Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer with Scanner Copier, Ethernet and 4.3-inch Colorfull Touchscreen - White

CFortC United States

Brilliant photo prints on Epson media

For convenience, I am writing and updating this review as I work with the Epson ET-8500. At this point, I have unpacked the device, completed the setup process, installed driver on my Windows 11 PC, printed test pages, and, most recently. installed driver on my Windows 11 laptop. The remainder of the review summarizes all additional experience with the printer. My inkjet printer experience is substantial. After a lifetime of various HP inkjets, the ink/printhead hassle finally led me to the Epson WP-4090 in 2014. That printer served well and reliably but in the past couple years its print quality has become more spotty. It's consumed nearly six complete sets of ink cartridges and I was looking at needing another set sometime this year. Finally, the increasing cost of cartridges vs. decreasing quality has led me to retire the old gal. Unpacking the ET-8500: Removing all the external blue tape was easy. The quick start guide is vague on removing the internal tape. I opened the scanner to reveal the interior where much additional blue tape is located. However, I could not re-close the scanner because I was at this stage unwilling to force it -- everything in there is plastic. I finally located a Reddit string of someone with the same dilemma. The answer is basically to apply more force to the right side. This worked. There was still blue tape visible on the output tray, but not accessible with the output tray retracted. Based on a web query, I manually pulled out the output tray (normally a NO NO based on all other documentation). I removed the tape but of course couldn't close the output tray. The control panel is useless at this point because it is focused ONLY on filling the ink reservoirs. After more web queries, I manually closed the output tray, as gently as possible. Hopefully, I have not destroyed the output tray automation mechanism. I also noticed that the blue transport lock lever was already in the unlocked position. So this printer came all the way from Indonesia to me with the print mechanism unlocked. I will only find out if there is any damage when I start printing in a few days. Rating so far: Three stars based solely on the infernal complication of what should have been an no-brainer unpacking procedure, aggravated by the poor Epson documentation and dicey web insights. I expect this rating would improve in the next several days as I fill the ink reservoirs, connect up the first PC, and perform initial printing. Completing the setup: Filling the ink tanks. Next morning I'm fresh and ready to proceed with the ink. This turns out to be just as easy as promised. Not a drop was spilled. Finally (I thought) was the moment to load letter paper. A web query explained that you must pull out the large bottom paper tray by yanking on the opened bottom cover. I never would have guessed, but it did the trick. I printed the single "alignment" page which looked great but the control panel defaults to printing a bunch more test patterns, which I was able to skip. By the way, after all that struggle to load paper into the bottom tray, the test page demanded a sheet fed from the rear input. Driver installation onto Windows 11 PC: I should mention that I connect this printer via Ethernet, so no fooling around with Wi-Fi settings. The Epson support page allows all driver and utility components to be downloaded individually, but recommends downloading the single, small, master installer. When this one is run, it asks what components you want, then downloads and installs those. It then automatically finds the printer on the network, configures the PC to access it, and offers to print a test page. Wouldn't you know it, the paper source is still that darned single sheet feeder on the rear. Finally, time to use Word to print my standard printer quality page consisting of various fonts and images. First attempt again demanded the single sheet feeder on the rear. I cancelled that job in the queue and looked much more closely at the print options dialog (need the printer-specific dialog, not the Word dialog to see this). Paper source was Auto, which one would imagine means use the main paper tray if it's full and the rear tray is empty. Evidently not. I had to change the paper source setting to specify the lower paper tray. Then it worked fine. Oh, I see from a web query just now that you must "register" the size of paper loaded into each tray into the control panel. Then, it claims, "Auto" source will work correctly. I will have to try that tomorrow. Rating so far: In view of the successful operation of the printer, in spite of all the shenanigans from the day before that could have broken something, I have raised my rating to Four Stars. Driver installation on Windows 11 laptop. I mention this because the installation procedure (identical to that for the Windows 11 PC, above) ran just fine (downloading multi-megabytes of driver installation files over the laptop's Wi-Fi connection) but hard-failed at detecting the printer. It claimed that the laptop wasn't connected to a network. The only option was to cancel the install and start over. My theory is that the author of this code assumed that if the printer were Ethernet-connected, then the computer trying to find it must also be Ethernet-connected. Nonsense, I agree, but I plugged the laptop into an Ethernet port, reran the Epson installer, and it detected the printer just fine, no hesitation. Heady from this success, I installed the Epson Smart Panel app onto my iPad. Needless to say, this app seems to assume everything is on Wi-Fi (and maybe even Bluetooth, which it demands access to - why?). Of course, it couldn't find the Epson printer. However, there was an option to enter the printer's IP address, which worked. It raises the question, what happens if, next time through the DHCP initialization process, the printer is assigned a different IP address? Today, I also "registered" the main lower paper tray as containing letter-sized plain white paper, using the printer's control panel. After that, print jobs with paper source set to "Auto" printed correctly. Woo hoo! In spite of apparent lame networking assumptions coded within the Epson installation package and IOS Smart Panel app, my cumulative star rating remains, for now, at four stars. Remainder of review: the following experiences will be updated from time to time. Connecting printer to Apple Mac Mini Tahoe. The Epson ET-8500 support webpage allows selection of Apple Mac Tahoe but the resulting download is for Intel silicon. However, I found that the Mac's Setup Add Printer function finds the printer on the network and installs required driver software with one click. The is typical Apple user-friendly experience vs. multiple technical steps needed on Windows. Printing of high-quality art prints. I printed out two of mine on 8.5"x11" premium glossy photo paper. Output quality "Standard", while it prints much faster, yields coarse-resolution ink dot patterns on the print. Output quality "High" prints much more slowly, but the image is rendered mostly at resolution. However, under a magnifying lamp, periodic white dots are visible, lined up in the direction of paper travel (not print head travel). These flaws will prevent the prints from being used in presentations. On the web, I learned that these dots are called "Pizza Wheel" marks and are caused by the serrated exit guide wheels pulling the paper through. Some mitigations are suggested, which I will experiment with in the days ahead. Solution to the "Pizza Wheel" marks: Those flawed results described above were obtained using on some old HP Premium Glossy Photo Paper that I had laying around. Understanding that Epson would optimize settings for their own media products, and also that fresh media is usually recommended, I got ahold of some letter-sized Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte and some 4"x6" Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy (these two styles were the ones available for same-day delivery). The art prints on the presentation paper were flawless, though the brilliance range was of course somewhat reduced from the glossy print. Next, I started printing out some 4"x6"s on the ultra premium glossy stuff and the results were flawless and brilliant. I kept printing a number of my favorite images until I forced myself to stop. Some letter-size of the ultra premium glossy paper is coming soon, and printing on that will be the acid test. But I am happy enough now and confident enough to raise my star rating of this Epson ET-8500 printer to Five Stars. Full-size (8.5"x11") photo printing: Using fresh letter-size Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy, I printed two of my art photos with a variety of dark or well-saturated color areas. These came out brilliant and perfect. The Epson ET-8500 is a winner,

