clixpix Loc: Surprise, Arizona

Hi Folks:

My HP Officejet 5200 series printer has bitten the dust and I need to get another printer. Many here have suggested the Eco Tank printers from Epson. I am interested your collective thoughts as to which model I should consider. I print some photos and other colored objects along with the general b&w stuff. As others have suggested the cost of ink is going out of sight and the eco tank system may be a good, less expensive, option. Any thoughts, model numbers and why would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for the forthcoming information.

Regards====Joe

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

I have an all-in-one Epson "Eco-Tank" printer that has economically and trouble-free printed literally thousands of pages of documents.
I have NOT printed ANY photos so I can't vouch for that capability.
However, Epson now offers (see links below) two Eco-Tank printers for photos.
Our paper cost$ now exceed our ink costs.

https://epson.com/ecotank-ink-tank-printers
https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=epson+printers
Best Wishes,
JimmyT Sends

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

After having so many Epson inkjet printer dying after about a yr I pretty much won’t touch one. You didn’t say what type of printing you do but I believe the HP was a mfp with a black cartridge and a 3 color cartridge? So not the best for photos? Epson does have a consumer level ‘photo’ printer with tanks rather than cartridges as does Canon. I replaced my HP laser printer with a Canon G7020. It is not photo printer with only a black, Cyan, Yellow, and magenta tanks but I’ve printed over 8k pages without having to refill any of the tanks. That is 1 year of printing. Canon gave me 2 bottles of black ink which are double size of the color bottles. The list price of new bottles is $12 each but I bought some on sale for $7.50 each. I estimate it is costing me less than $.02 per page for consumables. So great, right? Cons? Slower than my laser-jet and at least for macs Canon has cheaped out by using Apple’s AirPrint driver which is almost useless for photo printing. No idea what they do for pc drivers. So I can’t use paper or printer icc profiles. The Canon tank ‘photo’ tank printer does the same. I am hoping Canon puts out a true multi-tank photo printer to replace at least the p200. I am not a pro so I can’t justify buying a cartridge photo printer that costs at least $800, comes with starter ink and whose replacement ink can cost around $1,000!

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

After having so many Epson inkjet printer dying after about a yr I pretty much won’t touch one. You didn’t say what type of printing you do but I believe the HP was a mfp with a black cartridge and a 3 color cartridge? So not the best for photos? Epson does have a consumer level ‘photo’ printer with tanks rather than cartridges as does Canon. I replaced my HP laser printer with a Canon G7020. It is not photo printer with only a black, Cyan, Yellow, and magenta tanks but I’ve printed over 8k pages without having to refill any of the tanks. That is 1 year of printing. Canon gave me 2 bottles of black ink which are double size of the color bottles. The list price of new bottles is $12 each but I bought some on sale for $7.50 each. I estimate it is costing me less than $.02 per page for consumables. So great, right? Cons? Slower than my laser-jet and at least for macs Canon has cheaped out by using Apple’s AirPrint driver which is almost useless for photo printing. No idea what they do for pc drivers. So I can’t use paper or printer icc profiles. The Canon tank ‘photo’ tank printer does the same. I am hoping Canon puts out a true multi-tank photo printer to replace at least the p200. I am not a pro so I can’t justify buying a cartridge photo printer that costs at least $800, comes with starter ink and whose replacement ink can cost around $1,000!

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

I have an Epson 620 XP to print photos. Have gone months without drying out. Always ready to print

dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC

I bought an Epson Ecotank about four years ago. It broke down a few months later and Epson replaced it under warranty. The replacement lasted about a year and broke down and Epson replaced it. The third printer suffered from the carriage motor failing after about two years. I researched the problem and called Epson technical support. They told me that since it was out of warranty I had to ship it at my expense to a warranty service center. It would then cost about $180.00 to replace the motor and reset the firmware and they would charge me for return shipping.

In my research of the situation I read that Epson may have programmed a limit to the number of operational carriage passes for that motor and that, even if the motor was not worn out, it had to be replaced. I can't verify for certain that that is true.

After having three failures that either required major service or replacement in four years I am finished with Epson. During the entire time I had the Epson 7550's I experienced constant clogged nozzles and pages smeared with ink.
I used it for everyday printing as well as photos. It seemed that I had to use the nozzle cleaning proceedure too frequently. I did replace the sump tank on a regular basis but the head cleaning pad was frequently gooped-up with ink.

My previous Epson 2200 photo printer was also a constant clogged nozzle problem.

My current Canon Pixma Pro 200 works perfectly and required very little maintenance. The ink is expensive so I only use it for photos. I like that the print head assembly can be easily removed and can be cleaned or replaced by the owner, if necessary. I don't know the cost of a replacement print head but that is a good feature.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have the similar C5280. I bought it mainly to print on disks, but that feature has become unreliable. As you said, the cost of OEM ink is ridiculous. A couple of years ago, I bought an Epson ET-2760 ink tank printer. The cost of ink is virtually zero - 6,000 pages on the original ink (except for the black), and it's still at the halfway point. It can print on two sides of the paper, which is convenient.

