Epson EcoTank printers

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ISSUE 21.47 • 2024-11-18 Look for our BONUS issue on November 25, 2024! HARDWARE By Will Fastie Epson has done a lot of things right with its ink-tank
[See the full post at: Epson EcoTank printers]

Total of 24 users thanked author for this post. Here are last 20 listed.

Harv, abbodi86, Steve, gmengisen, LH, IBM1130, jtwindows, rizzquery, KWGuy, windbg, schmootoo, Cijan, WSalgrinch, DLivesInTexas, George1, mcbsys, SueW, madhackbt, Michael432, Kenneth Stephens

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I have an Epson EcoTank printer L3160 and a Canon MegaTank (EcoTank clone?) 6,000 black ink pages and 7,700 colour ink pages Pixima G4470 AIO.

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I don’t do much printing so my situation is different. I have an HP inkjet printer, an inexpensive model. And I participate in the HP “Instant Ink” program. It’s a monthly fee that remains the same unless you exceed your selected number of pages (nicely, if you do go over, they only ding you for pages used that month and then it resets). You can select different numbers of pages per month depending on your usage. I have the smallest one. Great thing is the wireless printer (I know, security, but I have an excellent firewall) talks to HP and they mail replacement cartridges before you need them. Really works for me. YMMV.

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We use the Epson ET-16600, specifically because it’s one of the few inkjet’s capable of handling A3 size paper. You can replace the print heads as well. We once had a HP printer for which we could also swap the printer heads. But you probably guessed it – the print heads for the HP cost about three quarter of a new printer. Don’t know what new print heads for the Epson do, but it’s probably expensive as well…

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Let me share my experience in India using printers of different makes. In our office, it is mostly HP Laserjet. My experience at home is given below

Initially I used Canon Inkjet, the starting model at low cost. Replacement cartridge is of reasonable cost, and lot of local alternates were available at half the cost. No control in printer for checking the original cartridge. The printer clogged one day and refused to work in spite of intervention from local Printer technicians. Obituary was written for the printer

The next printer bought was again Canon, Alas, this will take only the original Cartridge!. You insert   non-canon local one, it will refuse to work. What a way to make sure only Canon original cartridge of high cost alone are used. In no time, the printer was thrown away. Printer was killed!

I went for a BROTHER all in one printer (Colour printing/scanning/copying/wireless) with ink tanks. The best thing to happen to me in printing. The printer is in use for more than 5 years now helping me to print directly from my PC/iPad/Android phone. My printing volume is lesser but still the printer gives no problem. The ink bottles are at little premium over the local make (not like the difference Canon charged!) and absolutely affordable.

The winner is ‘BROTHER’ and I am nurturing it well!

 

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wavy

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I am a Life member of Ask woody Plus, continuing from the Windows Secrets days of Mr.Fred Langa

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Nice experience ! Thanks for the test.

What about the quality of the printing ? Especially when printing photos (B&W or color)?

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I use an old HP8250 printer. I frequently use it to copy pages (forms), but my favorite feature is support for air print. Over time, much of my iPad has gotten most of my screen time, so a printer that works seamlessly with my iOS devices is essential to me and my family. (My wife has an iPhone and an iPad, too.)

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Last year I bought an ink tank printer for all the same reasons you list. However, I chose to buy the Canon version for one reason….it is designed to have a replaceable head.  I had  an Epson pigment based printer for several years until the printhead became uncleanable.  The cost and difficulty of replacing the head and cost of cartridges drove me to switch to Canon.

I have only had two issues with my GX6021 so far.  The waste tank had to be replaced which was inexpensive and easy.  The other was after returning to 600 ft an elevation from 8000 feet, the printer would not print all colors.  It required an “Ink Flush” to get it working.  An “Ink Flush” uses about 1/8 of a tank of ink. However, since the ink is relatively inexpensive it is not a big factor.  I found that the “Transport” mode when activated closes a valve but not completely.  The ‘valve’ is available for manual closure, so I just make sure it is fully closed before traveling and have not had an issue since.

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Harv

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I purchased my Epson 2760 Eco Tank Printer more than 5 yrs ago at a Sam’s Club in Yuma, Arizona for $64 brand new. I was immediately attracted to the bottled ink. I have used this printer ever since and am still on my first bottles of ink. Obviously, I don’t print every day, but I do use the scanner more frequently. The only issue I had was while living in the dry climate of Arizona, I had to clean the printer heads every couple of months, but they cleaned up perfectly every time. Since moving to the humidity of Mississippi 3 years ago and printing infrequently, I’ve only had to clean the heads once.

I would have purchased at least 2 printers over the time period I’ve owned this Eco Tank and numerous cartridges. Best printer I have ever owned.

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Good article. Thanks. The critical issue for non-cartridge printers is ink clogging. I had an expensive Epson Pro 4000 printer, 16-inch paper rolls. It came on a palate. The print head clogged twice with a replacement cost of over $1000 each plus transport to service. After the second failure I took it to our dump and pushed it into the bin. I cannot forget that day.

I gave up on professional printing; the head will clog unless you print at least one print every day.
Needless to say, I am wary about using ink in bottles. My Epson Pro-4000 used pigment ink.

