Epson EcoTank ET-4850 Print/Scan/Copy Wi-Fi Printer, Black with Additional Ink Multipack

This is the second Epson printer of this kind that I have purchased. The latest one has many features in common with the first (purchased about six years ago) while also having a very useful touchscreen method of operation.The printer comes with a range of features. The only one apart from b/w and colour printing I have used is scanning, which is performed well. Unlike most printing, scanning is not that speedy but the end result is fine.I still can't quite get over how different it is using a printer with an ink tank as opposed to cartridges that seemed to need replacing every few weeks. The ink tank method is clean, convenient, very inexpensive and, in my experience, reliable. I have used "home use" in the title for this review but I can well imagine this printer finding a home in a range of contexts.Strongly recommended item.

First time I have ventured into printing with refillable ink and I must say I am very impressed. I have had many Epson printers all with cartridges. I have always bought compatible ones and have constantly dodged warnings, naggings and refusing to print because of it, and they never lasted that long anyway. This is a game changer. The reservoir is huge compared to the cartridges offering up to 72 cartridges worth (they say) of ink. And you get this included with your order. Even when pricing original Epson ink it will work out cheaper and no nagging. Plus, you are doing your bit for the environment and giving the manufacturer all the money to invest. True the printer is a lot dearer but will work out just as cheap or cheaper if you are keeping it for the duration. The actual filling with ink is a doddle. The bottles have been ingeniously designed from the ground up to fit each tank individually. They don’t spill and the ink stops flowing when enough ink is in the tank. I was a bit apprehensive about doing this initially but it’s easy and not messy in the slightest.Epson have put a lot of effort into setting up their EcoTank models. You can install it perfectly and easily from new by downloading the setup APP to your smartphone. This communicates with the printer from the outset and expertly guides you through the whole initial set up process with pictures and confirmations at each stage. Leaving you with an initialised product ready for connection to your computer. This to is easy as it links itself to a specific setup page just for the model and does all the work for you just by responding to the questions. Mine was a Windows 11 installation. Very clever and very simple. It all takes a bit of time but patience is a virtue.The new software is good too. One example is organising scans from the scanner. The software is intuitive. Organising pages is easy and it can even intelligently rotate pages. This more or less does away with spending a lot more on double sided scanning as there is so little effort in just popping the pages back on the ADF knowing there is minimal effort needed for sorting.It takes up a small footprint for the amount it does. It is relatively light as well. It does feel a little plasticky but I don’t think so much so that it will fall apart. It just appears functional and is. The screen is small and is not touch meaning you have to keep pressing buttons and then okaying. Shame I would have loved the touch screen so much better. Also, when you lift the scanner unit it only holds in place when you force it upward so that it locks. I found this nerve racking as I thought it might break, I am sure this could be better manufactured.I will not be printing photos on it. For me it is meant for office type documents and they have all printed really well so far. It prints double sided also. I am more than happy to give anything I print to anyone who I believe should find it much more than acceptable. I do use decent paper.Perhaps the only down side is it seems to be a little slow in everything it does. Don’t get me wrong in no way a deal breaker for me but if you were in the office and want everything at speed then perhaps another model may better suit.I note some people are reporting a WiFi issue mine worked straight away although I cannot know yet whether this will come to haunt me. But there is the 5 year warranty which Epson are currently offering on their EcoTank models.Overall, I am extremely pleased so far. Far better than my Epson’s of old in terms of hardware, ink printing and software. A great upgrade. At this stage I am glad I bought it. My major gripe was Amazon reducing the price 2 days after I bought it.

This is a great generic printer/scanner/copier/fax machine (even ignoring everything past "printer"), although the colours are a little too washed out at times - the black isn't black enough, the colours aren't really VIBRANT (even on photo paper)For the way EcoTank works, this is fantastic, the ink levels being visible and being able to be topped up before they run out is a genius idea, and makes it a million times better than other colour printers, especially the ones where the colours are all in the same cartridge (which is a HUGE waste of money), which makes the ink management a breezeStrangely the setup wasn't as easy as it states in the box, I tried it on the mobile app but it never connected to the wifi, resetting it and plugging it in was MEANT to setup everything, but it was then "forced" to be used wired rather than wireless... but once it was setup and on the network (lots of manual entry) setup on my work Mac was stupidly easy, it just did it, while the Windows install was a complete pain in the butt! Once it's setup though it's really simple to print to, from multiple devices, and when it's on wifi it can live anywhere that's useful or out of the wayMy reason for not giving it five stars is a bit odd, as they don't properly "announce" my requirement, but more hint at it - I need to print on card stock, and this listed that it printed on 300gsm photo paper, so I thought it should print on 300gsm card, but alas, it did it once and then never fed the card again... trying 250gsm had the same result, but the only one that ACTUALLY worked is 200gsm, which is not quite stiff enough for real card printing

Very reliable and excellent print results for text and images. Just keeps working and of course the big bonus of not having to constantly deal with ordering more ink. Has effortlessly printed 3,000+ pages in 9 months and so far has worked faultlessly. Colour inks still 80% full and black 50% (haven't even used the second black in refill that was supplied with the unit). A comparatively expensive printer, but well worth the money. Very pleased.