Epson Ecotank ET-8500 Review: Ink Tank Printer For Photo Fans

At a look

Professional’s Ranking

Professionals

• Very excessive print high quality
• High for greyscale pictures
• Processes many sorts of materials
• Very low price per web page regardless of 6 colors

Cons

• No actual off change
• Excessive buy worth

Our Verdict

Printing stunning pictures on quite a lot of media is an artwork in itself, and one which the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 masters admirably – from basic photograph codecs to printing on fantastic artwork paper. The flexibility of this multi-functional tank printer is what units it aside – and makes it enjoyable to check out. And, due to the ink tanks, the photograph prices stay low.

Worth When Reviewed

$699.99

Finest Costs As we speak: Epson Ecotank ET-8500

$610.00

$699.99

Pastime photographers usually lay our a fortune on prints – particularly in the event that they use a cartridge gadget with plenty of photograph inks for printing. The Epson Ecotank ET-8500 is tailor-made exactly to this goal group. Due to the tank system, you’ll save some huge cash per printout. Whereas preliminary funding is excessive, it pays for itself rapidly.

What it prices to print

The Epson Ecotank ET-8500 has six tanks that may be refilled with the 114 sequence of bottles. One tank is for pigmented black ink. The remaining 5 tanks are reserved for dye inks – extra exactly for the colors photograph black, cyan (blue), magenta (pink), yellow (yellow) and gray. All tanks supply the identical filling capability. There isn’t a bigger black tank for textual content.

Photograph prints are produced by the ink-tank multifunction printer from a most of 5 colors. The prices are calculated on the idea of a ten x 15 centimetre photograph. All ink portions must be enough for two,300 pictures when bought.

The producer fees $17.49 /£15.99 /17.99 euros per bottle for 70 millilitres. On this foundation, the value for a ten x 15 photograph is 3.4 cents/ 3.4p/3.9 cents – though please keep in mind that UK and US costs are a tough estimate.

Twice as a lot is charged for an A4 photograph – 7.5 cents/ 6.9p/ 7.8 cents. In comparison with cartridge printers, these are unbelievably low costs. You may print your pictures as you please. The one factor that will get costly is the paper, which you need to add to the ink prices.

However even in customary printing on plain paper, the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 received’t break you. Right here, the refill inks supply a variety of 6,700 pages for textual content black and 6,200 pages for the opposite colors. With costs of 0.25 cents/ 0.23p/ 0.27 cents for a black-and-white sheet and 1.4 cents/ 1.24p/ 1.45 cents for a color ISO web page, the ET-8500 is just a little larger than different tank fashions, however leaves any cartridge or toner mannequin far behind.

On the similar time, it’s frugal in its energy consumption: in idle mode, the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 switches all the way down to 0.7 watts with a USB connection and 0.9 watts through WLAN. However there’s a shortcoming – when switched off, the ink tank multifunction printer doesn’t disconnect utterly from the mains. Within the take a look at, the meter nonetheless confirmed a consumption of 0.4 watts.

Foundry

Simple start-up

The Epson Ecotank ET-8500 proves that even a six-colour multifunctional printer is straightforward to arrange. The motive force CD and the clearly laid-out leaflet – each included within the scope of supply – are useful. As well as, there’s an ink bottle set that corresponds to the refill bottles by way of filling portions.

For the reason that line system must be crammed as soon as, the vary is lowered to 18,00 pictures (10 x 15 centimetres). The ink tanks are coded. Which means that solely the proper ink-tank combos match. Incorrect filling is thus dominated out. Drip stops and an computerized cease of the filling course of be certain that the ink leads to the tanks with out splashing or overflowing.

Stress adjustment is extra in depth on the ET-8500 than on different printer fashions. This reveals that it’s a extra specialised gadget whose print head must be aligned just a little extra exactly.

Options: Geared toward photograph followers

The big variety of paper feeders alone makes it clear that Epson desires to fulfil as many photograph needs as attainable with the Ecotank ET-8500. And it succeeds with a paper cassette for 100 sheets, a second cassette for 20 photograph papers as much as 13 x 18 centimetres, a rear feeder for as much as 50 sheets, a cut-sheet feeder for thick media and a print template for printing on CDs/DVDs.