Abraham United States

Excellent print quality, easy-to-use software, very long lasting ink

This review is for an Epson ET-8500 printer/scanner/copier. ET stands for Eco Tank as the printer uses tanks of ink filled by the user from bottles. The tanks last far longer than the ink cartridges we've all been using and the price per page is far less. The 8500 prints 8.5x11 and 8.5x14 as well as smaller sizes like 8x10, 5x7, 4x6 and printable CDs, DVDs and BDs. The scanner has a maximum resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi. I bought this printer to replace an Epson RX 580 we bought in late 2006 and for which we must have spent several printer's worth of money on ink. Our primary use has been and remains printing photographs. We feel we require a six-ink printer for this task which limited our printer choices. We have never had any brand other than Epson dating back to the dot matrix printers we used with our homemade PC XT so I will be unable to compare the performance of this printer to other brands. We were sorely tempted to buy the ET-8550 vice the 8500 for the occasional need to print 11x14s and larger as it was only an additional $50 but we simply didn't have the table space for it. The price of this printer has come down significantly from when it was first introduced, so if you're thinking you can't afford it, look again. The unpacking and setup on the 8500 were simpler and more trouble-free than other printers I've used in the recent past. The printer can be connected to your computer via a shared wireless or wired network or a primary tier USB link. You can also print from a thumb drive (USB memory stick), your camera's SD chip, wirelessly from a smart phone or tablet. Epson provides the printer with a unique email address and any images sent to that address (from anywhere on the planet) will automatically be printed by your printer. If you have a voice assistant on your home network, you can control your printer with voice commands. All in all, a very capable and well thought out device. We were nervous about filling our ink tanks the first time. The thought of a bottle of printer ink spilling seemed an absolute nightmare. But, as might have been expected, the process was utterly fool-proof (and you're reading a top notch fool here). The tops of the ink bottles and ink tanks are keyed so you cannot put ink in the wrong tank. Ink does not come out of the bottle till it is inverted on the proper tank and flow stops when the tank becomes full. The first filling will also have to fill all the tubing and what not between the tanks and the print nozzles and so will fill the tanks slightly less full than all further bottles. Loading paper is also painless. The printer has two cassettes: one for 8.5 x 11 and one for 5x7 or smaller. The printer can take thicker paper by two routes in the back: the rear paper feeder at the back on top, and the rear paper feed slot, in the rear. Here is my one unpleasantness concerning this printer but fortunately for you and Epson, the unpleasantness was almost entirely my fault. Either route may be used for thicker paper, such a heavyweight photo paper or thick cardstock. The Rear Paper Feeder at the top rear will still take your paper through almost 90 degrees of bend but not the hard 180 that it experiences coming from the cassettes. Paper loaded into the Rear Paper Feed Slot at the printer's rear, will traverse a completely flat path. Theoretically, you could put a sheet of thin glass through there... but please don't. I have used both with 80 lb (thick) photo paper with no problem whatsoever. The unpleasantness I mentioned was caused when I became confused as to which route was which, deciding that the feeder was the slot and the slot was the feeder. This led me to two lengthy calls to Epson tech support where two different techs spent an inordinate amount of time and effort trying to convince me I had made a mistake without insulting a sacred Epson customer by telling me I had made a mistake. When I finally came to my senses, I wrote a long and heartfelt apology to Epson Tech Support for what I had put them through. Very embarrassing. The printers output on plain paper, card stock and three different grades of photo paper has been absolutely perfect. There will always be some difference between your screen and your printer, particularly with the printer straight out of the box and no attempt having been made to match up the two, but the prints have been more than satisfactory to this point. And I have yet to see any of my ink levels - now visible directly through graduated translucent windows on the printer's front - so much as budge. A good portent. I have looked at refill ink bottles and the cost for a full set is slightly more than a set of cartridges for my RX 580 cost but provides several times the quantity of ink. Interestingly, the colors of inks used has changed. My RX 580 used to use Cyan, Light Cyan, Magenta, Light Magenta, Yellow and Black. The ET 8500 uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Photo Grey, Photo Black and Black. That last one is used for text and is not used for photographs. The Photo Grey and Photo Black are not used on text. I only have my eyes, but in my judgement, the prints from the ET 8500 are superior to those from the old RX 580 in accuracy, detail and color. Text documents are crisp and clear. Image quality on plain paper is more than acceptable though I understand there are other brands that do it slightly better. If I had to do it all over, I would again buy the ET 8500. Ease-of-use, economy and beautiful output make it the ideal choice. And I will never again buy a printer that uses cartridges. Never.

