First test
PRICE: £779.99
EPSON.CO.UK
If the idea of home printing appeals, but you’re concerned with running costs, go cartridge-free and save money by investing in Epson’s EcoTank technology – and its ET-8550 A3+ printer Epson EcoTank ET-8550
SPECS › Price Epson EcoTank ET-8550 £779.99, inks £15.99 each, ET- 8550 maintenance box £21.99 › In the box ET-8550, six inks, mains lead, software CD, quick-start guide › Inks Six Claria inks: pigment black, photo black, grey, magenta, cyan, yellow › Functions Printer, scan, copy › Compatibility Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later, Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP › Software Epson Photo+, ScanSmart, EpsonNet › Info panel 10.9cm touchscreen › Maximum print size A3+, 19x13in › Maximum resolution 1200dpi › Printing resolution 5760x1440dpi › Nozzle configuration 360 nozzles black, 180 per colour › Optical resolution 1200x4800dpi › Scan output formats BMP, JPEG, TIFF, multi-TIFF, PDF, PNG › DVD printing Yes › Connectivity Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, ethernet, SD card, USB stick › Media input Two front cassette (photo and A4), 1x rear feed, 1x A3+ straight pass feed for thick media up to 1.3mm › Yield One set of inks gives 2300 15x10cm photo prints › Dimensions (wxhxd) 52.3x16.9x37.9cm › Weight 11.1kg › Contact epson.co.uk
“ON EPSON’S GLOSSY PHOTO PAPER, PRINTS LOOKED BOLD”
PRINTING YOUR BEST shots at home is a pleasure – and Epson’s cartridge-free EcoTank printer lets you indulge and save money at the same time. The ET-8550 is versatile. It’s not just an A3+ photo printer, but also a copier and scanner. Plus, it can print on CDs/DVDs and an extensive range of inkjet media. There’s no concern with image longevity, either. The ET-8550 uses six Epson Claria inks, which have a life expectancy of 300 years if prints are stored in albums. Set-up is typical Epson: simple. The supplied ink bottles give one complete fill with a little left over, while the process itself is easy with no risk of overfilling. From unboxing to being ready to print took under 30 minutes.
I used a selection of Epson, Hahnemühle and Fotospeed media for the test, with a mix of traditional photo finishes and art surfaces – outputting a mix of black & white and colour images. For each media I used an X-Rite i1Studio to create an ICC profile for every paper. I’ll start with a few cons. My workroom is windowless, and an odour – I assume from the inks drying – is produced during printing. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s not nice. I don’t get this with my Epson SureColor SC-P800. The moral is simple: print in a well-ventilated room. The ET-8550 generates quite a bit of noise, too. This is not necessarily during printing – and there is a quiet mode available – but when it’s preparing or charging inks.
paper-feed slot. Single-sheet feed worked fine, but I got a jam with two sheets on a couple of occasions – although this was easily resolved. None of these points are deal- breakers, just a matter of getting used to the printer’s foibles. Output is very good, though, with colour and mono images – no complaints on the ET-8550’s printing skills. It’s pretty quick, too. A 36x24cm image on a sheet of A3 paper took a little over eight minutes and emerged touch dry. There’s an LED that lights the output tray, which is handy. It would have been even better to have one backlighting the ink tanks, to check levels more easily. On Epson’s glossy photo paper, prints looked bold, saturated and had plenty of punch. This suits these scenes and outdoor shots well, but might be too vibrant for some tastes. With Fotospeed Legacy Gloss 325, the results were less strident and looked lovely, with good contrast, clean highlights and rich shadows. The ET-8550 performed very well with photo-finish paper, but more than held up its end with matte, art and textured, too. The printer’s penchant for lively prints came across here, but in that restrained way matte paper offers. WC
TOUCH AND TRY The ET-8550 has a touchscreen that worked well, but the virtual buttons needed a definite push
Verdict The Epson ET-8550 is a quality unit, with impressive printing skills and the potential to save cash in the long run. How much, I have no idea – I would have to run this unit and a cartridge-fed printer side by side, outputting the same prints for quite a while, which isn’t practical. But we can look at bare costs. The Epson SureColor SC-P700 ten- ink printer is currently available for £678.99, with replacement Epson cartridges costing £28 or so. The six-ink Epson ET-8550 is £779.99 (I’ve seen it advertised at £679, so shop around, as always), and inks are £15.99 with greater capacity. They are very different beasts, so this isn’t a fair comparison, but it at least gives you an idea of potential savings over time – especially if you print often. It doesn’t make sense to buy the ET-8550 if you’re printing once a month. If you do purchase, use often and enjoy lots of prints. PROS Prints, scans, copies, versatile when it comes to media options, good print quality, compact CONS Occasionally noisy, ink smell, touchscreen could be more responsive, profile support from paper brands not as extensive as dedicated photo printers
It makes an assortment of whirring sounds – you might get a few dirty looks if printing while the family is watching TV. Finally, with A3 photo paper, I used the rear COLOURFULLYVIBRANT My test print on Epson glossy photo paper looks rich and accurate, so no complaints there
54 Photography News | Issue 92
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