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Harv

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Will, thank you for your excellent timing. I was thinking of buying a printer in St John’s two weeks ago – my first trip out of Bonavista (Newfoundland) since I moved here six years ago. The store I visited (Mount Pearl) started at around $130 for an all-in-one.

WF>>>  The price of the 5150 is twice that of an entry-level EcoTank printer, a premium I decided to pay because …

… but for people like me who rely on long-term purchases it makes sense to pay more up-front and not have to worry about returning things to get fixed/maintained. I want to start using my printer and NEVER have to let it go.

Of course with all-in-ones starting at $50 https://www.staples.ca/products/3092385-en-hp-deskjet-2842e-wireless-all-in-one-printer-scanner-copier-bright-lilac?listId=collection I suppose I could think in terms of ordering a new one each year. One dollar a week? I am retired and my printing needs are low.

WF>>>  Manual feed is through the rear. That’s the same for most EcoTank models, but in a space-limited situation like mine, …

What happens when you rotate the printer horizontally through ninety degrees? Then you have sideways feeding, and how often, really, do you need to see/operate that miniscule control panel?

Thanks again for the timely article full of facts. Chris Greaves

Unless you're in a hurry, just wait.

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Will Fastie, DaveBoston

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I have an Epson Tank; a near the low end model. Only negative I can report is that the scanner is slow to scan. But I do not do a lot of scanning, so this is not significant. Love the ink tank. Low cost to, and easy to, refill. I had multiple problems with HP inkjet printers which prompted the switch. I am totally happy that I did.

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Is this printer Linux-friendly?

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

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SueW

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The problem with the Eco Tank is that it has only 4 colors. For the best photograhic results, 6 is better. Also, you can use replacement cartridges, which work just as well, and are a fraction of the cost of Epson ones.

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Love my Ecotank ET-4850 model. My requirements were auto duplexing, beautiful color prints, and ADF. It scans well, too. I don’t use fax.  I also needed a printer that handled various Avery papers and labels well and this one didn’t disappoint.

It is not a quiet or fast print. Also the power button glows and pulses in a slow tempo — the soft, pulsing glow reaches across the hall to cast light a faint glowing light on our bedroom wall. Kinda funny and not awful but something to consider perhaps with your own set up. Easily covered.

It’s going on three years printing receipts, greeting cards, and booklets and the ink tanks are just under half full.

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WSGaryCN wrote:

Is this printer Linux-friendly?

As far as I know, all EcoTank printers have Windows, Mac, and Linux drivers.

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SueW

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Patricia Grace wrote:

Also the power button glows and pulses in a slow tempo

I think it’s dreaming.

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Patricia Grace

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Walter Gladwin wrote:

The problem with the Eco Tank is that it has only 4 colors.

The EcoTank Photo ET-8500 and ET-8550 use six-color type 552 ink.

 

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Walter Gladwin

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Chris Greaves wrote:

I want to start using my printer and NEVER have to let it go.

Dream on. Machines break. Maintenance gets expensive. I wish it were otherwise.

Chris Greaves wrote:

I suppose I could think in terms of ordering a new one each year.

I was stunned when I discovered that a friend was doing exactly that. When the ink ran out, he bought a new printer, the cheapest one he could find. His logic was that it’s no more expensive than buying ink. Not particularly eco-friendly, though. On the other hand, his printers never broke and he never had ink problems.

Chris Greaves wrote:

What happens when you rotate the printer horizontally through ninety degrees?

I tried it and it’s a good idea. But my space limitations make it impractical. (I’m very downsized these days.)

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Harv

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Although I Epson has a great concept regarding ink that you just pour in, I’m a bit skeptical about performance. The church I attend bought a business grade model (not the one referenced in this article) to print our multi-page, 2-sided, color newsletter and we found it to be so slow we eventually gave up on it and bought an HP Officejet Pro printer that ran rings around the Epson. We were fortunate that a member with minimal printing needs took it off our hands at a reasonable loss. It would be nice if Will could write a follow-up stating what his experience is printing color duplex output as my personal HP Officejet Pro printer will someday fail me as all my HP’s eventually have failed.

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Harv

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I am a life member of AskWoody.  I look forward to the newsletters and appreciate the insights provided.  I enjoyed the article on the Epson EcoTank Printers.  I wish that other printer manufacturers, especially HP, would adopt the refillable ink model.  Alas, they seem to prefer the razor model where you can give away the razor but recoup by selling blades that will only fit that razor.

Throwing away used ink cartridges just adds to the destruction of our environment.  I do not own an EcoTank printer so do not know if the ink bottles themselves are refillable or are also single use plastic containers.  Even if not refillable, the amount of disposable plastic per volume of ink used is considerably less than with cartridges.

HP has offered a solution to this issue with its cartridge replacement subscription plan.  The service monitors ink levels in your printer and mails new cartridges as need so you never run out of ink.  The plan also provides prepaid envelopes to return used cartridges to be refilled.  (As a skeptic I cannot confirm that the cartridges are actually refilled but hope that is the case.)   Unfortunately, the cost per printed page is much higher than with the refillable ink model printers.  Also, all of the other problems with cartridge-based printers still apply.

