The decision to buy a new printer can be brought on for a number of reasons. Perhaps you have fully embraced the idea of the permanent home office and need a reliable work printer. Or your home printer has been doing a lot more work recently, and you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade to a more cost-effective printer. Or you’re looking to add new print functionality like high quality photo prints. Whichever is the case, the new Epson EcoTank printers that are now available at Best Buy offer solutions to meet those scenarios. Included in the new selection is a Best Buy exclusive premium model: the Epson EcoTank Photo 8550. Here’s a look at all of the newest models and what they offer.
The advantages of an Epson EcoTank printer
The Epson EcoTank printers break with the tradition of ink cartridges, in favour of using ink reservoirs. When the ink runs out, you refill the specific ink tank yourself. This has a number of advantages.
- Convenience The tanks hold a considerable amount of ink, so you’ll be able to go longer between refills. And that is less downtime for you.
- Control Each EcoTank printer has a separate reservoir for each colour, so you only need to fill up the specific missing colour. No more replacing the whole cartridge because the cyan ran out.
- Cost You’re going to save money over the lifespan of the printer. In comparison to similar, non-EcoTank inkjet printers, the projected savings are up to 80%.
- Cartridge-free Ink cartridges generate a tremendous amount of waste, even if they are recycled. So when you switch to an EcoTank, you eliminate that waste.
The new Epson EcoTank printers
There are four new Epson EcoTank printer models for you to consider. The first two (the 8550 and the 8500) are Photo printers, with a full array of 6 colours of photographic dye ink. The second two (5150 and 5170) are designed with the office in mind. All four printers can scan, copy, and print.
Epson EcoTank 8550
The Epson EcoTank Photo 8550 is an exclusive to Best Buy. It has all the photo print, copy and scan capabilities of the Epson EcoTank 8500, with upgrades to a few of the features. The most notable upgrade is the maximum photo print size of 13” by 19”. You’ll be able to print high quality, poster-sized photos. The Epson EcoTank Photo 8550 also has improved copy speed and copy resolution.
Epson EcoTank 8500
The Epson EcoTank Photo 8500 is a photo printer that can also scan and copy, so it can fill the role of primary printer for your home or home office. You will be able to do double-sided borderless photo printing on a variety of different print materials like cardstock or photo paper. The Epson photo 8500 uses 6 colours of ink, which give it the ability to produce a greater variety of shades and hues in your printed images. It can even print your photo onto the face of a CD or DVD. Your home movies or personalized music mix can now have a fancy photo on the disk.
Epson EcoTank 5150 (coming soon)
The Epson EcoTank Pro 5150 is focused on providing a reliable office printing experience. You will be able to quickly print, scan and copy documents and photos. It also comes with a bonus bottle of black ink, increasing the number of documents you can print before needing to buy more ink. And over the lifetime of the Epson EcoTank 5170, the cost savings vs a comparable colour laser printer is significant. Each colour page will effectively cost you 2 cents, compared to the 14 cents per colour laser page.
Epson EcoTank 5170 (coming soon)
The Epson EcoTank Pro 5170 is an upgraded version of the 5150. It adds fax functionality to the copy/scan/print capabilities. Your prints will be produced face down to increase privacy, unless it’s a double-sided print. And like the 5150, this model is designed to have as small a footprint as possible. And that means less precious desk space taken up by the printer.
Why an EcoTank printer is a great choice
We traditionally choose a laser printer instead of an inkjet based on the long-term operating cost. Laser printers have been cheaper per page than inkjet. But with any of these new Epson EcoTank models, the math has changed in favour of the inkjet. Adding in the reduced environmental impact due to the elimination of ink cartridges makes the decision to go with an EcoTank an easy one. If you’re looking for more information to help you decide on a new printer, check out the printer buying guide.
