Epson EcoTank E-8500
MSRP $700.00
“The Epson EcoTank ET-8500 effortlessly delivers lab-quality prints at home.”
Pros
- Excellent photo quality
- Document and photo prints in a flash
- Easy installation and use
- Fast and quiet scanner
- Three wide-media support paper trays
- Support for SD cards and USB drives
- Automatic output tray with small footprint
You can also find out more about Cons
- No automatic document feeder
- Initial cost
Photo printers with large ink tanks and a built-in scanner are among the best. However, a printer specifically designed to produce photographic prints is a step above. Epson’s EcoTank ET-8500 is a photo printer with a built-in scanner and large ink tanks, making it a unique all-in-one solution.
We put Epson’s EcoTank ET-8500 to the test to find out how easy it is to set up and use, the performance on various paper types, and how quickly it prints documents and pictures. This is a specialized and more expensive printer, so we also check whether it’s worth the price, taking into consideration the long-term costs.
Design
EcoTank ET-8500 printer is compact and measures 15.9″ wide by 13.7″ tall. Its automatic output tray can be retracted to only 14.5″. The tray expands when printing and adds six inches to its depth. The depth is 24 inches when both the front and rear output trays are open.
Epson’s EcoTank ET-8500 offers a wide range of media choices, including the ability to print directly onto CDs and DVDs. Three paper trays are available to hold card stock, photo prints of different sizes and up to fifty sheets of letter size paper.
The rounded edges and off-white body look great in any office or home. The large, adjustable 4.3″ color touchscreen in the front right corner makes it easy to use the printer while standing.
EcoTank ET-8500 has a thoughtful design. The EcoTank ET-8500 is intuitive despite having three trays. It meets my expectations of a high-end home office printer. I misunderstood the envelope orientation icon, until I saw the dashed lines on the flap, which indicated the envelope should be facing forward with the seal in the back.
Printing performance
Epson claims the EcoTank ET-8500 delivers “lab-quality color photos and graphics at an incredible value.” In every print test I did on matte or glossy photo paper, pictures came out beautifully, with perfect color and crisp detail — and at a surprisingly fast pace.
On plain paper, the contrast and saturation of colors will drop, as is expected. Documents in black-and white and color are both good. A high-quality laser printer is a good choice if you want the best plain-paper photos. The EcoTank ET-8500 was designed to produce vibrant and high-quality photo prints.
EcoTank ET-8500 has consistently produced hard copies that look as good as the images on the large, bright screens. It is important to have the correct color and algorithm to reproduce images accurately.
Epson’s Claria ET Premium is a six-color ink system made up of the traditional cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, along with gray and “photo black” to extend the dynamic range without losing color fidelity. Claria ET premium inks, except for black (which uses pigment), are all dye-based.
The photos are vivid, crisp and accurate. I agree with Epson’s claim that the EcoTank ET-8500 delivers lab-quality photo prints.
The printer can print 16 documents in black-and white or 12 documents in color per minute. Photo prints are quick as well: under a minute for best quality 4×6 prints, about 30 seconds for standard quality, and just 15 seconds for a draft mode. It took me nearly a full minute of staring at the draft to see where there was a lack of fine detail. The difference between high quality and standard is minimal.
Special Features
Epson’s EcoTank ET-8500 isn’t just a premium ink tank photo printer. It has a USB-A connector for thumb drives, a card reader and a scanner. The large touchscreen is perfect for copying and scanning. It also makes it easy to access drives and cards.
Epson limits the scan quality to 600dpi if you use the mobile app, or if you scan to an external memory. Connected to a Windows PC/Mac, I was able to double the resolution for crisp 1200 dpi scanning. Honestly, I don’t have any documents or photos that are sharp enough to benefit from such high resolution, but it’s nice to have the option.
The SD card and USB-A ports, located at the left of the lower front cover, allow for quick printing and scanning on the go without the need for a smartphone.
EcoTank ET-8500, as mentioned above, has three media trays. One tray is at the back for thick paper or envelopes, and the other two are at the front, for photos, paper, and direct printing onto a CD/DVD.
A CD/DVD guide is stored in the lower tray. This unique feature is explained by the touchscreen and mobile application. Although optical discs have been used less and less, photographers and videographers will still appreciate the convenience of printing their discs before giving them to clients.
Software compatibility
It was simple to install the Epson EcoTank E-8500 using my Pixel 6a with the Epson Smart Panel application. The printer’s large touchscreen guided me along the way as well, so I could switch to whichever was more convenient at each step.
It’s worth noting that filling six ink tanks, charging the lines, and doing head alignment takes several minutes. This is an uncommon occurrence, as the ink supplied should last for well over a full year. Epson thoughtfully gave each ink bottle a slightly different top, so you can’t fill the wrong tank.
Epson printers have become commonplace, so connecting to the EcoTank ET-8500 is easy.
To get the best quality scanning and access to all features, I had to install Epson’s software. You can print, copy, and scan right away.
Price vs. Value
The Epson EcoTank ET-8500 retails for $700, so it’s worth taking a moment to consider the long-term value before making a purchase. It is common to see sale prices around $550.
Epson provides six ink bottles that can provide up to two full years of printing depending on the usage. It doesn’t sound like an exaggeration since the estimated yield is 6,200 pages for the most frequently used color inks: cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Black ink is $20 and lasts for 6,700 pages. Black costs $20 per bottle and will last for approximately 6,700 sheets. Photo black is $17.50 per bottle and provides 7,300 pages. Gray is the least used but an important color that is $17.50 for a bottle. It lasts 46,600 pages.
This means that a color page should cost approximately 1 cent on average.
Epson claims that in just two years you could save up to $2000 in ink. That’s compared to cartridge-based printers. EcoTank ET-8500 inkjet printers are cheaper, but they don’t offer the same photo quality.
What is the best printer for me?
Many photographers, historians, technology enthusiasts, and others are frustrated by the average picture quality that many inkjets produce. You can enjoy the results of a good photo printer if you have an discerning eye.
The Epson EcoTank ET-8500 is one of the best photo printers I’ve ever used. There’s no need to tweak pictures in a photo editor to adjust for print errors. The first print looks fantastic. Even low-quality photos are sharp and have good color. The prints are quick, accurate, and reproduce the original photo.
Scanning is fast and quiet, with high resolution. Copying is easy with the large color touchscreen. I tried hard to find something I didn’t like, but the price is the only barrier to buying this printer.
Even the $700 retail price becomes reasonable if you print in volume, thanks to the large ink supply that’s included and low running costs. This printer is highly recommended if you prioritize photo printing and can afford to buy the EcoTank ET-8500.
Editors’ recommendations
