Epson ET-2850 All In One: In-Depth Review and User Opinions

The Epson ET-2850 is an inkjet all-in-one printer aimed at home and small office users. Part of Epson's Ecotank line, the ET-2850 distinguishes itself with its refillable ink tank system that significantly reduces the cost of replacement ink cartridges. With its sleek and compact design, this versatile printer can copy, scan, fax and print while taking up minimal space.

Some key features of the ET-2850 include print speeds up to 10 ppm in black and 5 ppm in color, a 30-page auto document feeder for the scanner, integrated fax capabilities, and wireless networking. It utilizes Epson's proprietary Claria ink with enough included to print thousands of pages before needing a refill. For those looking for an affordable home printer with cheap ink refills, the Epson ET-2850 makes an compelling option.

Design

The Epson ET-2850 has an elegant and compact design, well-suited for home office use. It measures 14.7 x 13.7 x 7.3 inches and weighs a light 14.3 pounds. The printer has a sleek and modern profile with rounded edges. It comes in an attractive matte black finish that looks good in any home or office decor.

Despite its small footprint, the ET-2850 doesn't feel flimsy at all. The plastic body feels sturdy and durable. The build quality is solid overall. The printer takes up minimal desk space, perfect if you are tight on area. It's shaped in a way to maximize vertical space. The input and output trays fold into the body nicely when not in use.

Print Quality

The Epson ET-2850 delivers high quality prints thanks to its advanced printhead technology. It has a maximum print resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi, producing sharp text and vivid color graphics.

The printer uses Epson's PrecisionCore printhead which provides consistent and reliable results print after print. It can print laser-quality text at speeds up to 10 ppm in black and 5 ppm in color. For photos, it can achieve speeds up to 15 ppm in black and 8 ppm in color.

The ET-2850 utilizes Epson's exclusive Claria ET pigment ink. The ink produces smudge, fade, and water-resistant prints that have the look and feel of a traditional photo lab. It can print onto a variety of media types including plain paper, photo paper, and CD/DVDs. Overall, the print quality is suitable for both home and office use, producing professional looking documents, photos, and graphics.

Paper Handling

The Epson ET-2850 has decent paper handling capabilities for a printer in this class. It has a 150-sheet main paper tray that can accommodate media sizes up to 8.5 x 11 inches. The main tray has an adjustable bottom that lets you use thicker paper stock between 3 - 20 mil.

In addition to the main tray, the ET-2850 has a rear feed slot that supports specialty paper types including envelopes and cardstock up to 1.3 mil thick. The rear feed slot can hold around 20 sheets. Between the main tray and rear feed, the ET-2850 has enough flexibility to print photos, documents, envelopes and other media without having to swap paper frequently.

One downside is that there is no additional paper tray option for high volume printing. The total input capacity tops out at 170 sheets. But for home office and student use, this should be sufficient. Overall, the paper handling allows you to print on all the media types you're likely to use regularly.

Connectivity

The Epson ET-2850 offers excellent connectivity options for both wired and wireless printing.

For wired connectivity, it has a USB 2.0 port allowing you to connect directly to your computer. The USB connection is fast, reliable, and easy to set up. Just plug one end of a USB cable into the printer and the other into your computer. This is a great option if your printer is close to your computer.

When it comes to wireless, the ET-2850 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. Setting up the wireless connection is straightforward using the printer's control panel. You'll be guided through the process of connecting to your local Wi-Fi network. Once connected, you can print from anywhere in your home as long as your devices are on the same network. The wireless connection is fast and stable for printing from multiple computers, smartphones and tablets simultaneously.

The printer also supports Wi-Fi direct, which allows you to connect your mobile devices directly without a wireless router. This gives you printing flexibility and convenience whether you're at home or on the go.

Overall, the wired and wireless capabilities of the Epson ET-2850 give you excellent connectivity options for simple printer sharing and printing from anywhere in your home or office network. The setup process is quick and hassle-free.

Ink System

The Epson ET-2850 has a revolutionary ink system that sets it apart from most consumer printers. It uses high-capacity ink tanks instead of regular cartridges. Each color has a dedicated tank that you fill with bottled ink.

This eliminates the need to frequently replace cartridges. The included bottles provide enough ink to print thousands of pages. Epson estimates the black ink alone is enough for 11,000 pages. And when you do need to refill the tanks, bottled ink is much more affordable than cartridges.

The high ink capacity is ideal for high volume printing. You can print up to 50 pages per day without worrying about running out of ink. The ink tanks are transparent so you can easily check the level and top up before it runs dry.

Overall, the integrated ink tank system gives you excellent value for money on ink. After the initial purchase, you can print thousands of pages for very little cost with inexpensive bottled ink.

