Epson EcoTank ET-2861 A4 Multifunction Wi-Fi Ink Tank Printer, With Up To 3 Years Of Ink Included , Black

The key point about this device is that it just works with everything on your network, that includes any Linux systems. Its actually easier to use with Linux than Windows. The CUPS and XSANE utilities I use on my Linux system know all about this printer without needing any special drivers! The Windows software includes a very useful photo printing utility that makes great prints but is not so great with the printer paper set up.There are issues with the set up process. The setup guide implies that the quick and easy route is to use the Epson app on your phone. This did not work with my phone, it just did not detect the printer. I followed the simple manual set-up instructions given in the printed setup guide. Once I had the ink loaded and the print system primed, the app on my phone connected with the printer and became useful. Filling the ink tanks is a clean and easy process. It is significantly simpler than working with the ink cartridges that I have used in the past. The filling system is designed to prevent you from overfilling the tanks. Another clever feature of this device.The screen on the front of the device is useful but rather small. I found it difficult to use but not impossible. It takes a little getting used to. Once you have discovered how it works it is easy to use but there is a learning period. Once you have understood how the menus work, it is actually very simple and quick to use. However, once the printer is setup the Epson Smart Panel app is easier to use.Printing and scanning performance is great. This printer is capable of creating borderless prints and this is why it will suspend the print operations if the paper implied by the pending print operation does not match the the paper size and type that the printer has been told is loaded in the paper feed. One of the things that you need to learn is to check that the printer paper settings match the paper in the feeder before starting any print job.The scanner built into the top of the device is of good quality and easy to use. BUT the Epson app restricts you to 600dpi whereas the scanner is capable of 1200dpi. No problem for XSANE but does restrict the quality of the images produced using the Epson app. The app appears to be tuned for creating PDFs rather than imaging photographs or other detailed originals.There's a lot to this device and it does have a learning curve. It prints well on a range of papers and sizes. It is a very capable scanner and copier, with the option of copying in colour or black and white. It is capable of two sided printing which can save a lot of paper. It has two print qualities, normal and high quality. It has a quiet mode to keep noise down but reduces printing speeds. Photo printing is very good for a non-specialist device and will be more than adequate for most people.

⭐ I recently received the EcoTank printer, which has high-capacity ink tanks that allow for mess-free refills using key-lock bottles to ensure the correct colour is inserted. It comes with an extra black ink bottle, providing up to three years of ink. One set is specified to print up to 14,000 black and 5,200 colour pages, which depends on factors such as ink coverage and intensity but represents significant savings compared to cartridge models, potentially up to 90%.⭐ The duplex mode works by printing one side, then feeding the paper back in and around a roller to print the other. This process is efficient but not suitable for thicker media. I have used the printer in both Wi-Fi and direct connection modes, and both work equally well. The direct connection mode has been particularly useful for my children at university, where the printer cannot be authorised on the academic Wi-Fi system. Its compact design, combined with Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct functionality, makes it versatile and easy to integrate into different setups.⭐ The ink bottles are straightforward to use, and the key-lock mechanism ensures the correct bottle goes into the right tank. While I did encounter occasional issues where a bottle wouldn’t start filling on the first try, reseating it resolved the problem quickly. This is the third EcoTank printer I’ve bought in the family, as I’ve found them reliable, easy to maintain, and excellent value. I have yet to replace any ink, which is a welcome change from other printers I’ve used, where the cost per page was exorbitant.⭐ As with any printer, leaving it idle can cause the printhead to dry out, but the deep clean mode clears it effectively, often after a few attempts. The paper feed is reliable and works well with materials such as thin card, T-shirt transfer paper, decal film, and label sheets. I’ve also used it to print all my Christmas card addresses with festive logos. The scanner is reliable and has allowed me to digitise old photo albums from the 70s and 80s. Overall, I’m very happy with the printer, which continues to meet my expectations. ✔️

This printer is more expensive than similar models, though I got it on offer that for this model was a good price. The advantage being that ink refills cost way less than for non tank printers and in this case the running costs make this printer overall cheaper than others quickly.I was worried about making a mess filling the ink tanks, but the design of the refill bottles and the tanks on the printer actually make it mess free and easy. You could only make a mess by doing it on purpose.Print quality is good and the speed is faster than I expected not that speed was a consideration for me, more that the quality on prints were clear and accurate which they are.Now setup it is easy to use with plenty of options making the printing and scanning possibilities substantial, way more than I need from a office printer that can print do colour and occasional pictures.My only reason for knocking a star off was setup (with the exception of filling the inks) was not easy. It took multiple attempts to connect to the WiFi and once connected it insisted on firmware upgrades that initially failed and took several attempts before working allowing the printer to be used. At this point working as a stand a lone copier worked fine and I was able to use AirPrint without issue. However it then took multiple attempts and an online chat with Epson to install the drivers to use all the features with my computer. Having got it setup, it is easy to use and as I say works well, but setup issues did drive me mad. From a compatibility view it is impressive, printing direct from iDevices and androids is straight forward and once setup, I have no issues printing from my Windows machine or my Mac and my son even had it print from his Linux laptop.