or Android. The app guided me step-by-step, making the method easy. Put aside at the very least a half hour, although. You want to fill the tanks (about 4 minutes), cost the ink system (about 11 minutes), print the alignment web page, and recalibrate.

In my case, the printhead alignment was good on the primary print. The entire setup took about 20 minutes. That’s actually not unhealthy and solely must be achieved if you print sufficient to empty a number of ink tanks, which final a really very long time.

Epson’s Good Panel is a well-designed cellular app that permits you to arrange, print, scan, copy, and carry out upkeep out of your telephone. One problem arose, however I discovered an answer. Should you get bored with paper mismatch warnings that require selecting the scale and sort on each the printer and within the app, you possibly can change that warning off in settings.

Home windows and Mac computer systems help the EcoTank ET-2800 with out the necessity to obtain something. Like most main producers, Epson presents a number of utilities and artistic instruments that will help you get extra out of the printer.

Save now and later

Epson’s EcoTank ET-2800 retails for $280 however might be discovered for as little as $200. That makes it one of the crucial inexpensive tank printers.

The financial savings don’t cease there. Epson estimates you’ll get 7,500 shade pages and 4,500 black-and-white pages from the included ink bottles. That would last as long as two years.

The fee per web page for shade paperwork is about six-tenths of a cent whether or not you purchase particular person bottles or the multi-color three-pack. To be exact, the three-pack prices two cents much less at $41.95 than three separate bottles at $13.99. The per-bottle value is identical for black ink, and the price per web page is three-tenths of a cent.

Conventional inkjet printers like Epson’s WorkForce WF-2930 can solely print just a few hundred pages earlier than it’s time to interchange the cartridges. With an ongoing want for extra ink, your operating prices add up rapidly.

You’ll pay a bit extra to purchase a tank printer, however given the big quantity of ink included and the continued financial savings, it’s well worth the funding. The EcoTank ET-2800 has a lot decrease long-term prices, wastes much less ink, and minimizes plastic waste.

Is that this the printer for you?

Epson’s EcoTank ET-2800 falls simply in need of making our record of the very best inkjet printers, however for a household printer on a price range, it’s nonetheless an amazing deal and positively price contemplating. There are just a few trade-offs to think about earlier than making a purchase order. Should you print often, the sluggish pace might turn into annoying. For house use, the low price and top quality may be price ready just a few extra seconds for output.

Enterprise customers would possibly miss duplex printing and an computerized doc feeder for multipage copies. they could need to test our information to the very best workplace printers.

Epson intends this to be a hassle-free household printer, a necessity it serves effectively. The EcoTank ET-2800 is straightforward to connect with any system, and all features can be found from the cellular app. Photograph prints look nice on 4×6 paper, whereas monochrome paperwork and labels have crisp textual content and graphics.

For picture fans, there are just a few cautions. Like most inkjets, you get the very best quality from picture paper. Coloration laser printers, like HP’s Coloration LaserJet Professional 4301fdw, keep distinction and vibrancy even on plain paper.

Should you want full-page images, bear in mind the EcoTank ET-2800 can’t print letter-sized borderless pictures. A straight-edge paper cutter can take away the white edges rapidly, but it surely requires further effort.