Some paper feeders are solely prepared to be used after just a few handbook operations. For instance, for the straight sheet feeder you need to take away the rear cowl, click on within the paper information contained in the housing and align the sheet precisely with the arrows. To print on a DVD, take away the doc holder from the underside of the paper cassette and insert it into the entrance of the case on the designated place. With just a little follow, each procedures are simple to carry out.

The foldable contact show on the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 is exceptional: it has a diagonal of just about 11 centimetres and may subsequently be operated simply on the contact of a finger.

Connecting to Wi-Fi networks can be fast and straightforward. The ET-8500 will also be related through USB, LAN or Wi-Fi Direct. Cellular printing works through Apple Airprint, Mopria or the producer’s personal apps, Epson Sensible Panel or Epson Print Structure.

For direct printing from storage media, the tank multifunction printer affords an SD card slot and a USB host port on the entrance of the gadget. Each interfaces disappear behind the entrance cowl for the paper cassette when folded. As well as, the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 can routinely print on either side due to the duplex unit.

There are two options which can be actually design parts quite than functionally vital. When a print job arrives on the Epson Ecotank ET-8500, the output tray routinely strikes out. It may be retracted once more by urgent a button on the gadget. And when a print job is in progress, the paper output is illuminated with white LEDs.

High quality: Nice pictures, high-quality on a regular basis prints

The Epson Ecotank ET-8500 prints, scans and copies. Despite the fact that it’s tailor-made to photograph printing, it handles on a regular basis duties to a excessive customary. The pigmented black ink, for instance, ensures very legible textual content with a balanced protection. Color PDFs with photos, graphics and textual content additionally turned out impressively effectively within the take a look at.

There may be little to complain about within the take a look at scans. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t count on miracles, as a result of Epson depends right here on a CIS scanner (Compact Picture Sensor) – much like different ink tank fashions. Nonetheless, the efficiency is completely fantastic for digitising frequent originals. On the subject of copying, the ET-8500 is extra consistent with regular workplace and residential workplace tank printers. Right here, its efficiency is completely first rate, however not distinctive.

Foundry

The Epson ET-8500’s power is clearly in photograph printing, the place it impresses with wealthy element, very good transitions and pure pores and skin tones. Those that need to print black-and-white pictures will admire the gray ink. As with the colors, the outcomes on paper listed here are glorious. You don’t have to fret about annoying color casts, which frequently happen with four-colour printers.

When you print from a cellular gadget, the Epson Sensible Panel app is an effective helper. The colors prove much more pure when the Epson Print Structure app is used. The color administration is even finer right here. Nonetheless, we weren’t in a position to obtain borderless printing. However the margins are very small.

Foundry

Working velocity: Quick, however not overhasty

In our take a look at, we seen how quietly the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 works more often than not. It solely turns into extra audible when printing monochrome textual content in customary decision. Right here it produced 10 pages in 45 seconds through USB – a good consequence, which can be related through Wi-Fi. Ten color pages from Acrobat have been printed in 2:14 minutes – once more, very quick.

The ET-8500 additionally maintains this dependable mode of operation when printing pictures. We measured nearly 3 minutes for an A4 photograph, and 1:32 minutes for a ten×15 photograph, nearly precisely half the time. In scanning, too, the ink-tank multifunction printer accomplished duties at a good tempo. We measured 6 seconds for an A4 preview and 10 seconds for a color scan. A replica took 19 seconds in color and 14 seconds in black and white. Many opponents are significantly slower.

Worth and availability

There are many shopping for choices for the Epsom Ecotank ET-8500 however it’s a good suggestion to buy round as costs can differ. When you’re within the US, its MSRP is $699.99 and you may get it at this worth from Finest Purchase however it’s out there for a lot much less on Amazon.

Within the UK, you should purchase direct from Epsom, however you’ll be paying the total RRP of £649.99. On the time of writing, John Lewis and Amazon have a lot better affords – by a whopping £100.

Verdict

The Epsom Ecotank ET-8500 is a wonderful alternative for individuals who need to print pictures – particularly those that need to print them repeatedly. It’s quick and your prints might be prime quality. Sure, you’ll be paying extra within the preliminary buy however over time its velocity, reliability and value per print will show higher worth.

This evaluate initially appeared in PC-Welt and was translated for inclusion right here.

For extra choices and to see which printers we suggest, take a look at our round-up of one of the best printers we’ve examined.

Technical specs