Epson ET-8550
Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is various to dedicated A3+/13×19-inch dedicated inkjet picture printers being a lot more of a multi-purpose, multi-function device. This all-in-one printer has pigment-based black ink for providing crisp black text, together with five dye-based inks for picture output, making up cyan, magenta, yellow, picture black and grey.
Epson ET-8550 Review
Epson ET-8550 – The grey ink improves the colour space and enables greater integrity for black & white picture publishing. That is okay up to a factor, but it comes up briefly compared to A3+ printers such as the pigment-based Epson SureColor P700, Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300, and the dye-based Canon PIXMA PRO-200, which run on ten inks and eight inks specifically.
As expert picture printers, these have a significantly more expansive colour space or range, compared to the ET-8550, as well as having a more extensive range of black and grey inks for superior black & white picture publishing.
Epson EcoTank ET-8550: features
Epson ET-8550 – As with various other Epson EcoTank printers, a vital feature of the ET-8550 is that it has tanks of ink instead of cartridges, which are replenished via 70ml containers, at the expense of about $17.50/£16 each.
That contrasts very positively with printers such as the 6-ink, cartridge-based Epson Expression Picture XP-970 A3/11-inch model, which has 9ml of ink in its ‘XL’ cartridges at a comparable cost of about £16/$17 each.
Epson says that the ink cost is decreased by about 80 per cent overall, which, for pictures, it boils down from about 40c/40p to about 4c/4p each 6×4-inch publish. The other hand is that the ET-8500 costs nearly three times as a lot to buy, to begin with.
Although 70ml appears and seems like a great deal of ink in each container, it is well worth considering that Epson’s large-format A3+/13-inch SureColor P700 and A2/17-inch SureColor P900 printers run on upsized 25ml and 50ml cartridges.
For the last, there is not a massive distinction in the capacity of cartridges versus containers. However, P900 cartridges cost about $42/£38 each, so they are more expensive than substitute ink containers.
Another factor is that the SureColor printers are sold with low-capacity ‘setup’ cartridges, which last for a couple of large-format prints, so you need to buy a costly complete set of substitute cartridges very quickly. By direct comparison, the ET-8500 impressively comes with a group of full-capacity 70ml ink containers, sufficient for publishing about 2,300 6×4-inch picture prints.
As a printer that is a far better fit for workplace work than expert large-format picture printers, the ET-8500 features several input cassettes for packing various kinds and dimensions of the paper, auto duplex publishing, and a large-format 8.5×14-inch scanner to enable direct scanning and photocopying.
Everything’s brought with each other by a functional 10.9cm colour touchscreen with a user-friendly user interface. There is the’ Epson Wise Panel’ application for remote procedures via a mobile phone or tablet computer. Connection options consist of USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and the printer also features an SD/HC/XC card port and PictBridge port.
For publishing on larger-format paper up to A3+/13×17-inch, there is an upright feeder which draws up from the rear of the printer, plus a straight feeder that enables you to publish banners and panoramic pictures up to 2m in size, as well as helping expert media up to 1.3mm thick.
Epson EcoTank ET-8550: Efficiency
Epson ET-8550 – Establishing the printer is very simple and takes about 20 mins, from taking it from the package and removing all the packing tape and safety inserts through filling the ink tanks to contending the 7-minute automated initialisation process.
Succeeding optional additionals that are well worth bringing out is a nozzle inspection and publish head positioning routine. The last use is six sheets of ordinary paper, packed right into the lower input cassette. The output tray is mechanised, which is a nice touch.
Other Driver: Epson WorkForce WF-2540
Epson ET-8550 – Publish rates are fast in a standard picture quality setting. In our tests, publishing 6×4, A4, and A3+ indeterminate colour pictures on shiny paper took 22 secs, 1 min and 2 mins specifically. However, switching to a top quality setting eliminates the speed, with the exact dimensions of indeterminate colour picture prints taking a long 1 min 25 secs, 4 mins, and 9 mins 22 secs.
The last set of rates coincides when using the Black & White Picture setting, where just a top-quality location is available. Those rates are slow compared to most dye-based, cartridge-fuelled printers but still quicker than Canon’s A4/8.5-inch PIXMA G650 ‘MegaTank’ printer, which runs on six photo-friendly dye-based inks.
For picture quality, the ET-8850 does very well. Inkjet printers typically struggle to produce solid and bright reds but, despite not having the additional red ink of the Canon PIXMA G650 and featuring light cyan and light magenta inks, the Epson creates excellent, bright and vibrant colour performance. Indeed, the ‘Photo Enhance’ feature is changed by default and can make shades appear a bit too filled and artificial.
The tester found it best to use the ‘Custom’ colour management setting and switch Picture Improve off, particularly if you’ve modified your pictures for the best effect. Again, despite featuring just one picture black and one grey cartridge, black & white image output is also outstanding, with significant meaning and tonal range. However, it can’t take on premium pigment-based picture printers for prominent, deep blacks on matte picture paper and art media.