Bob Goldrick United States

Epson ET-8500 versus Canon G620

I am an accomplished amateur photographer, not a professional or a techie. I take photos with an iPhone 12 and a Panasonic SLR. I do not make highly technical adjustments to the images. Both of these printers produce excellent results. I purchased them for two reasons: saving on ink, and printing photographs with accurate colors. I have used Canon Pixma printers for decades, so I first tried the G620. Although I do most of my shopping on Amazon I purchased it at Best Buy for ease of potential return. It cost $330 (rounded up by a penny). THE CANON G620: PRO’s: It was easy to fill the six ink tanks. Canon cleverly designed the tops of each one so they can only be inserted into the correct tanks. No problem connecting to my wi-fi. Documents printed quickly and looked fine. The first 4x6 print I did was acceptable but not as good as I had expected. I corrected this quickly per the next bullet. By default my Windows laptop installed its own drivers for the printer. These are not as good as Canon’s. I went to the Canon website and downloaded and installed their drivers for the 6 series. Voila, very good photos, with accurate color and sharp edges! Thanks to other Amazon reviewers for calling this to my attention. Photos printed quickly enough. CON’S: The most significant one, and why I switched to the Epson, is the paper handling. There is only one input tray, at the rear of the printer, which takes all sizes and types: 8x11 plain paper, 4x6, 5x7 and 8x11 photo paper, etc. At first I didn’t think I’d mind changing the paper, but after a while I did, per next bullet. The display on the top of the printer is small, dim and awkwardly placed. I thought I might not need to use it that much, but every time you change paper you have to. You need to pull the output tray out manually. No big deal if you are at your desk, but if you are in another room and want to print out an item on your phone you have to go the printer. A minor inconvenience but a nettlesome one at times. THE EPSON ET-8500:. PRO’s: Equally easy to connect to wi-fi. Even easier to set up. The correct drivers were downloaded automatically. A terrific screen on the right front of the printer. Large, bright, easy to use. Two input trays at the front, one for 4x6 and 5x7 photo paper, the other for 8x11 paper of either type. Another input tray at the back! I use this on the relatively few occasions I print 8x11 photos, and I keep plain paper in the front tray. This is extremely convenient. When you send an item to the printer it wakes up even if it’s turned off. The G620 did not do that. The output tray comes out automatically; no need to pull it. There is a button on the screen for pushing the output tray back in and closing the front. That bright tilt-able front screen has every setting you need and is very intuitive. Everything I printed came out fine and quickly. The photos were equal to Canon’s in quality, plus there is an Epson app for making further adjustments to them. I downloaded it and found it easy to use. CON’s: The cost: $700. That’s more than double the Canon G620, which is a significant consideration. Two others that are not significant. The photo tray can be a little tricky to pull out and a tight fit when reinserting (it goes well toward the back). This can be relieved by first pulling out the 8x11 tray underneath it, giving your fingers more room. Not really a con but when the printer is finished the screen shows two items: a little Home icon on the left and a larger “Troubleshooting” message next to that. Some users might think that means there was a problem, but it’s just in case there was. Touch Home and you’re set, then touch the Close Tray button on the bottom right. BOTTOM LINE: You may be wondering, Why spend that much more? And, why not buy a Canon Ink Tank printer of equivalent cost? Re the first, for the convenience of the paper handling and ease of use of the screen. I keep printers a long time and the cost spreads out over the years, especially not needing to buy cartridges. Re the second, I did research those, but prefer the size of the Epson, which is comparable to the G620. The higher priced Canons that I looked at were bulkier. I hope this helps others. If I omitted anything you think should be included, or if you have questions or a difference of opinion, leave a comment and I’ll respond to it.

