Epson EcoTank Printers Ditch Cartridges

Imagine never having to hunt around the office supply store for the right printer cartridge again. Epson wants to make that a reality.

The company on Tuesday unveiled five new all-in-one color printers without ink cartridges. Instead, the company's new printers have "large ink reservoirs" known as supertanks that come loaded with enough ink for up to two years of prints for the average user.

Epson said the amount of ink included with its EcoTank printers is equivalent to about 20 sets of ink cartridges or more, depending on the model. When a replacement is needed, the cost will be as low as $12.99 per bottle or $59 per set of bottles.

The EcoTank line includes five models for home users and small-to-medium businesses ranging from $379 to $1,199. The Expression ET-2500 ($379), Expression ET-2550 ($399), WorkForce ET-4500 ($429), WorkForce ET-4550 ($499), and WorkForce Pro WF-R4640 ($1,199) will be available in September through major computer, office, and electronic stores, Epson said.

The Expression ET-2500 and Espression ET-2550, aimed at home users, and the WorkForce ET-4500, designed for your home office with features like a 30-page auto document feeder and 100-sheet paper capacity, all yield up to 4,000 black and 6,500 color pages. That should be enough ink to last you two years based on a monthly print average of 150 pages.

The WorkForce ET-4550, also aimed at home offices with faster print speeds and 150-sheet paper capacity, can output up to 11,000 black and 8,500 color pages while the top-of-the-line WorkForce Pro WF-R4640, targeted at small businesses with features like 2-sided printing and a 580-sheet capacity, can print up to 20,000 black and 20,000 color pages. You'll get two years' worth of ink from both, based on average monthly print volumes of 300 pages for the ET-4550 and 800 pages for the WF-R4640.

Epson says that about 90 percent of the pages printed in the U.S. are black and white, not color. A major barrier to color printing has been the cost of ink replacements. Epson hopes its new printers change that.

"The introduction of EcoTank marks a fundamental shift in the way we think about using color in business and in the home," Epson America's Executive Vice President Keith Kratzber said in a statement. "We believe that our new EcoTank printers are well-positioned to take a large bite out of the small business printer market."

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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