Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 Wireless Wide-Format All-in-One Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, Ethernet and 4.3-inch Color Touchscreen, Large, White

#1:Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 Wireless Wide-Format All-in-One Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, Ethernet and 4.3-inch Color Touchscreen, Large, White

 

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Customer reviews

Count Orloff
5.0 out of 5 stars Epson finally did inkjet printing right
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
Congratulations Epson I don't hate you anymore.

I have had Epson inkjet printers for about 30 years. For my work as an artist I usually buy this size wide carriage 13x19. However I have never ever advised that anyone else I know buy a color inkjet printer unless they absolutely need one. I have two black and white laser printers that I adore because they just work, lightning fast, the toner is cheap, the print quality is excellent. My parents for instance have against my advice had a couple of color inkjets because they very occasionally want to print in color. Misery. The ink cartridges are always empty the heads are always clogged and the thing just refuses to print in black and white even though the black cartridge is full but one of the color cartridges is empty. My old Epson r2880 has eight tiny little cartridges and one or two of them are ALWAYS low or empty and they are crazy expensive. The cartridges are also chipped so that you can't use anyone else's aftermarket cartridges, and there's a whole industry dedicated to getting around these issues. In my opinion it's a terrible business model for a printer company because you make your customers hate you, go to great lengths to buy cheaper ink from other companies, and it all discourages them from using the printer and doing a lot of printing and buying your other supplies like paper.

Well I read an awful lot about these new tank style printers and how they could potentially solve most of these issues. And I have to say I think they have nailed it. This printer is an absolute joy to use and you just look for excuses to print anything. The gloss prints on Epson ultra premium paper are simply the finest gloss prints I've ever seen. The ink tanks are huge and transparent so you can tell how much ink is in them and the ink lasts a way long time and it's really not that expensive. The ink bottles are actually kind of brilliant you can't put the wrong ink in the wrong tank cuz the nozzles are different shapes and they don't drip ink at all or anything. You can top them up at any time it's beautiful. Turns out you really don't need 8 or 10 colors to print gorgeous luminous prints. I am happy to buy Epson brand ink under these conditions. I mean I could still buy a different company's ink and put it in these tanks but why would you?I've always liked Epson photo paper and use it almost exclusively. I actually tell my kids to go and use the printer all they want. My neighbors too. If there's a print you think you might like print it for goodness sake! Print it larger! Now see Epson: THAT is a business model.

I had trepidations as this is a die ink printer. Everyone says artists should "use pigment inks for archival longevity". I've decided I just don't care. Pigment inks tend to clog. They actually don't look that good on glossy paper did anyone ever tell you that? They need a special varnish coat in order for the gloss to pop. If one of these dye prints fades in 20 years you know what it's digital files, I'll just go print the darn thing again it's not that expensive on a printer like this.

I even kind of like the Epson print layout software, even though it looks like it was designed in the Windows XP era, and the scanner and it's software work quite well. I've had Epson flatbed scanners also for years and this one being built directly into the printer is just very useful. The touch screen also works well and you can quickly run off a copy which I've never really been able to do before, because I've had a separate printer and scanner and it's just too much of a pain to fire them both up and get on the computer. Also the wireless print function is really great. I can print a 4x6 from my phone in a few clicks, or a PDF from my tablet, what have you. There's even a special paper slot just to hold 4x6s in addition to other paper, gloss full sheets in the rear feed, plain paper in the bottom tray. They really have kind of thought of everything with this printer.

If I need to do some serious black and white printing of text I will still use the laser. On cheap copy paper the inkjet looks a little fuzzy and is actually not waterproof. But if I didn't have a laser I wouldn't go out and buy one because one printer is better than two. Just use inkjet plain paper and you'll be set

This is a printer I can happily recommend to basically anyone, and I have never been able to say that about a color ink jet before.
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Edward C. Rogers
5.0 out of 5 stars An overall EXCELLENT value!!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
I'm a semi-retired videographer, editor, photographer and YouTube/Tiktok contributor.

I've been relying on Keith Cooper on YouTube, for printing advice. It's paying huge dividends. His take on this? It's fantastic, if you use the right paper and right settings for your taste. Paper choice is crucial...and most printers these days are extremely good at what they do, regardless of cost.

I received my printer 3 full days earlier than originally predicted. The setup was simple. Most of the time was spent charging the tanks with ink and doing the alignment check. The alignment check was a bit weird, in that there were several correct possible choices for me to make. I did my best and didn't worry about it.

This printer is a compromise, in that most of the inks are dye-based. If you're not a professional printer, especially if you're not going to sell your prints, you can varnish them, after the ink dries on the paper. They'll last 100+ years.

The output is extremely good, although I've only had the stock photo paper to test and one card stock greeting card thus far. I will be testing out a lot of different papers, smaller sizes, to find what works for me.

I scanned an old black & white photo, yellowed with age, in a color setting. The resulting image is missing the exact tone, though. I don't know how I feel about that. I can fix it in post editing if I want...

Printing text on regular bright white paper is adequate and swift. The Duplexer worked fine. Note: If you plan to print on poster board, you'll need to remove the duplexer so the poster board can pass through the rear bottom of the unit. The card stock card I printed was perfect.