As I said, I wish that HP would adopt the refillable ink bottle model.  My printing needs vary but the volume is low so the extra cost of ink is not an issue.  Versatility and other features are more important.  So, despite the cost of ink and the tangential environmental benefit of the HP ink replacement plan, there are several features of the HP Officejet Pro 9025e printer I own that make me prefer this printer:

• Like the Epson, my printer has a multi-page document feeder.
• Unlike the Epson, my printer has a FAX feature but I do not have a dedicated phone line so using this feature is not high on my list.
• Unlike the Epson, in order to copy a single sheet only requires lifting the hinged printer top and placing the sheet on the glass scanning surface.  Like the Epson, the hinged top in the normal down position protects the scanning glass from dust.  Unlike the Epson’s single sheet feed from the rear, with a little care, the HP’s copy method can also be used to scan pages from magazines or books you own for archival purposes.
• Unlike the Epson, my printer has a USB port on the front.  With an HP app on my computer I can scan documents (one page at a time or through the document feeder) to multiple destinations including a USB thumb drive or my computer
•  Unlike the Epson, my printer has two removable paper drawers, which when inserted in the printer also provide dust protection.
  • I have dedicated the top tray to #10 envelopes, although if needed I can change the paper to other sized envelopes.
  • For the bottom drawer I have three trays, one with letter sized paper, one with legal sized paper and the third with 3-hole punch letter sized paper.  I can then easily swap out trays as needed.
• Not mentioned in the Epson article and of great importance to me is that my printer can print on both sides of a page for letter sized printing.  I can scan two sided documents and automatically print on two sides.  I can scan single sided documents and print them automatically to two sides.  When I print documents from my computer I can automatically print them two-sided.

For volume printing the cost savings of ink-bottle printers is probably worthwhile.  For low volume printing home office users like me, I prefer the versatility of my HP printer.

Thank you to all of the experts who provide the content for the AskWoody newsletters.

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Moondoggy wrote:

It would be nice if Will could write a follow-up stating what his experience is printing color duplex output

I should clarify that “page” really means “impression,” not “sheet.” Printing anything double-sided means one sheet of paper with two impressions. Epson’s references to “ppm” can thus be confusing.

The ET-5150 is rated at 17ppm (read 17 impressions per minute) in B&W and 9.5 in color. So double-sided printing in color yields 4.75 sheets per minute. As I mentioned in the article, the ET-5850 runs at 25ppm for both B&W and color, so that would yield 12.5 sheets per minute.

I print everything double-sided. With roughly 2,200 impressions in 2.5 years, I average 2.5 pages printed per day. That’s not a mass-production number. You didn’t mention how many newsletters you distribute, how many pages are involved, or how often you publish.

Epson’s recommended monthly duty cycle for the ET-5150 is 3,300 impressions. At 9.5 impressions per minute, that’s about six hours of continuous printing (but I’d need to reload paper every 250 sheets). You can find duty cycle information by looking at the full specifications for a given Epson model.

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MoonView wrote:

Unlike the Epson, in order to copy a single sheet

All EcoTanks have a flat-bed scanner and can thus copy or scan a single sheet as you describe.

MoonView wrote:

Unlike the Epson’s single sheet feed from the rear,

The rear, single-sheet feed is not for copying. It’s for feeding a single sheet or envelope for printing.

MoonView wrote:

Not mentioned in the Epson article and of great importance to me is that my printer can print on both sides of a page for letter sized printing.

You are right that I did not mention this, and it is an omission. These days, I assume that printers support double-sided printing – I take it for granted. I believe that only the least expensive home EcoTank does not support double-sided printing.

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Harv

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Thank you for your reply and the clarifications.  I did not research the available EcoTank printer models and their capabilities before I composed my reply.  The next time I need to replace my printer I will be looking closely at the Epson EcoTank printer models.

One versatility comment I made was the ability to swap out paper trays.   If Epson models do not have this capability, it seems the alternative would be to remove paper from the single drawer, replace it with the needed paper and then replace that with the paper used for normal printing.  Not a huge task but somewhat inconvenient if different jobs call for different paper types.

Also, can the Epson printer handle legal sized paper, possibly by feeding single sheets through the rear?  If only by the single sheet method, then using the document feeder or the computer to print multiple page legal documents could be somewhat inconvenient.

My low volume versatility needs may not be the same as others but at this point the HP printer serves my needs.

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Your experience with the Epson Ecotank printers and my experience are the same.

HP thoroughly antagonized me with the program to send printer cartridges periodically. I did not realize that the printer is electronically controlled by HP.

When I could not print at all, I contacted HP, and they told me that I had not paid a monthly bill. They had not billed me, and I didn’t know they wanted more payment.

After I got the new cartridges, I decided to end the automatic replenishment. Then, I discovered that although I had four new cartridges, I could not use them. They cut off the ability to use them for anybody not in “the program.” Thus, I could not use cartridges I had already paid for.

I filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which basically did nothing.

I bought an Epson Ecotank printer, and I have saved a bundle. Performance is essentially flawless. No more HP–EVER.

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Patricia Grace, Cijan, windbg

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MoonView wrote:

Also, can the Epson printer handle legal sized paper,

Yes. But on my model, the front of the drawer must be hinged down and the paper extends out in front of the face of the printer. I don’t know if other models have paper trays that can better handle legal paper. But it isn’t necessary to single-feed it.

