Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased this myself in early August 2016 (at about 30 dollars less than here at a warehouse club) so this review is not affected by receiving the product at no charge. I will provide updates periodically. UPDATE: June 2022.......stopped working The dreaded "ink pad full" problem. This printer has worked well and consistently for almost 5 years. I think it is time to put it out to pasture but it was a good run. It would be at least $50 to service and I am debating if it is worth that cost. I am drooling to get the ET-8550 if it ever becomes available (without an outrageous mark-up). This is a long review, so I will state right off that overall I like it and would recommend it. There are some short comings but it does allow for inexpensive printing without worrying about ink costs. Remember this is a budget printer without the bells and whistles of a high-end printer. Is it worth the extra money? For me, yes, because I use a printer until it dies on me, and as long as this printer lasts even 1 year, I will be ahead from a cost perspective. But there are some features that are missing (no auto-duplex printing, no ADF for scanning, no borderless printing) and one star off for these omissions. And it is probably cheaper to buy a printer with a second-party CISS (like from the Cobra company) for cheaper and get the same or better printing experience. SET-UP: if you read the instructions and follow them it is easy. Really, just read the directions and you will be fine. It did take some time for the first filling (due to priming of the ink tubing) but the printer does this without your input so just plan to leave for about 20 minutes to let it do its thing. I had never connected a printer wirelessly before (had trouble with another printer so I just used it with a usb cable) but this one was very easy to do. The hardest part was using the small LCD to enter the router password. Btw, I did use gloves but had no ink spills, but I would recommend protecting your surface and your hands. I did move the printer after priming (just to another surface in the same room) and did not have any problem with leaks during the move. But for any longer move, say to another house, I would definitely recommend packing it in the large plastic bag and then in the box like the instructions recommend. So movement will not cause a leak, but jostling on an uneven surface may (like a car ride). Print quality: the heart of the printing experience and what you are actually using it for. TEXT- (on copy paper) unless you are printing at 8 point or less, it is legible. Some people complain of banding but I have not experienced this yet. I will update this review if it becomes a problem. I do NOT find it as clear as laser like they claim but it is very acceptable. It prints out automatically at standard bi-directional resolution, a change to high resolution cause it to print uni-directional at a slower speed but with better clarity. For most purposes the standard is fine. I had previously used a Canon MP-610 (I love that printer and wish I could replace it!) and the print quality is not as good with this printer but still acceptable. GRAPHICS - (using inkjet photo matte paper, see attached photo) reviews say that it less than acceptable but it have found it to be very good on INKJET MATTE PAPER and almost as good as my older Canon. Again, a change to better paper (inkjet matte paper) and a high resolution will improve the quality. The quality on copy paper is dull and disappointing. Shell out a little extra cents for better paper and you will be amazed at the vibrancy and how the images pop off the paper. PHOTOS - it is not listed as a photo printer, but I find the photos on matte paper to be acceptable. I have not tried glossy yet, so I will re-post when I try glossy. But IT DOES NOT PRINT BORDERLESS so this is almost a deal-breaker. If you print photos on standard photo size (4x6 or 8x10) paper you will always have a small border, about .125" (1/8") all the way around. INKS - are dye based for all colors including black, which means they are not water proof. All the high numbered models (3600, 4500, 4550, etc.) have a pigmented black so at least the black text is water resistant. I would prefer to have a system that prints with both blacks, one for text and the other for prints, but you what they give you. You do use more black in that the colors so just plan on that. Replacement ink bottles run about 30-50 dollars for all 4, but Amazon also sells non OEM ink that is highly rated, such as Sojitek (about 1/3 of the Epson cost) or ND (about the same as OEM but 7 times as much ink). The Sojitek is highly rated by persons who have already refilled it 3 times. That a lot of printing and if the ink were bad it would have caused problems by that time. So the choice is yours, continue to use the Epson OEM ink at a low cost or go for e others at a very inexpensive cost. COPY: easy and quick enough and color reproduction is very adequate. SCANNING: rather slow (over 60 seconds per page) and no ADF. Plan to spend some time babying the process if you have more than 1-2 pages. If you are able to find the software interface, it will scan a little faster (connected by usb, I did not try it