Epson EcoTank ET-8500 Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Sian Manning
I was absolutely delighted to get picked to review this item, a printer capable of printing professional print level photos has been on my list of must haves for a very long time. As a photographer I have always wanted a printer that is able to print for everyday use and also is designed to be able to handle professional quality photo prints.
When the printer arrived it was boxed well in a huge branded Epson box, it was well protected inside with moulded cardboard inserts to hold the printer in place and stop it from moving round. Included in the box was the printer itself, a quick start guide, a CD with drivers and utilities, inks, warranty document and a connection cable.
It is a fairly big printer so you will need to choose where you want to put it and measure up, it is 40cm wide, 40cm deep and 16cm high. When the paper trays are out and extended this increases so do bare this in mind.
This is where my experience may differ from yours as when I opened the box the printer was damaged, one side of the plastic moulding seems to have popped out of place, this was rectified and I was sent an alternative printer to review. The replacement printer I was sent was loaded with ink and paper and in the box were test print sheets indicating that this printer was a refurb or test model. For this fact I have not needed to load the printer with ink as it has come with all tanks at least three quarters full. These printers are capable of printing up to 2,300 photos on a full tank of ink, so I think it may be quite some time until I need to top them up. So I unfortunately cannot comment on the ink refilling process but from reading the instructions it does seem to be quite straightforward.
On to the usage of the printer itself, upon plugging it in and turning it on it is more high tech than any printer I have previously used, the front opens automatically and the paper tray rolls out. The display on this printer is all colour and touch screen, it is very intuitive and the images on the screen really help with selecting the correct options to work the printer. Connecting to the internet was quick and straightforward and then I begin printing – of course you can print without this step, direct from a SD card or by connecting directly to the printer.
There are multiple paper trays in this printer so that you can load a number of mediums and have them set for different tasks, photo paper in one, plain A4 in another and notecards or something else in the third for example. This makes multiple printing tasks quicker and easier as you don’t have to load and unload multiple times for different jobs. The two rear feeds are great for thicker paper or card and also there for double sided printing.
This printer also has a scanner bed so you can scan and email or scan and print, it enables you to copy and keep documents or copy and print as needed. A really useful function and one I have used numerous times, the fact that once you have scanned a document or picture and can then view it on the side screen before printing is a huge benefit, you can see if you have aligned it correctly or if there are any colour problems before you choose what to do, this is a real time, paper and ink saver.
On to the printing, now here I have encountered a few problems, I have been choosing to print from my phone, this is a suggested way of printing using the Epson Smart Panel App. This app is great and has a lot of options and settings so that you can get the perfect print first time. However a couple of times when I have sent an image to the printer it has lost connection mid way through the print, meaning that the print fades out and doesn’t complete. This is waste of ink and paper. Each time I have been sat with the app open, in front of the printer and have not moved so there has been a connection problem with the printer and app, a rather frustrating occurrence. As an update on this point this did only happen 2-3 times and I have since printed a lot more with no issues so this seems to be something that happens less frequently than I first experienced.
The other issue I had faced with the printer was that it seemed to dislike inactivity and or warm weather, if I go a number of days without using the printer the next time I have gone to print something the colours are not correct and there is a lot of horizontal banding. I have to then run the print head cleaning process to try and correct the errors, this does work but is a lengthy and time consuming endeavour. Each time the programme runs it gets better, however it has on one occasion given a message that no further cleans can be completed at this time and to do it again 12 hours later, this is not much help if you were in a hurry to get something printed. After the required wait and further cleaning cycles the colour and banding issues were resolved. I think if you were using this printer most days there would be less issues.
The prints themselves when the printer is fully functioning and working as it should are brilliant, there is no banding and the colours are as expected, well toned and sharp. The photos that I have taken, spent time editing and then printed have come out as I would expect from a professional print. This of course will also depend on the paper you are feeding into the printer too and the quality given out reflects the quality put in. I have been really pleased with the outcomes of the items I have printed and I have printed on normal cheap A4, professional standard photo paper, magnetic photo paper and sticker paper, all have come out well, good colours, no banding and nice crisp prints. The colours and print have lasted well and are still vibrant and as you would expect even months after printing.
The inks and upkeep on this printer are value for money too, each bottle of ink is around £15, the printer takes 6 different colours of ink, you can see the level of the ink through the viewing window at the front and they don’t drop quickly. Unlike previous printers I have had where the ink is a cartridge and you have no idea on the amount left, other than on the computer/app and then all of a sudden you have to buy a new one. These tank printers allow you to keep an eye on what is happening and how much you have left and you can see those levels for yourself, enabling you to buy as and when needed for each colour.
If you are looking for a really good all rounder of a printer that is capable of printing photos to a high standard I don’t think you could go far wrong with this one, if you are willing to sort out the occasional niggle with print heads and connections. The quality of the prints supersedes the small issues that I have faced and I would recommend this printer to any budding photographers, you cannot beat the satisfaction of one of your photos being bought to life in print.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: – £649.99
You can purchase this printer direct from Epson here.