They may well say the Melbourne Cup is the race that stops the nation, but might they too soon say it's the Epson EcoTank that sank the competition?
Presumably, Jimeoin would have a more comedic take on the situation, but it would certainly be an understatement to say Epson has smashed sales of large, continuous ink tank printers into orbit.
Indeed, Epson advises that, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker 2021, and specifically the "Worldwide Ink tank Inkjet MFP/Printer Unit Share CY2020Q2-CY2021Q1" section, Epson's sales of over 60 million EcoTank printers officially makes it the Number 1 ink tank printer vendor worldwide, as of March 2021, and occupies over 62% of large ink tank printer sales globally, which we're told is "45% more than any other printer manufacturer."
Now, one good milestone deserves another, with this being the release of Epson's next-gen EcoTank range for the Home, and Home Office, with the Home models arriving first, and the Home Office models to follow soon.
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As the company notes, none of the new models use any ink cartridges at all, with replacement cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink bottles that provide thousands more printed pages costing between $14.99 and $16.99 each depending on the EcoTank model purchased, with a large black ink bottle for the Epson ET-2860 model costing $29.99.
The ink that comes in the box for the first three models is equivalent (in total) to about 174 traditional replacement cartridge, and about 163 cartridges (in total) for the ET-2850.
Now, before we get to the four new Home models, there's the new Epson Smart Panel app for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, which turns them into "an intuitive control centre for select Epson printers and scanners."
We're told this powerful tool "makes it incredibly easy to set up, monitor, print, scan and more using your Epson product, right from your hand-held device. With quick-configuration features, it offers easy product setup on your wireless network and automatically detects the Epson product you are using.
"You can customise the Smart Panel to your own preferences and requirements as it’s been built to offer everything you need including easily accessing troubleshooting tips in one convenient app," which, as Epson states, is "very clever, very useful and very smart!"
Here's a video of the Epson Smart Panel app in action:
So... What’s so special about the new EcoTank Home printers?
Well, the new EcoTank Home printers that have now launched, (with the Home Office models to follow shortly) consist of four new models, the ET-1810, ET-2810, ET-2820 and ET-2850.
Epson explains these new models are "specifically targeted and priced at entry level and budget conscious homes, are ideal for families and in particular home schooling. They also include WiFi for easy connectivity."
EcoTank ET-1810
Epson also notes that "To say recent times have been challenging would be another great understatement. That said, one thing that’s become apparent is how home has become the 'everything' place as many have adapted to hybrid work and school environments and having a reliable printer that can meet those new demands has become an absolute necessity." Well, it's easy to agree with that!
EcoTank ET-2810
Epson then goes to state: "From printing important presentations to endless school assignments and entertainment, families are increasingly dependent on performance printing technology to streamline workflows and stay productive.
Epson’s new EcoTank range uses "innovative, heat-free, cartridge-free printing technology which delivers value and convenience for the ideal home printing experience.
"The new EcoTank all-in-one printers offer cartridge-free printing with high-capacity, easily refillable ink tanks for zero ink cartridge waste. Users can save up to 90% with replacement ink bottle versus traditional ink cartridges and each 'low-cost' replacement ink set for the new EcoTank printers is equivalent to about 145 individual ink cartridges – and enough ink to literally print many thousands more pages."
EcoTank ET-2820
So, with Epson's new EcoTank Home printers including thousands of pages worth of ink straight out of the box and with every replacement ink set for fewer out of ink frustrations, it's also good to know that all of these new models utilise "EcoFit" ink bottles for easy, mess-free and worry-free filling.
So, just how good, efficient and cost effective are they?
- Main function – Printing
- Connectivity - Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct
- Print speed – 10 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour
- Number of printed pages out of the box – 3,600³ Black / 6,500³ Colour
- RRP $299
- Main functions - Print, Copy and Scan
- Connectivity - Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct
- Print speed – 10 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour
- Number of printed pages out of the box – 3,600³ Black / 6,500³ Colour
- RRP $399
- Main functions - Print, Copy and Scan
- Connectivity - Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and Apple AirPrint
- Print speed – 10 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour
- Display screen – 1.44" Colour LCD
- Number of printed pages out of the box – 3,600³ Black / 6,500³ Colour
- RRP $479
- Main functions - Print, Auto 2-sided print, Copy and Scan
- Connectivity - Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and Apple AirPrint
- Print speed – 10.5 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour
- Display screen – 1.44" Colour LCD
- Number of pages out of the box – 6,500³ Black / 5,200³ Colour
- RRP $499
Epson ET-2850
Warranty:
All four new models come with a one year warranty, and if you register your printer with Epson, you get a second bonus year free warranty.
What about e-waste and other environmental considerations?
Here, Epson says that "by using an EcoTank cartridge-free printer homes and families not only maximise productivity and enjoy the freedom to print in colour, but also can help reduce the amount of cartridge waste ending up in landfills.
"The new printers leverage heat-free printhead technology that produces sharp text and impressive colour and graphics on virtually any paper type."
You can see my article on Epson's "Turn down the heat" launch here.
The video of that launch is embedded below, and shows how serious Epson is taking the environmental challenge by actively producing technologies to mitigate the impacts on planet Earth.
You can also see the wide range of Epson printers and scanners that are compatible with Epson's new Smart Panel App here.
The new printers are available now from the Epson website and, from the links above, and naturally, from all authorised Epson resellers and retailers. Even more information on Epson's EcoTank range is here.