MoonView wrote:

One versatility comment I made was the ability to swap out paper trays.

I haven’t examined every model to understand how trays work on them all. But my paper tray cannot be removed from the printer. It slides forward and hits stops. I suppose for maintenance there is a way to disengage it, but it’s not a normal process.

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Thank you again for the clarification. It seems I should be doing a little more research before I reply to AskWoody newsletter articles.  As with your printer, my tray with legal paper also sticks out beyond the face of the printer.

Removing a tray is actually very simple on my HP printer.  When it is pulled out and stops, I merely need to reach below the tray at the face of the printer on each side of the tray and release the latches.  If your printer works the same, then one of my versatility requirements could be met by merely securing multiple trays.  Again, when I next need to replace my printer, I will seriously look at the EcoTank models.

As a side comment to Mr. Stephens’ comment, I have not had the same experience as he has with the HP ink subscription.  I use auto-pay so my subscription never expires.  I have not had to or tried to cancel my subscription so have not faced the issues he faced.  The low volume print plan to which I subscribe serves me well.  I have yet to run out of ink and not had a replacement cartridge available.  I am a little uncomfortable with the “big brother” monitoring of my printer and worry that someday hackers may find a way into my system via this connection.

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MoonView, your experience with HP ink is the same as mine – autopay, smallest number of pages per month, maybe go over twice a year.

If you are concerned about security, as we all should be, look into getting a more secure WiFi system – mine is Pepwave Surf Solo. There’s lots of good info out there for how to set it up. Not trivial but not difficult.

 

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I have had an Epson Eco-Tank ET-2760 for a couple of years now. It is the best printer I have ever owned. Filling the tanks is super easy. I still have ink that came with the printer. I don’t a whole lot, but I used to have to buy ink for my other printer about every 6 months.

The price was reasonable.

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I bought an Epson Eco tank printer in August, 2022. It did not even last me for a year before the printing nozzles clogged and I could not get them to clear. I went back to a cartridge printer.

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Question: Does Epson let you buy one bottle of ink at a time?

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Michael432 wrote:

Does Epson let you buy one bottle of ink at a time?

Yes.

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MoonView wrote:

It seems I should be doing a little more research before I reply to AskWoody newsletter articles.

Not at all. Everyone here is glad to provide clarifications, insights, and experience.

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MoonView wrote:

worry that someday hackers may find a way into my system via this connection.

It’s a good point because it’s wise to be concerned about any device these days. It is certainly the case that a computer system is inside every printer. However, the attack must target firmware because that is the only program running in most printers. In effect, the attacker must manage to initiate a firmware update in order to infect the printer.

Now consider the plethora of printer manufacturers, models, and versions.  It’s not like a single Windows 10 attack that could work on hundreds of millions of PCs from virtually every manufacturer.

Possible? Sure. Likely? Probably not.

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I did quite a bit of research on laser and ink  tank printers last year for a business client. Although they wound up going with HP LaserJets, the ink tank printers were an attractive option. I appreciate this deep dive on the ET-5150.

MoonView wrote:

As I said, I wish that HP would adopt the refillable ink bottle model.

HP’s ink bottle printers are called “Smart Tank.” Haven’t tried them but perhaps worth a look. I believe the $420 HP 7301 is close to the Epson ET-5150 in specs, but the higher-end HP 7602 with Wi-Fi and fax is currently on sale for $350:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/mdp/printers/smart-tank-plus

I do a lot more scanning than printing to maintain a “paperless office.” A deal-breaker for me on the ET-5150 would be the lack of duplex scanning. For that, you have to go to the ET-5800. And even that higher-end model only has letter-size scanner glass. The ADF accepts legal size, so probably it can scan legal if it fits in the feeder.

Current U.S. price on the ET-5150 is $400 (on sale). The ET-5800 is $800 (not on sale).

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Will Fastie

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mcbsys wrote:

A deal-breaker for me on the ET-5150 would be the lack of duplex scanning.

Good catch. And duplex copying.

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I have Epson’s 7150 Ecotank printer and I love it. I do a lot of BW printing, about 5K pages a year. A bottle of ink,(~$65) lasts about 54 weeks. Very affordable and the print quality is consistent. It duplexes and scans easily. I agree, a usb port would be handy. Got a great bang for my buck. Will definitely get another Ecotank when this one dies!

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Sounds like a good deal for someone who uses a printer frequently.  I don’t.  I bought an HP Officejet Pro 6978 many years ago.  With it came free cartridge ink replacements & free 15 pages/month.  I’ve never gone over the 15; if I do, it’s $.10/page.  Shortly after I bought my printer, I recommended it for one of my sons.  The plan was no longer available.  Printer manufacturers make money by selling ink, which is the most expensive liquid on the planet.  I can print, scan, & supposedly fax (but I never fax).  I bought a warranty, which helped when the feeder wouldn’t feed properly.  They sent me a refurbished printer, which still works.  I’ll keep it until it stops working…or until VHS tapes go out of style.