wirelessly). But it is hard to find the software, the install program does not install a icon or app to the system (more on that below). SOFTWARE INTERFACE: first of all you have to go looking for it. Why hide it? It is actually very useful. And has great settings for the scanner once you find it. I went searching around in the Windows directory until I found it, and saved it as an icon to my desktop. Yes, I am using Win 10 but I like the desktop, not apps. (I also use ClasssicShell to reproduce the old desktop look. If you hate Win 10, give this free program a look.). There are 3 options, I think they are Home, Office , and Professional. Through this interface you can scan several pages together as one PDF, change the resolution, and several other things that are helpful. The manual does not even suggest that there is such an interface, I know because I read the entire (online) manual looking for it. I had to do an Internet search to find that it existed and how to use it. BAD EPSON! MANUAL: non-existent, at least a printed one. There is an online one but it really is not helpful. Epson is lacking on this point. CONCLUSION: so if you have read this far, you are seriously considering this printer. If you can put up with the noted limitations, it is a very functional printer,. I hope this review helped you in making a decision. I will try to re-visit this review after some more months or use. Oct 24, 2016 UPDATE (almost 3 months of use): I am still happy with it. I have printed 672 pages and the ink supply is down about 1/4" from the full mark. The ink is supposed to last for 6500 pages, so I think this is about right. Epson states that "average monthly use" is 150 pages, and I printed off almost twice as much, so I am a heavier-than-average printer. I anticipate that I will need to purchase additional ink in about 6-9 months. Expiration date on ink is 3 years, so that will not be a problem. Banding: none, I have printed graphics, photos, text and have noticed any banding. Those who have banding probably have a bad printer, return it. I also noticed in reviews of other printers that have banding, that it was seen with the use of third-party inks. I am using Epson inks, and I am still debating on what to by as a refill when the time comes. I am very happy with the quality, so I may decide to stick with Epson - at $36 (here on Amazon) for the entire set for a year's worth (for me) of printing, I think it is more than worth it to avoid banding. Photos: OK, so I got around to printing photos on glossy stock and I am AMAZED at the quality from a non-photo printer. So far the best image was on Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy. I compared it to several other glossy papers (Special Moments from the Dollar Tree, Staples, Office Depot, and HP). I was surprised that my second favorite was the Special Moments paper, which is on a very card thick base, with a good color response with good contrast. I did not try it on Epson photo paper because I did not have any - I previously had only used Epson matte paper. If/when I try it, I will post an update. For any of the glossy papers, I set them aside, unstacked, to dry for 24 hours. Even though they may seem dry on the surface, they are not. If you do not allow for them to dry, they will stick together (ask me how I know :-) ). November 20, 2017: So the newer models have come out and I am jealous! I really want the wide-format Premium ET-7750 (about twice the price of this printer when I first purchased it), it hasd AUTO-DUPLEX printing (yeah!), BORDERLESS (at least for 4x6, I am unsure about other sizes), pigment black (text) and photo black (dye) inks,and it also prints on CD/DVDs! As you know, the first two options were in my list of “dream printer” options. But I cannot justify another purchase so soon (sigh). I am still on the first bottles of ink, to my surprise. I will admit that due to work obligations, I have not printed as much as previously, but it looks like I will get at least 18 months out of one set of ink bottles. And from the cost comparisons, it is after that first refill that you will start to save money to offset the original higher purchase price. So for now I can not justify a new printer even though I am drooling over them! I did go for a week or so (maybe more) without printing anything and noted some banding on the Olof output. But I did a few nozzles checks and it cleared right up. I did not need to do a deep clean, just 2 or 3 nozzle checks. So no (permanent) banding, still great print-outs, and so far it has handles everything I have thrown at it. I have printed on sticker paper, on heavy (32#) printer paper, heavy (48#) matte photo paper, glossy photo paper, all without a problem. I do not regret this purchase; I just wish I had one of the newer models to review! If the freedom to print without worrying about ink is something you want, run - don’t walk- to buy one of the Eco-Tank models. For those who wants to print from SD cards, please note that only a few of the models have a card slot. Do a little research to find out which ones have it if this is important to you. The upgrade to this model, I believe it is the ET-2750 has one, as well as the top-of-the-line Premium ET-7750 (the one that I am drooling over).