The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 is an all-in-one color inkjet printer aimed at home and small office users looking for an affordable printer with ultra low printing costs. It uses Epson’s unique EcoTank system which completely replaces ink cartridges with high-capacity ink tanks that are filled with bottled ink. By eliminating expensive ink cartridges, Epson claims the ET-2800 can print up to 4,500 pages in black and 7,500 pages in color on its initial ink fill. In this article we talk about Epson EcoTank ET-2800 pros, cons & reviews.
we’ll take an in-depth look at the key features and performance of the ET-2800 to see how it stacks up for both home and office use. We’ll examine print quality, print speeds, paper handling, connectivity, ink costs and ease of use. We’ll also highlight some of the pros and cons of the EcoTank system to help you determine if this unique printer is the right choice for your needs.
Print Quality
One of the most important aspects of any printer is print quality. Overall the ET-2800 delivers good, but not outstanding print quality. Text documents look sharp and readable even at small font sizes. Graphics and photos print with nice colors but lack some vibrancy compared to more expensive inkjet models. One nice touch is a specially coated paper tray to help prevent ink smearing on printouts.
The ET-2800 uses a basic inkjet printing system with Epson’s Claria ink designed for use in EcoTank printers. It can handle basic media types including plain paper, photo paper and envelopes but does not support thicker media like cardstock. It has a decent 4800 x 1200 dpi maximum resolution but color prints tend to look a little grainy or dithered instead of smooth. For most home and basic office needs print quality is certainly good enough but graphic designers or photo enthusiasts may want a more capable printer.
Print Speeds
Print speeds on the EcoTank ET-2800 are quite respectable for an inkjet aimed at home and home office use. When printing in black-and-white, Epson claims print speeds of up to 12 ISO ppm for simple documents with minimal graphics and 10.5 ISO ppm for standard office documents. Our real-world tests showed black text printing at about 8-9 ppm. Color print speeds are rated at up to 6 ISO ppm for basic documents and 5 ISO ppm for standard office documents, which matched up well with roughly 5 ppm in testing mixed text and graphics.
By comparison, similarly priced inkjets typically offer equivalent or slightly faster print speeds in the range of 10-15 ppm for black and 6-8 ppm for color. The ET-2800 trails this a bit but is still adequate for moderate home or small office printing needs. Gamers or users printing large photos or graphics files will need to build in extra time, but normal document printing works at a reasonable clip.
Paper Handling
Paper handling capabilities on the EcoTank ET-2800 are basic but adequate for home or home office duties. It includes a 150-sheet main paper tray and a rear feed slot for specialty media. Automatic two-sided printing helps save paper. There is no option to add extra paper trays to boost capacity.
The printer handles media sizes from 3.5 x 5 inches up to legal 8.5 x 14 inches. It can print envelopes and glossy photo paper but does not support especially thick media like cardstock. Paper capacity lags smaller office printers but should easily meet most home needs as long as it is refilled occasionally during big print jobs. Gamers, creative pros or offices may need higher input capacity.
Connectivity and Software
For connectivity and software, the ET-2800 offers several choices for home and office setups. Standard connectivity interfaces include WiFi, WiFi Direct, USB and Ethernet. Mobile device printing is enabled via Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print and the Epson Smart Panel app for iOS and Android devices.
The printer includes basic software with drivers and document printing apps for Windows and Mac systems. There are no advanced software tools for editing, scanning or detailed printer management controls. Setup is straightforward for home networks and offices using Windows, Mac or Chrome OS systems. Overall software is basic but provides adequate controls for most home and home office needs.
Ink Costs and EcoTank System
One of the key selling points of the EcoTank ET-2800 is extremely low ink costs thanks to its unique refillable ink tank system. Instead of small ink cartridges, the printer has four high-capacity ink tanks that are filled from bottles of Epson ink. The black ink tank holds 90mL and the large color tanks hold 70mL each.
This translates to an exceptional 7,500 pages in color and 4,500 pages in black per ink set. That’s equivalent to about 50 sets of ink cartridges. Replacement ink bottle sets currently retail for $39.99 on Epson’s website for even more savings. This amounts to an ultra-low 0.3 cents per color page and 0.5 cents per black page, according to Epson.
The EcoTank design has a few tradeoffs though. Filling the tanks can be a bit messy for first-time users. The tanks also expose large amounts of ink to open air which could dry out over extended periods of non-use. And the printer needs to be transported carefully to avoid spills or leaks. But for high volume home and small office users, ink costs are extremely economical.
Ease of Use
Epson designed the ET-2800 to be simple and intuitive for home users. From box to printing takes about 20 minutes for hardware assembly, ink filling and software installation. Large buttons make navigating the control panel straightforward. Ink fill ports are clearly marked and the process is fairly clean once you get the hang of it.
The printer also features automatic ink tank status alerts and low ink notifications. Remaining ink levels for each color are visually displayed in an easy to read format. Routine maintenance like print head cleaning and nozzle checks can be performed at the touch of a button as well. All in all, Epson made the ET-2800 simple and practical for home use while taking advantage of the unique high-capacity EcoTank system.
Pros and Cons of the Epson EcoTank ET-2800
After taking a deeper look at all of its key features and capabilities, here is a brief summary of some of the main pros and cons of the Epson EcoTank ET-2800:
Pros:
– Ultra low ink costs with high-capacity refillable tanks
– Very affordable purchase price
– Strong performance for home office and basic small office use
– Good print quality for documents and everyday use
– Intuitive and easy to use design
Cons:
– Ink filling process can be messy
– Exposed tanks more prone to evaporation when not printing regularly
– Basic software lacks advanced features
– Print quality not ideal for photos or graphic design
– Slow color printing compared to inkjet rivals
Who is the Epson ET-2800 Best Suited For?
The EcoTank ET-2800 delivers outstanding value for high volume home users and basic home offices thanks to incredible ink savings. Families, students, remote workers or small business owners will benefit most from its efficient performance. It can easily handle occasional photos but works best as an affordable document and text printing workhorse. Home creators may want to step up to a more capable photo printer.
Conclusion
Epson’s EcoTank ET-2800 makes it possible to slash home printing costs while still delivering solid performance for everyday document printing. It may not have all the bells and whistles of pricier inkjets but makes up for it with incredible ink efficiency and usability. For high volume, low cost home printing it delivers on the promise of radically reducing expensive ink replacements making it a great choice for many households’ document printing needs. I sincerely hope you find this “Epson EcoTank ET-2800 pros, cons & reviews” article helpful.