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WSGaryCN wrote:

Is this printer Linux-friendly?

you can download Linux based printer drivers & printer/scanner utility apps from this Epson page.

select “Linux” as the Operating System and click on the Search button to view a list of downloadable drivers & utilities for Linux OS

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Thanks, I have been looking at this printer but the spec sheet shows

Operating Systems Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1 (32, 64),
Windows 7 (32, 64), Windows Vista® (32, 64), Windows Server®
2003 SP2 or later, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 201911,
Mac OS X® 10.6.8 – 11.x.

It will be replacing an Epson  XP-620 and that one has worked with Linux Mint 21

Will probably give it a try.

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

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I decided to pay because I wanted pigment-based ink. I thought it would be less likely to clog and cause printing problems,

Umm, I’m afraid you thought wrong.  That’s the opposite of reality.  Pigment inks are far more prone to clogging than dye based inks, ask anyone who does serious photo printing.

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I have an Epson ET-8500, a six-tank photo-printing model with a flatbed scanner, and love it. No negatives or issues at all over the two years I’ve had it. I like the Epson Scan 2 software that comes with it as well. I came from two Canon inkjet printers, and before that, several HP inkjet printers and one Epson inkjet printer, all of which annoyed me in various ways, and paid more in ink than the expensive Epson EcoTank with cheaper ink. This is by far the best printer I’ve owned.

It is important, I think, to not let an EcoTank sit more than a week or two without printing a color page because, as mentioned, you do not want that printhead to clog.

Even better: I also got an Epson ES-400 II color document scanner for under $300. This thing, closed, has the desk footprint of a big two-slice toaster, and open for business, it’s only a little bigger than that. It’s also been flawlessly reliable. Why would you also need a document scanner for light home or business duty if you have a flatbed scanner bundled with your printer? Because it’s so easy to use and blazingly fast compared to the flatbed scanner. It autofeeds a stack of at least 50 pages (and you can add more after that) without a hitch and scans one-side or both sides of a page (your choice) in what feels like less than two seconds per page, so that 50 page document gets scanned in under two minutes. Try that on a flatbed scanner. It uses the same scanning software as the EcoTank; you select which Epson scanning device you want to use at the start of a job. Use the flatbed scanner for bound documents and the document scanner for loose sheets of paper. It has been a huge timesaver for me, and my only regret is that I didn’t get one sooner.

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mcbsys

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Thanks for the substantial review, though I hope your price per page did not use the unrealistic small % that the companies use to estimate coverage with.

Twenty years ago or so, I   used to buy cheap ($20) Lexmark printers, and refill the carts using bulk ink, and got a lot of use out of black carts, and less with color. But I finally  decided on a better way. Rather than pricing printers first, I searched (pray and  press) for the largest capacity inkjet carts, and then for the cost or remanufactured carts for it, and then for the printer.

The winner (about 2015?) was the HP 950XL  (black) and 951XL (color) carts, with the black holding 53 ml (HP inflated est. 2300 pages) and color at 17 ml, and with the cost of reliable reman carts being 5  carts (2 black and the 3 color) for less than 15.00 (Ebay: now about $12.00), and a Amazon warehouse HP 8100 at $60.

About 4 years later I replaced the printer with a HP 8610 for about $100, all of which worked well, but I suspect that a HP firmware update around 2022 prevented any more use of the 8610.

Back to pray and press research a couple years ago.  I settled on HP 952XL carts, with the black having a capacity of 42.5 ml  (HP est. 2,000 pages) and the color ones are est. at 1,450 pages but I do not know the ink. cap.  I just bought a pack of 4 for $20.oo  (Ebay-houseoftoners). HP wants $148 just  for the black!.

And for these, I bought a HP 8210 (duplex) printer on Amazon for about $80, which is and even bought another for $100.00 since as with the 8610 series, HP stopped making them.

And I told Windows not to install any new  drivers with its updates.

Of course, inkjets are mainly only for color printing, since the   Brother L2995  duplex laser printer does the B+W printing well. Thank God for  such tools and choices, for good purposes.

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“Printer manufacturers make money by selling ink, which is the most expensive liquid on the planet.”

Some hyperbole perhaps, but as i should have clarified in my previous post, my choice some years ago of a printer using  HP 950XL HP carts was not bcz they were actually had the most ink capacity, but was based on  capacity for the the price overall.

I think the largest capacity HP carts I found was a  HP 80 350  ml  (approx. 12 oz) DesignJet Ink Cartridge, est. page yield of 4400 pages for $239.00.

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I enjoyed your article on the EcoTank printer.  It was informative and I learned a bit more about them.  I own an ET-4800 and I had never heard of a maintenance box.  However, looking at the printer status, it does not show anything about a maintenance box, and the documentation only mentions this box once; not how to find the status or how to replace.  I am wondering if this model even has one.  If anyone can provide me with this information I would certainly appreciate it.

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k6jav wrote:

I am wondering if this model even has one.

Me, too. I noticed that some of the EcoTank printers do not seem to have a maintenance box, so I inquired with Epson Media Relations. I haven’t heard back.

You can usually tell in the product listings by clicking on the “Accessories” button. It shows the appropriate ink for that model plus any other available parts. For the ET-5150, the maintenance box is shown.

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Wow, thanks Will, what a great article and great discussion points from others!
And timely too… I just literally came home with a new printer from a retailer. It is an HP LaserJet M139we. Normally I do much more research, but I have dealt with the tech manager of that store for a number of years and trust her judgement.

