Epson EcoTank ET-4850 Wireless All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, Fax, ADF and Ethernet – The Perfect Printer Office - BlackECOLOGO

The media could not be loaded. This is my first Epson. And I want to share the full story of how we semi-accidentally ended up with this awesome brand of printer. It's pricey but so worth it. I waited about a month to write this review.Backstory:Originally, we had an HP 2540 inkjet printer that was supposed to be compatible with airplay but was plagued with connection issues for most of its usable life.It was probably about 10 years old by the time we replaced it, but the issues began about a year or two after owning it. And the issues got worse when 5g was rolled out. It seemed like it was only compatible with 2g.Why HP Sucks:I work from home and normally directly connect to ethernet to ensure that my speeds are as high as possible.However, to use the old HP Inkjet, I had to turn on wifi from my Macbook (on top of ethernet) and use stupid HP apps as a go-between to bridge the connection. I'm no computer scientist, but even I can recognize poor design and a technological bandaid when I see it.And don't even get me started on how fast it blew through expensive ink cartridges. $50-60 for black $50-60 for tri-color. You print 20 pages of normal printing and it starts saying you are low on ink. That's way too much, mkay?Eventually, it got to the point where I had to do factory resets nearly every time I wanted to use it. Also, the paper feed tray hinge hooks had broken, and the tray was literally being held together with duct tape. It was stored in one place, rarely moved, and when it was moved, it was done so gently. I think the hinge broke because the plastic just got old, cracked, and dried out.Why Bought another HP and Then Returned it, Before Buying this Epson:I am a longtime Apple person. Tend to default to buying items that are vetted/sold by Apple when they are connecting to other Apple products. And, unfortunately, the Apple store recommended the HP Envy.Literally the day I unboxed the HP Envy, it was giving me the same connection issues as the old HP inkjet. That's when I realized it wasn't the wifi compatibility. Nope. HP is just poorly-designed, ink-guzzling garbage.Research Methods // Pros and Cons:I discovered it with internet research (ranking criteria: NOT HP, compatible with PC and Mac, customer ratings, and price per print). It came down to a few different Epsons and a Cannon, but the reason this Epson won was that it has affordable ink and the ink lasts a long time.Why this Printer Rocks:1) Ink is relatively cheap by competitor comparison2) Ink lasts a really long time3) it automatically prints double-sided. This blew my mind, because I didn't need or pay attention to this feature, but now I can't imagine not having it. It's saving so much paper!!!4) Print quality is effective for basic print needs. Prints text without white lines.5) Installation was easy and it worked as expected from day one.6) It receives print jobs without me needing wifi on my macbook7) it prints easily from my iphone8) Print speeds are much faster than Inkjet 25409) Paper tray location is under the printer, which means you are not leaning a paper tray against a wall. And it probably won't crack apart like the plastic hinges did on my old printer.10) Replacement Ink is easy to install in the reservoirs. Because you get a reservoir for each tri-color, your color printing will implicitly last longer. And there are aftermarket options for ink.11) You will save so much paper. Good for the environment and your budget.Possible Negatives:1) The initial setup was long (plan on at least 30 minutes to install firmware and test print quality). You are warned not interrupt the setup process, because it could mess things up. Follow directions and you will be fine.2) The print quality test print will test your patience, especially if you have a hard time seeing. This is because it will generate a list of shapes and ask you which ones printed correctly. You then punch in the number on the printer to confirm alignment. The messed up shapes are only messed up by a millimeter of difference. So it can be hard to see the differences.3) Photo-quality printing does not appear to be its strong suit. However, printing at pharmacies or online is so cheap. Just do it there.3) It's a little bulky height-wise, but fits on top of a standard bookshelf.4) Price is high/prohibitive. But you get what you pay for. I truly believe this is a quality product and you will save money over time because of the efficiency of ink use, low cost of replacement ink and efficient use of paper through automatic duplex printing.

So glad we took a shot at this style of printer. We got tired of buying ink every month. You can calibrate this for sharp images, we’ve printed pictures on glossy stock and standard letter heads. The app makes it easy but the best is the wireless function. Takes seconds to go from webpage to print without the app like a normally printer. Full page prints in under a minute

This November 2023 purchase of an Eco Tank 4850 was our second EcoTank having purchased the first shortly after these printers hit the market. I was replacing a finicky Canon printer that had a lot of difficulty in staying connected to WiFi. The overall installation process was both quick with only a couple of hiccups in getting the printer to connect to my HP Envy laptop. Initially the laptop found and installed the Eco Tank fax printer that I promptly deleted. Once I did that the paper printer was located on our network and installed. Making the necessary WiFi connection needed to facilitate AirPrint from iPads and iPhones also succeeded but with a bit more effort due to the difficulty in choosing the best configuration of images on the test print because they were all pretty close to “good” at the start. I have printed documents and photographs on regular and premium paper along with card stock and photo paper with satisfactory results. While this particular model appeared to hit the sweet spot between function (touchscreen controls, auto 2-sided printing, sheet capacity) and price and there are versions that cost and do less as well as versions that cost and do more, I am quite happy -so far. My only disappointment is that printer throughput seems slower than the speed of the Canon printer that it replaced. It is also noteworthy that the biggest drawback to the first Eco Tank we bought relates to our being away from our home during the summer months when that printer is unused. The “Genuine” Epson ink in that printer dries up requiring quite a bit, time and wasted test paper to get the original Eco Tank to again print properly. At this early point, I am hoping by now Epson has fixed that problem by modifying the ink, automatically printing test pages before ink has dried or something else. Lastly, compared to my old Canon printer, the per-page cost for a color print is minimal. Should you decide to give a tank printer a try be sure that what you order has all of the functions and features that you need. Less expensive models have fewer functions.I have now used this printer for quite a while since I first put it in service. I have a similarly aged HP printer in an office in a mountain cabin and recently had to pay about $100 to replace some short-lived printer cartridges after a nefarious HP firmware update killed off the ability to use better and less expensive third party ink cartridges - so, I took advantage of the recent Amazon days and bought another Epson ET 4850. I love that printer and its almost endless inexpensive ink bottles.