Printing Costs

One of the biggest advantages of the Epson ET-2850 is its incredibly low printing costs. This is an inkjet printer with refillable ink tanks instead of cartridges.

The ET-2850 comes with enough ink in the box to print up to 7,500 pages in black or 6,000 pages in color. After the initial ink is used up, you can refill the tanks with high-capacity ink bottles. The XL ink bottles provide enough ink to print thousands more pages at a fraction of the cost of ink cartridges.

For example, the XL black ink bottle can print up to 4,500 pages and costs around $13. This works out to an extremely low cost per page of less than 1 cent for black and white printing. The color ink bottles print up to 7,500 pages and cost around $13 each, so color printing is less than 2 cents per page.

When you compare this to a standard inkjet printer that uses cartridges, the savings are huge. Cartridge-based printers usually cost between 10-20 cents per page for black and white, and 25-50 cents for color pages.

The ET-2850 also has very reasonable paper costs. Since it has a 200-sheet paper capacity, you can buy reams of generic copy paper for pennies per sheet. Specialty photo paper will cost more, but is still fairly affordable when purchased in bulk packs.

Overall, the ink tank system allows businesses and home users alike to save substantially on printing costs over the life of the printer. Even at high monthly print volumes, this Epson model maintains low ongoing costs for both ink and paper.

Features

The Epson ET-2850 is packed with useful features that make it a versatile all-in-one printer.

• Copying: The ET-2850 can function as a standalone copier. It has a 35-sheet auto document feeder for scanning multipage documents. Copy resolution goes up to 600 x 1200 dpi for sharp text and images. You can make 2-sided copies and resize or adjust the darkness of copies as needed.

• Scanning: Scans can be saved directly to a USB drive or uploaded to cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive. The scanner can handle letter and legal sized documents up to 8.5 x 120 inches in length. Resolution goes up to 1200 dpi for scans.

• Mobile printing: Connect the printer to your wireless network and you can print from your smartphone or tablet. Epson offers apps for iOS and Android to make printing easy when away from your computer.

• LCD screen: A 2.4 inch color LCD screen on the printer allows you to manage printing tasks and navigate menus without needing a computer.

• Photo printing: With a max resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi, the ET-2850 can produce borderless photos up to 8 x 10 inches. An integrated memory card slot also lets you print directly from SD cards.

The combination of scanning, copying, wireless printing, and photo printing makes the ET-2850 a versatile all-in-one for home and home office use. The LCD screen and mobile apps add further convenience for completing tasks.

Setup and Software

The initial setup process for the Epson ET-2850 is straightforward. You'll need to remove all the packing materials, load paper, install the ink cartridges, and connect the printer to power and your computer.

The printer comes with basic software for Windows and Mac to help you get started. This includes the Epson printer drivers, which allow you to adjust settings and print from your computer. An easy-to-use setup utility walks you through the network and printer configuration.

The ET-2850 also includes some additional bundled software. Epson Scan 2 allows you to scan documents directly to your computer. You can initiate scans from your computer or the printer's control panel. It includes options for enhancing scans and saving them as PDFs. Epson's PC-Fax software provides basic fax capabilities from your computer if you have the printer hooked up to a phone line.

Overall, the bundled software covers the essentials for basic printing, scanning and faxing needs. The setup process is straightforward enough for even novice users. But the software lacks some of the more advanced features found in higher-end Epson EcoTank models.

Conclusion

Pros

• The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is an affordable all-in-one printer that produces high-quality prints. It uses Epson's revolutionary ink tank system which completely eliminates cartridges and reduces printing costs significantly.

• With enough ink to print thousands of pages, you save up to 90% with low-cost replacement ink bottles versus traditional cartridges. There are almost no recurring costs apart from periodic ink refills.

• It can print, scan, copy and fax giving you a true all-in-one device. The automatic 2-sided printing feature helps save paper.

• Connectivity options are versatile with built-in wireless, Wi-Fi Direct, USB and mobile printing capabilities.

• It's compact and designed to fit in tight spaces while still delivering professional quality results.

Cons

• Initial ink fill can be messy if not done carefully. Ongoing refills are easier with the improved ink bottles.

• Print speed is quite slow, especially for two-sided printing. Not ideal for high volume printing.

• Paper handling is limited. There's only one paper input tray and no auto document feeder for the scanner.

• Lack of an LCD display screen makes it harder to navigate the minimal control buttons and menus.

Final Recommendation

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is an ideal home printer for occasional printing and scanning needs. It excels at low-cost, high quality document and photo printing with enough ink to last up to 2 years. If your printing needs are light to moderate, the savings on ink along with the all-in-one capabilities make this an excellent choice.