My current printer is a Canon Pixma MX310… bought in 2008 or 2009 (not a mistype, it really is that old!). It wasn’t wireless, was a 4-in-1 (included FAX) and only started letting me down recently. I had been able to get it going when it got stuck, but not anymore. The only other problem with it was the cost of ink cartridges ($70ish) getting to be almost more that a cheap new printer! And I expected thy would be getting harder to find, although I hadn’t been faced with that yet.

Anyway, the tech manager said I just needed to register with set it up, register with HP and to do that I would need an HP account (via downloaded HP app). I groaned inwardly at that, but figured I could get around it somehow.

Before unboxing it, I did a little research on whether I could simply set up by USB connection, thus avoiding the wireless connection and HP app/account requirement. Some people were also complaining that you couldn’t scan unless you were connected to internet! Finally, there are the articles about security flaws with those printers (as someone else may have eluded to above).

The tech manager also mentioned the change in ink types, and that is why you have to print pages every day or so to ‘keep the ink flowing’ in cartridge type printers, something you avoid with Laser Printers/Toners. I NEVER did that with my old Pixma… it would go for a month without use, and never had issue unless it truly was running out of ink. I don’t get the argument … if all the cartridges changed to the new type of ink, then I should have had a problem by now.

Also, with the Pixma I could use it without buying color cartridges… almost sounds like you can’t do that anymore with many printers. I don’t care about color printing, so this new HP Laser Jet only has black toner.

If I tend to print very infrequently, but may go in spurts like at Christmas, tax time or when I have a major project requiring printing – why would I want to have a subscription? Why should I be forced to get a subscription?

The other printer I thought about buying before being convinced the HP was a better choice (on sale for $50!) was another simple Canon Pixma TS3720 Wireless Multi-function Color Ink-Jet Printer. Replacement cartridges are only $24 for black and $30 for the multi-color pack. I understand I can simply leave the color cartridges in place even when empty of ink and still use black only printing.

I’d be interested in knowing if anyone with a recently purchased HP found a way around all this?

And, thoughts on the cheaper Canon Pixma? I am assuming I could still use USB with it if you wanted to print while offline for some reason.

Thanks!
PS Just checked, the Pixma will work with high-speed USB cable.

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Hi…the sequence to get printer information on my Windows 11 PC is not the same as what is listed in the article:

“Settings | Bluetooth & devices | Printers & scanners and click on the printer’s name. Then scroll down to the More information section and click Device information.”

Instead, I have

Settings| Bluetooth & devices | Printers & scanners | Printer’s name | More devices and printer settings | Devices & printers

When I click on “Devices & printers,” it takes me to the same screen I get when going through the control panel. In other words, no “web page link.” I would love to get the “device information” shown in your article.

Otherwise, great article! Lots of info on the Epson tank printers. I’d wondered about them, but you answered all the questions I had. Thanks!

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Thanks, Will. You answered a lot of questions I had about tank printers. I’ve been using a HP Officejet Pro X576dw MFP for several years. The cartridges are huge, but prices have gone from originally $100 to $150 now. I change the black once a year and the colors less often.

I appreciate the info. I may switch to Epson when this one dies.

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foxaroni wrote:

Hi…the sequence to get printer information on my Windows 11 PC is not the same as what is listed in the article:

How is your printer connected – USB or network (including Wi-Fi)?

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teuhasn2 wrote:

Even better: I also got an Epson ES-400 II color document scanner for under $300.

Nice tip. I’d like to replace my bulky B&W Brother MFC with something that does color. Maybe instead of looking for a single replacement, I should add an ES-400 for bulk scanning + an inexpensive ink tank printer for the 10 pages I print per week. I already have an Epson V600 scanner for those rare times I need a large flatbed.

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When I initially started using ink jet printers I tried a number of them and found they all had problems with dry ink heads if the printer was not frequently used and I had to go through a head cleaning process that wasted a lot of ink. I use my ink jet mainly to print colored photos and found that when I switched to Canon I could fire up the printer after a long period of non-use and it would immediately print a perfect photo without any type of cleaning procedure. I have a vacation home where I spend three months a year and I keep a Canon there. Never ever a problem when I come back after nine months and start printing. A great relief.

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Will,

Thanks for the article. On the advice of a Staples sales guy I recently bought a Brother tank injet. His reasoning was that any system that relys on pouring ink into a tank expose the ink to the air – promoting clogging. He backed this up by stating the their number of returned printers related almost entirely to clogging, and matched the ‘pour is bad’  idea. The Brother uses stationary cartidges, avoiding this problem.

I have assumed that a najor driver behind the ‘tank’ concept was the reduction in the weight of the moving head. Thereby enabling faster tracking without excessive power. Any comment?

I would like to see an article which compared the different ink loading methods for ‘tank’ printers. There is confusion on the Epson front – your article suggests the bottles ‘clip in’ like the Brother cartridges, but an earlier correspondant mentioned “pouring”. Also neither my previous HPs, my standby Canon, nor the Brother have a “maintenance box” to my knowledge. How common are they?

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We have had an Epson ET-2750 for years. We live in a low humidity region, so we have to do a print head cleaning cycle more frequently than folks in areas with higher humidity. Like the printer you mentioned, ours has a Maintenance Box that’s easy to get to.

