- Top Pick: Epson EcoTank ET-2800 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer – Black | Cartridge-free print, scan, copy; up to 10 ppm, borderless photo printing; ideal for home and everyday use
- Best Value: Epson EcoTank ET-2900 Wireless All-in-One Color Supertank Printer with up to 3 Years of Ink, Refillable Tanks, Perfect for Home, 11 PPM, 1.44" Color Screen, Built-in Scanner – White
- Premium Choice: Epson EcoTank ET-4800 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer | Cartridge-free print, scan, copy, fax; up to 10 ppm, ADF, Ethernet; ideal for home and small offices
For most homes the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 or ET-2400 is the sensible entry point, the ET-4800 suits anyone who scans stacks of paper, the ET-3850 and the EcoTank Pro ET-5850 suit busier households and small offices, and the six-tank ET-8550 or the large-format ET-15000 are for photo and wide-format work. This guide sorts the current EcoTank lineup by the job it does best, using the figures Epson publishes and what independent reviewers report. Printers sit outside the usual PC-gaming topics on this site, so the focus here is plain: running cost, features, and fit.
- How EcoTank Works and Why Buyers Choose It
- At a Glance: Current EcoTank Models
- The Entry Tier: ET-2400 and ET-2800
- The Mid Tier: ET-4800 and ET-3850
- The High-Volume Tier: EcoTank Pro ET-5850
- Photo and Wide-Format: ET-8550 and ET-15000
- Setup, Compatibility and Ink Notes
- Pick X If… Decision Table
- Alternatives to Consider
- Frequently Asked Questions
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How EcoTank Works and Why Buyers Choose It
EcoTank printers replace small cartridges with built-in ink tanks that you fill from bottles. The idea is simple: the up-front machine costs more than a basic cartridge printer, but each bottle prints thousands of pages, so the cost per page drops sharply. Reviewers searching for the best Epson EcoTank printers, or the best eco tank printers in general, usually care about three things: how long the ink lasts, whether the printer has an automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning, and how fast it prints.
Epson rates bottle yields using the ISO/IEC 24712 test pattern. The bottles that ship in the box yield a bit less than replacement bottles because some ink is used to prime the print head. Treat all yield figures below as the maker’s numbers under standard conditions rather than a promise for your own documents.
At a Glance: Current EcoTank Models
| Model | Best for | Key stated specs | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| EcoTank ET-2400 | Light home printing, first tank printer | Uses 522 ink; Epson lists 4,500 pages for the black bottle and 7,500 for each color bottle; flatbed scanner | No ADF; basic feature set |
| EcoTank ET-2800 | Home use with a small color screen and easy wireless setup | 522 ink; same bottle yields as above | No ADF; flatbed scanning only |
| EcoTank ET-4800 | Home office with multi-page scanning and copying | 30-sheet ADF (single-sided); 522 ink; one retailer guide lists 10 ppm black and 5 ppm color | ADF does not scan both sides |
| EcoTank ET-3850 | Households that want faster output at a moderate tank-printer cost | Epson lists up to 7,500 black and 6,000 color pages per bottle set; Digital Trends figures roughly 0.3 cent per mono page and 0.8 cent per color page | Reviewer cost-per-page figures are ink only |
| EcoTank Pro ET-5850 | Small offices that print a lot | 542 pigment ink; 127 mL black bottle rated 7,500 pages, 70 mL color bottles rated 6,000; 500-sheet front tray; Digital Trends reports first page in under 6 seconds and up to 25 ppm on longer documents | Larger and heavier; more machine than a light user needs |
| EcoTank ET-8550 | Photo printing up to A3+ | Six-tank design aimed at photo quality, per TechRadar | Overkill for documents; large footprint |
The Entry Tier: ET-2400 and ET-2800
These two share the same 522 bottle family, and Epson lists the black bottle at 4,500 pages and each color bottle at 7,500. Both are flatbed print, scan and copy machines with no ADF. That makes them excellent for school forms, shipping labels, recipes, the occasional color handout and single-page scans. They are poor choices if you routinely scan a ten-page contract or a pile of receipts, because every sheet has to be placed on the glass by hand.
Fypower names the ET-2400 as its budget pick among tank printers, and Consumer Reports and other outlets have long covered the ET-2800 as the reference small tank printer. One independent test cited by Castle Ink measured roughly 3,990 black pages and 3,979 color pages from the starter bottles, which lines up with the idea that bundled ink lasts a little less than refill bottles.
If you only print a few pages a week, either model will do the job. If you print daily, step up for a larger paper tray and faster speeds.
The Mid Tier: ET-4800 and ET-3850
The ET-4800 adds a 30-sheet ADF (ten sheets for legal-size originals, per Epson’s spec sheet) and keeps the same 522 ink. The feeder scans one side at about 4.5 images per minute according to the spec sheet. That is slow compared with a business scanner but is far better than lifting the lid for each page. Its older sibling, the ET-4850, adds Ethernet, a 250-sheet tray and automatic two-sided printing, but Epson’s US site lists it as discontinued, so treat it as a previous-generation model that you may still find in stock. ITPro notes that its ADF does not support duplexing, so two-sided originals cannot be scanned or copied automatically.