My one issue is that since it prints large prints, it requires more real estate than my old printer did. It's well worth the trade-off, however. Recommended.
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Gary Scharg
5.0 out of 5 stars Good quality color printer/scanner for price, economical to use
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024
Verified Purchase
Setup was a breeze. Excellent quality for photo printing. The unit was a little pricey, but no more than others in the same category. The real savings here is the Eco Tank ink. We probably got a couple of years of use from the original tanks that came with the unit. The replacement tanks are about the same cost as the tiny refills our old Canon printer, which always seemed to be running out of ink.
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S. L. Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth every penny
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
I had two older Canon printers -- a desktop all-in-one printer and a large format photo printer -- and for various reasons decided it was time to switch the two for a single printer and boy, am I happy that I found this Epson EcoTank! The print quality (using Epson paper -- especially the "Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster") is absolutely stunning with darks and lights and colors and sheen. I am so thrilled for the improvements made in printing since I last bought the smaller printer (~6 years ago).

The wifi connection was/is seamless and fast and allows printing from all over the house (and even from my iPhone!). The printer goes to sleep after a bit, but wakes instantly so I do not have to run to see if it is on before printing from a remote part of the house.

I am most thrilled with the "supertanker" inks this uses...I was constantly having to replenish the little plastic Canon cartridges (at great expense) and got to the point that I avoided printing anything even close to a full page, because it meant I was going to have to buy more cartridges. These last a long time and the quality is great.

I already had two Epson scanners (V850 Pro & FF-680W) and so wasn't needing another one, so this printer seemed about perfect. HOWEVER, I just now had a thought and went to check it in my office and it also has a large format scanner (it was under the top section of the printer)! Bonus time.

The touchscreen controls are pretty intuitive -- and the only beef I have is that to close the auto--extending "output tray" after printing, you have to touch that option on the screen, but that option is ONLY on the home screen, which means you have to navigate to find it each time (Epson--please update the software to place that option on every screen from which you have just printed).

So far, I have absolutely nothing but praise for this beast (it is large and heavy), but so quiet that I am not always sure something is printed or done printing unless I go into the other room to check.
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55 people found this helpful
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D. Earls
5.0 out of 5 stars My new friend
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
Bought this to replace an old friend, an Epson Stylus 1400 inkjet printer. My old friend had grown old: wouldn't feed paper, then the yellow print head shut down. Bought my old friend 15 years ago, was awed by its marvelous output through the years.

i had done a lot of homework with my old friend. Learned about ICC color profiles, even learned how to make them. Key for accurate color on the Stylus. Key for any printer.

Key for the 8550. Out of the box, colors good/very good, not great. The printer wants to use Epson profiles for Epson printing stock, and they probably work fine there. I had worked into higher quality stocks, and the Epson profiles were not so great. They were good - probably good enough for most, even exceptional for some.

So here's the deal: this is a GREAT printer (the Stylus 1400 was $1900 15 years ago), and this one is every bit its equal at $600. Providing, of course, you're a nutjob perfectionist and are willing to do the homework. It handles a variety of stocks flawlessly and produces beautiful output when A) color is controlled by the printer, and B) you have ordered up the correct ICC profile. The ECO tank is going to save a LOT of money even over recycled in cartridges. The controls (software on your desktop) and hardware (through the flip control on the printer also work well.

Not a nutjob? OK. You will not be disappointed. You ARE a nutjob? OK. You will not be disappointed. Just do your homework.
7 people found this helpful
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Joseph Marchena
5.0 out of 5 stars I Love this printer - Best prints if you color calibrate
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024
Verified Purchase
This has been the best printer I have ever owned. Eco Tank gives me the lowest cost for prints. I would advise that you use a Calibrite Color Checker Studio to color calibrate your monitor, get correct ICC for printer, Camera and scanner. You will be happy if you do. The printer has worked fantastic and I think I have tried assortment of photo papers. Testing it out has been a Joy and now my prints are spectacular. ( I do recommend you try different papers other than Epson) Best printer I have ever bought!.
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Rollana Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Wide Print Printer
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
Love the vibrant colors and ease of use. Love being able to use with my iPhone.
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Kathryn O'Brien
5.0 out of 5 stars Go for it
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
Purchased printer 16 months ago. I do a lot of printing for my two classes of young students as well as at home work of photography printing.. I am just now for the very first time adding ink. This printer is pricey, but I was spending over 100 dollars every 2 months on ink cartridges. It’s already paid for itself. Quality of photos is great, and prints larger copies, too. Consider it an investment. Check the price of the refill ink and you will be shocked in a good way!
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MS
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Astrophotography printing home use
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
I am extremely impressed with the quality of the prints I have been able to produce as part of my astrophotography hobby as a home printer that doesn't bleed my wallet dry on ink. Yes I understand more professional line of printers would be even better, but for now this suits my needs and I will have images I want to sell , professionally printed.

Don't buy cheap department store photo paper, buy quality photo paper from manufacturers of that have paper profiles for the ET 8550. It really does make a difference in the print quality. I am partial to the Luster and Glossy metalic papers. Do your home work and get good paper.

The rear feed is not an issue for me, I'd rather spend time feeding single sheets from the back than to spend hundreds of dollars every time I need ink.

As with any printer, if you want as realistic true colors on your printed photos, buy a monitor color calibrator to ensure your images will edit and print the way you want.

So far I have no complaints and feel very satisfied with my purchase. I could not be happier.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars so far so good
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
photos come out so vibrant. I haven't had it long enough to say how it holds up. I have the et15000 that has given me trouble since day one this one has not so far and the quality of the print is just great

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