Recently, we got an alert on the printer that indicated the Waste Ink Tank (aka: Maintenance Box) was nearing being full. I looked-up info on getting a replacement Waste Ink Tank, how the tank works & how to replace it…

First, the tank is basically full of absorptive sponges. There is no level sensor for the sponges – that would surely be too expensive for Epson to engineer. So, in reality, the Epson firmware just puts a limit on the total number of cleanings it performs. When you approach the maximum allowed number of cleanings you get warning notices on the printer’s display.

From what I learned, when you hit the max allowed number of total cleaning cycles, the printer effectively bricks itself (it won’t do anymore cleanings & therefore it won’t print). You have three choices at this point: 1) pay the $$$ & send the printer to Epson to get serviced & re-activated, 2) attempt do-it-yourself or 3) buy a new printer.

I learned that if I chose option 2 (DIY), just swapping in a new tank is NOT a complete fix. I still would need a “key” & app to set the firmware to re-activate the printer. I believe this amounts to just resetting the cleaning counter maintained by the firmware. Epson won’t supply the key or app, so I would have to go on a 3rd party website (you’ll have to google for this, I won’t post any examples), buy a key and use their tool to reset the counter. I wasn’t sure any of these websites were 100% trustworthy (let alone legit). I found myself quite disappointed with Epson.

So, I chose option 3: get a new printer. However, this time around I got a simple Brother B&W laser printer. A better fit for our drier climate. Oh, and the laser printer is NOT an Epson, it’s a Brother model.

Honestly, what Epson is doing here is such a “dark pattern”. They should just sell the replacement Waste Ink Tanks & let you reset the cleaning counter via the printer’s settings directly (no special top secret app required).

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ek wrote:

They should just sell the replacement Waste Ink Tanks & let you reset the cleaning counter via the printer’s settings directly …

As I mentioned in the article, I ordered a replacement maintenance box for the ET-5150 and easily replaced it myself. The printer detected the next box and automatically reset the printer. As I say, I think Epson has become much more customer-friendly.

ek wrote:

Waste Ink Tank (aka: Maintenance Box)

There is no question that the function of the box is to collect waste ink. But I think it finally dawned on the marketing department that “waste ink” was not a good look. My Artisan had a waste ink tank; my 5150 has a maintenance box.

 

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windbg

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Peter wrote:

His reasoning was that any system that relies on pouring ink into a tank expose the ink to the air

Whether ink is supplied from a cartridge or tank, pressure must be equalized or it isn’t possible for the ink to be removed (physics). Air is the solution. As I mentioned, I had ink left in the bottles after setting up the printer. Those bottles sat for nearly two years before they were used to refill the printer. The ink did not dry out or result in clogging.

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Harv, windbg

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WSGaryCN wrote:

Thanks, I have been looking at this printer but the spec sheet shows

Spec sheets rarely change after a printer has been released. Instead, go to Epson’s support page, enter the printer model of interest (e.g., ET-5150), and click on the dropdown to choose the OS. Windows 11 and Linux are listed. Choose Linux. You’ll eventually get to the download page. Only catch: no support from Epson.

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FYI – another take on Epson printers from Cory Doctorow in 2022 here
Epson Boobytrapped its printers
https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/inky-wretches/#epson-salty

Quoting: “Epson will brick your printer after you’ve run a certain number of pages … Epson says that it designs its printers with little internal sponges that soak up excess ink and when they become saturated, that ink might run out of the bottom of your printer and stain your furniture. If this sounds like bullshit to you, that’s because it is bullshit, as are the claims that excess ink could get into the printer’s electronic circuits and start a fire. If your printer’s sponges get too full of excess ink and you’re worried about it, you can easily and cheaply install new sponges. But that would deny Epson a new printer sale … So they’ve rigged their printers’ software so that even if you replace the sponges, the printer can still refuse to print. Replacing or resetting this software requires that you bypass the DRM designed to prevent this, and providing a DRM-defeat tool is a felony [in the US] punishable by a 5-year sentence and a $500k fine under Section 1201 of the DMCA.”

 

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Steve

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Excellent article, Will.

I have one suggestion: don’t replace the maintenance box until the printer tells you to. Otherwise you’re throwing away capacity for no good reason. I haven an Epson Stylus P-5000 and I don’t replace ink or the maintenance box until the printer tells me that it’s time.

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Will Fastie

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Michael432 wrote:

FYI – another take on Epson printers from Cory Doctorow in 2022 here
Epson Boobytrapped its printers
https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/inky-wretches/#epson-salty

Quoting: “Epson will brick your printer after you’ve run a certain number of pages … Epson says that it designs its printers with little internal sponges that soak up excess ink and when they become saturated, that ink might run out of the bottom of your printer and stain your furniture. If this sounds like bullshit to you, that’s because it is bullshit, as are the claims that excess ink could get into the printer’s electronic circuits and start a fire. If your printer’s sponges get too full of excess ink and you’re worried about it, you can easily and cheaply install new sponges. But that would deny Epson a new printer sale … So they’ve rigged their printers’ software so that even if you replace the sponges, the printer can still refuse to print. Replacing or resetting this software requires that you bypass the DRM designed to prevent this, and providing a DRM-defeat tool is a felony [in the US] punishable by a 5-year sentence and a $500k fine under Section 1201 of the DMCA.”