L-1011 United States

Unmatched Quality for Images and Photos

This is an 'initial impressions' review after setup and a few weeks use. - Best Use Case: If, like us, your printing needs are 80% creative (artwork, photographs, etc.), 20% light document printing and occasional scanning, then this printer will meet your needs. Even though you won't be buying a new cartridge with a thimbleful of ink every 100 pages, I would not recommend this printer for high-volume workplace printing. It's not built for speed and you'll be filling the paper tray too often to be productive. Likewise, unlike a more office-oriented printer, the ET-8500 does not have a feeder for the scanner. - Unboxing / Setup: While it did take about an hour to set up, the process went much easier than I anticipated based on the reviews I read. We have it connected to our home network via Ethernet and I was able to do all necessary configuration via the printer's touch screen. Aligning the print heads is a rather lengthy process, so be prepared to spend some time on this. Our old printer would semi-self align by scanning the alignment samples once they were printed. With the ED-8500, I had to manually select which alignment settings looked best, which slowed the process considerably. - Hardware Quality: Overall, the printer feels well-built and worth the money. That being said, I do agree with other reviewers who state the paper trays feel a little chintzy and possibly easy to damage if you don't handle them with kid gloves. No problems thus far, however, so I'm simply crossing my fingers with the hoping for the best. On the flip side, I love that the output tray fully retracts into the printer when not in use. Touch screen operation is a veritable godsend compared to the wonky, practically useless LCD on our old printer. In fact, with a thumb drive or (full sized) SD card, you can perform many operations straight from the touchscreen. - Software: While it did install applications I'm not likely to use, Epson's software is much less intrusive, in my opinion, than you-know-who's naggy, resource consuming bloatware. I can't speak to the smartphone application as I have no need for it thus far. I'm also pleased to report that the printer will work without Alexia, which I will never have a need for. No problems with the software and we're able to print from any computer on the network without issue. - Scanning: As I stated above, there's no feed for the scanner, so you'll have to manually change pages if you have a multi-page document to scan. Not a problem for us, though, and my wife loves that she can scan a document straight to her thumb drive without having to bother me while I'm working. Overall quality is more than adequate for all but the most demanding scanning jobs. - Ink: With its foolproof design, filling the six ink tanks couldn't be easier, and after six weeks of use, including approximately 200 pages of image laden documents using the highest quality print level (which would have eaten up two 'XL' cartridges in my old printer), the ink levels in the ET-8500 have barely moved. Furthermore, refilling all six tanks cost only a little more than those two 'XL' cartridges would have. Very happy in this regard. - Print Quality: Even on regular paper at regular print quality, the ET-8500 hands-down smokes anything in its price range. Amp up the print quality and print to photographic paper and the results are absolutely jaw-dropping. Seriously, my brother is a professional large-format printer / sign maker, and the print quality from the ET-8500 rivals his $75,000 4' x 8' flatbed. Rich, vibrant colors pop from the page and are sure to impress even the toughest critic. This, in my opinion, more than makes up for the ET-8500 not being the fastest horse in the race. I will update my review should anything go south, but for now I give the ET-8500 a big thumbs up. For the quality you get, it is well worth the price in my opinion.