Morry Loc: Palm Springs, CA

I recently was in a similar place you seem to be. I had 2 printers. One was a low end Brother laser printer that has run flawlessly for about three years. The other is a 7 year old Brother ink jet that is black only and it copies and it has continuing ink jet problems. My plan was to replace the ink jet printer with a new one. Costco had a Epson Eco Tank printer on sale for $199. currently. After doing my homework I was told by more than one source that this Epson Eco Tank Epson printer would give me a lot of trouble. So I made the decision to buy another Brother laser printer that copies and prints. Yes I sacrificed all color printing but I wasn't doing much of that anyway. For color photos I send to a lab. I have had my new (1 year old used) printer a week now and it is working flawlessly. Hopefully "goodby ink jet problems". Good luck to you . . . whatever choice you make.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

After over three years and 6,000 pages, my Epson ET-2760 is running trouble-free. That's aside from the usual printer oddness - like the false paper jams, and sometimes taking a while to shut down or get ready to print. Overall, I'm pleased with its printing and economics.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Epson makes two EcoTank printers for photo printing. The ET-8500 prints up to 8.5x11 inches, and the ET-8550 prints up to 13x19 inches. Both are six-color dye ink printers using Claria inks that come in bottles.

The key to printing with these "borderless" printers is to NEVER print borderless. While they WILL print borderless prints, doing so oversprays ink inside the printer, and that ink gets on the rollers and other guide parts, then transfers to subsequent prints. So long as you print on paper larger than the image dimensions, overspray cannot occur, and is not a problem!

The keys to successful home inkjet printing are:

> Print frequently... Make at least one 8x10 photo print per week to keep your heads clog free. Ink dries out within six months of opening it. New, unopened ink lasts about two years in the bottle. So don't buy a home printer if you won't use it!

> Don't expect a home printer to save you money. That is NOT the reason you buy a home printer.

You buy a home printer for these reasons:

> You're a control freak when it comes to color. You bought a decent monitor designed for graphics and photography. You calibrate it monthly with a kit from Datacolor or Calibrite or X-Rite. You use downloadable profiles for all the photo papers you buy. You don't buy third party inks.

> You need something immediately. Inkjets are great when time is a concern.

> You need privacy, because you print sensitive material. (Nudes, surveillance, forensic investigative images, corporate secret projects, etc.)

> You make BIG prints frequently. The economics of making large prints are in favor of inkjets, once you reach 24x36 inch poster size or larger.

> You need to make odd-sized prints for scrapbook projects, presentations, etc.

> You want to print on special surfaces such as art board, canvas, archival rag papers, baryta photo paper, "lab grade" photo paper, etc.

> You want better print longevity than you get with silver halide chromogenic lab prints. The dyes in traditional color photo papers from Kodak, Fujifilm, etc. fade faster than just about any other process except cheap third-party office inkjet printer inks.

All that said, I don't recommend using photo printers for general office correspondence and such. I don't recommend using office printers for photos, either, although you can get "acceptable" results with them if you use OEM ink and OEM photo papers, and play by the rules of good color management. Quality goes out the window when you start to "cheap out" on supplies, or you don't take the time to learn about color management.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

If you have the room and the $, the best solution is an inexpensive (<$100) “all in one” (print/scan/fax) black + 4 color printer for general printing PLUS a dedicated photo printer, typically with 8-10 cartridges. A dedicated photo printer is overkill and expensive for general printing, and an “all-in-one” 4 color printer does not make great quality photo prints. Personally, I use an inexpensive HP (cost less than $100) plus their “instant ink” service ($2.99/month) for general printing plus a Canon Pro Pixma 200 color printer for images. The Canon ink is expensive ($113 for a set of 8 cartridges), but it NEVER clogs, even when sitting unused for >a year, and if you only print photos occasionally, that is a BIG deal. Both have been running flawlessly since purchase. One caveat: 13” photo printers tend to be big and heavy.

TonyBot

AMEN to burkphoto’s comments.

Two very key points in his response - use a separate ‘office’ printer and a separate ‘photo’ printer, and - don’t expect to save money by printing your own photos.

One other point to remember that Bill makes - do *not* print borderless as it will definitely gum up the works!

sgt hop Loc: baltimore md,now in salisbury md

i have an epsom 2760....about a year old now....use it quite a bid for b and w letters and copying....still have a half full black tank...did a couple of color pix....they looked ok to me....some of the copying had color and that looked good...so far i haven't had a problem....way cheaper than ink jet....

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

I have the Epson ET-3750 purchased from Costco about 2-3 years ago. Print photo's regularily but mostly documents. Prints are not gallery quality, but more than acceptable to frame and place on your wall. Haven't had any problems with the printer to date. Buying from Costco, you get a 2nd set of ink bottles in the Costco special. I'm about half way thru the first set of ink bottles. At this rate the ink will last longer than the printer. My experience so far is that replacing the printer will be cheaper than continually purchasing new HP (or epson) ink cartridges.

RCJets Loc: Virginia

Does HP have a printer that prints the size you need? I have been using an HP ENVY 5660 since it was a new model, but it only prints up to letter size photos. What I like where ink is concerned is the Instant Ink program HP has. When my ink starts to get low, they send me a new ink cartridge. Cost me $4.23 per month. It might be worth considering.