 

Replacing or resetting this software requires that you bypass the DRM designed to prevent this, and providing a DRM-defeat tool is a felony [in the US] punishable by a 5-year sentence and a $500k fine under Section 1201 of the DMCA.

Relevant: ust read It is now legal to hack or otherwise bypass technical protection measures on <u>McFlurry machines and other commercial food preparation machines</u> in order to repair them thanks to a new rule issued by the Federal government.

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I am more than impressed with your your detailed memory about your printers over the years. In fact, I am amazed. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

 

 

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Thank you that great article on EcoTank printers. I almost ordered one, but I don’t have $500 to test it just now. But, we have been using the Workforce series printers (ink cartridge) and when the time comes, I will be happy to try one of these new models. Again, thanks for the great article

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HenryW wrote:

don’t replace the maintenance box until the printer tells you to.

A good suggestion. However, I’m not comfortable with it yet because with the Artisan printer, I didn’t know the box needed “service” until the thing bricked. At least now I can see the status of the box and can act accordingly.

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Alex5723 wrote:

EcoTank clone?

Everybody’s got tank clones now. Success does not go unnoticed.

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Alex5723

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Thanks for an interesting article. I’ve been curious about EcoTank printers for a while. The ET-8550 is a bit expensive for me, but the ET-2850 is more reasonable. But in the users guide for that printer buried in the technical specs portion is a section about “Printable Area Specifications”. It says that borderless prints may suffer a decline in quality “in the expanded printable area”. The reduced print quality area at the top is given as 1.73 inches and the reduced print quality area at the bottom is given as 1.57 inches. There are similar statements for bordered prints and for envelopes.

Does this really mean that, for example, on a borderless 8 x 10 print the quality is reduced over a length of 3.3 inches? In other words 33% of the total area has a reduced print quality? That seems absurd and quite devious as it’s way at the end of the manual. To get 8 x 10 area of highest quality you would need to use 13.3 inch long paper, but the manual says the longest supported paper is 11.7 inches (A4). I don’t recall ever seeing any kind of similar statement for any other brand of printer.

Does anyone know if this is an issue, and if so, how big the quality decline is?

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mcbsys

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DrBonzo wrote:

Does anyone know if this is an issue, and if so, how big the quality decline is?

I have never attempted to print a borderless page and can’t give you an answer. When printing as large an image as possible with at least some border around it, I have noticed nothing. I have yet to print a photo at full quality on photo paper.

But I suspect the quality reduction is minimal, perhaps not visible without close inspection. And I think Epson’s statement about this is a disclosure for legal purposes. I say this because if the degradation that Epson describes was serious, we’d have heard about it.

I also checked the specs for Epson’s most expensive printer in this class, the SureColor P900 17-Inch Photo Printer, and found exactly the same disclosure.

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DrBonzo, mcbsys

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Thanks for the article. I’ve been following EcoTank printers for a while because I grew tired that my old HP OfficeJet 6500 did recognize original HP cartridges only reluctantly (every time I had to change one turned into a nail biter), and in light of the upcoming end of life of Windows 10 and a potential move to Linux, I was interested in a printer / scanner supported by Linux Mint.

I print very little (sometimes once a month) and I don’t need photo print, so it dawned on me that a color laser printer may be the better option. A few people have recommended Brother printers to me, and there just happened to be one on sale with good reviews for about $240 (normal price around $300, conversion done from Swiss Francs) : Brother DCP-L3560CDW (that’s what it is called in Central  Europe). Duplex printing, Ethernet LAN, 5 GHz Wifi, Android app for printing, just no double-sided ADF for scanning (not a requirement for me). So far I’m happy with it.

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I replaced a small HP LaserJet last December with the Epson ET-3850  and have not replaced the first set of ink bottles yet. I don’t do a lot of printing but; 3 times a year must send renewal notices to various clubs and the color helps with getting the information noticed.

Only complaint I have had is trying to set my basic print types instead of questions about paper size every time. I frequently switch between letter, #9 and #10 envelopes.

 

Great article! Thanks for advice about Maintenance box.

 

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I almost bought an Epson Eco Tank printer as it has been around longer than other ones, but fortunately, before I ordered it, I measured the width of it and it would not fit in the space I have available — about 18 inches.  I have always used HP printers and so bought the HP Smart Tank 7602.  So far I have had it about 4 months and am pretty happy with it.  I have barely used any of the colored tanks.  I use a product called Print Greener that allows me to preview the pages before I print and I set it to default to print in black and white.  After 4 months, I did get a message that I was low on black ink so I bought a 2 pack of black ink bottles ($17) but so far I haven’t had to fill one yet.  The main issue I have been having with the HP printer is that it often grabs more than one page of paper and the paper jams periodically.

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Just a quick note about a significant typo in the article that I discovered while re-reading it today to offer advice to my daughter. In the very last paragraph, a sentence reads “So far, owning the ET-5150 has cost 14¢ per impression…” but earlier in the article Will’s calculation came to just 4¢. I’d wager that 4¢ is the correct number! Will?

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