The ET-3850 is described by Digital Trends as an affordable and fast tank printer. Epson lists its bottles at up to 7,500 black and 6,000 color pages. Digital Trends puts the cost per page at about three-tenths of a cent for mono and eight-tenths of a cent for color, which is ink only and excludes paper. Those figures are a few years old, but the bottle yields are the same today.
The High-Volume Tier: EcoTank Pro ET-5850
The ET-5850 is the model that Tom’s Guide lists as an Editor’s Choice for speed, print quality and very low ink cost. It uses pigment ink in a 542 bottle set, with a 127 mL black bottle rated at 7,500 pages and 70 mL color bottles rated at 6,000. A 500-sheet front tray means fewer refills of paper, which matters in an office. Pigment ink is generally regarded as better for crisp text and resistant to smudging, though color photos from dye-based machines can look richer.
The trade-off is size and up-front cost tier. This is a premium-tier machine, and a household that prints a few hundred pages a month will not recoup the extra spend.
Photo and Wide-Format: ET-8550 and ET-15000
TechRadar names the ET-8550 its best overall, describing a premium six-tank printer that prints up to A3+ and is aimed at photo quality. PC Guide picks the ET-15000, a wide-format model, as its best ink tank printer overall. Both are specialist tools. They suit hobby photographers, crafters and anyone printing posters or large spreadsheets. For ordinary documents, a smaller model gives you the same low ink cost without the footprint.
Setup, Compatibility and Ink Notes
- Setup: Filling the tanks takes a few minutes. Each bottle has a keyed nozzle so it only fits the matching color tank, which limits spills. Follow the setup guide and keep bottles upright.
- Operating systems: EcoTank printers work with Windows, macOS, iOS and Android through Epson’s apps and standard driverless printing. Confirm that your operating system version is listed on the product page before buying.
- Ink families: The 522 family covers the ET-2400, ET-2800 and ET-4800. The 502 family appears on the ET-4850. The 542 pigment family belongs to the ET-5850. Bottles are not interchangeable across families.
- Third-party ink: Epson recommends its own bottles, and using other ink may affect print quality or warranty coverage, so read the warranty terms.
- Printing regularly: Inkjets can clog when idle for long stretches. Reviewers advise printing a page or two each week.
Pick X If… Decision Table
| If you… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Print a few pages a week and want the lowest entry cost | ET-2400 | Simple, same ink yields as larger 522 models |
| Want easy wireless setup and a screen for the family | ET-2800 | Widely reviewed, flatbed only |
| Scan multi-page documents regularly | ET-4800 | 30-sheet ADF |
| Need faster output and low cost per page for a busy home | ET-3850 | Higher bottle yields, quoted low cost per page |
| Run a small office with heavy volume | ET-5850 | 500-sheet tray, pigment ink, high speed |
| Print photos or large formats | ET-8550 or ET-15000 | Six inks and A3+ capability, or wide format |
Alternatives to Consider
- Canon MegaTank PIXMA G3290: Tom’s Guide lists it as a budget recommendation. Canon lists yields of up to 6,000 black and 7,700 color pages for a full bottle set in default mode, with a 35-sheet ADF and automatic duplex printing per Canon Canada.
- HP Smart Tank 5101 or 7301: Easy setup and large bottle yields, but HP’s Dynamic Security firmware blocks non-HP ink.
- Brother INKvestment Tank MFC-T780DW: Included ink for up to three years according to Brother’s listing, a 20-page ADF and automatic two-sided printing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which EcoTank is best for a home user?
The ET-2800 or ET-2400 suits most homes that print occasionally. Step up to the ET-4800 if you need an ADF for scanning, or the ET-3850 if you print often and want faster output.
How long does a set of EcoTank bottles last?
Epson lists 4,500 black and 7,500 color pages per bottle for the 522 family, and up to 7,500 black and 6,000 color for the ET-3850 and ET-5850. Real results depend on coverage, photos versus text, and how often the printer runs cleaning cycles.
Are EcoTank printers good for photos?
Standard models handle casual photos, but reviewers point to the six-tank ET-8550 for serious photo work. If photos are your main use, a dedicated photo printer is the better route.
Can I use third-party ink in an EcoTank?
Physically some bottles fit, but Epson advises its own ink and warns that other ink may cause print problems. Read your warranty before deciding.
Do EcoTank printers dry out if I do not use them?
Inkjets can clog if left unused for weeks. Printing a short test page each week reduces the risk, and the printer’s cleaning routine can clear mild blockages.
Is a tank printer worth it for light use?
If you print a handful of pages a month, the ink savings may not offset the higher up-front cost tier. Heavier users gain the most because the cost per page is far lower than with cartridges.
