Epson EcoTank ET-18100 Assessment: Prints Charming

Value When Reviewed

Not out there within the US

Epson’s EcoTank system has been with us for nearly a decade now. It answered the issue of low-yield cartridges that led to comparatively high-cost pages by introducing large-capacity ink tanks within the printer that could possibly be refilled individually.

This additionally solved the issue of getting to throw away unused ink in color cartridges that mixed all three colors into one.

The draw back, in fact, is that EcoTank printers price extra to purchase within the first place and have to be used pretty repeatedly so their nozzles don’t clog up with dried-out ink.

The brand new ET-18100 is aimed toward photographers (and different creatives) who wish to print bigger than A4 and don’t need their printer to double-up as an workplace workhorse. That’s why this specific EcoTank doesn’t have a scanner or doc feeder and doesn’t print on each side of the paper.

Options & Design

• Six ink tanks
• Handles as much as A3+ media
• Can print ID playing cards & CDs

Contemplating it’s an A3+ printer, the ET-18100 isn’t as huge as you may count on. Nonetheless, it does want a good quantity of desk house when the paper trays are totally prolonged.

Not like some EcoTank fashions, there’s no show on this one. As a substitute, you’re anticipated to arrange and print from a cellular machine, along with your cellphone or pill changing the printer’s display.

You may print from a PC or Mac, in fact, and you’ll go correctly old-school in the event you like and hook up the ET-18100 with a USB, though Epson doesn’t embrace one within the field.

You do get a full set of ‘107’ ink – six 70ml bottles – which is greater than sufficient to brim the tanks with ink left over.

They comprise: black, cyan, magenta, yellow, gentle cyan and lightweight magenta.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The paper tray is on the rear, however because it isn’t coated, it’s finest to insert photograph paper solely whenever you’re able to print. The advantage of a rear feed is that the paper doesn’t should be turned 180° on itself because it does with a entrance feeder and this lets you use thicker inventory.

As you may count on, the ET-18100 can print pictures proper to the sides of the paper no matter measurement.

One uncommon inclusion within the field is a plastic tray that may maintain a CD / DVD and two PVC ID playing cards. This looks like an anachronism in 2023, however in the event you nonetheless burn CDs or residence motion pictures then it might show helpful.

Setup

Once you unbox the ET-18100 there’s numerous folded paperwork with no apparent quick-start information. However as soon as you discover the sheet in your language and realise you possibly can scan a QR code you possibly can obtain the Epson Good Panel app which guides you thru setup.

Jim Martin / Foundry

It really works like a chatbot, explaining every step to take and warning you to not go away the printer alone. Emptying the ink from the bottles to the tanks is easy: each has a coded sample and can solely match into the proper slot for that color, so it isn’t potential to unintentionally pour within the fallacious color.

No ink escapes the bottle whenever you flip it the wrong way up: it empties solely when seated into its slot, and robotically stops when the ink reaches the max. line.

Jim Martin / Foundry

After this, the printer initialises the ink system which primes the printer – you’ll see the degrees drop a bit within the tanks. This occurs on the primary time when the printer is new, and also you’ll get much more pictures from subsequent bottles.

The app one way or the other makes establishing Wi-Fi a 30-step course of, however as soon as that exact irritation is out of the way in which you possibly can then begin printing.

It’s value noting that you just don’t want a smartphone or pill: it’s potential to comply with the directions on the included sheet to fill the tanks and prime the system.

After that you could go to the web site within the closing instruction and obtain the Home windows or Mac software program which you’ll want with the intention to arrange Wi-Fi.

Nonetheless, in the event you configure Wi-Fi through the cellphone app first, Home windows will discover the ET-18100 in your community and robotically set up a driver so no extra software program is required. You’ll in all probability wish to set up not less than Epson Picture+, although, because it makes it simpler to print pictures in addition to letting you print photograph collages and, in fact, these CDs and ID playing cards.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Efficiency

• A3 print in underneath two minutes
• 6x4in print in 30 seconds
• 7ppm for normal high quality A4 pages

Even when pace isn’t your precedence, the ET-18100 is impressively quick in its ‘Commonplace’ mode, which is the default in each the cellular app and Picture+ desktop software program. A borderless 6x4in photograph takes simply 30 seconds and a full A3 photograph just one:50.

Crank it as much as the best high quality and a 6x4in snap takes 60 seconds and an A3 print roughly 5 minutes – faster than different A3 printers we’ve examined.

Jim Martin / Foundry

If you could print A4 paperwork on plain paper, they’ll seem at about seven pages per minute at commonplace high quality (an eight-page doc took 70 seconds), however that pace will increase dramatically in the event you solely want draft high quality.

It slows down in the event you select to collate a number of copies of a doc, however since it is a photograph printer it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be doing that very a lot.

It additionally explains why there’s no auto-duplex: you possibly can print on each side of the paper, however you’ll have to reinsert the pages into the enter tray.

As all ink – together with black – is dye-based, textual content isn’t fairly as darkish as you get from pigment black, however to place it merely, if doc printing is a precedence, that is the fallacious printer for you.

Jim Martin / Foundry

What’s essential is that photograph high quality is superb. Feed it a picture with a suitably excessive decision (not less than 300 dpi) and also you’ll be capable to see a shocking stage of element in prints. Colors are correct, too, with grass, skies and pores and skin tones showing just about precisely as on my iPhone display.

In case you’re printing from a laptop computer or PC, it is best to be certain that your display is calibrated utilizing a colorimeter if color accuracy is essential within the closing prints.

And whether or not you’re utilizing a cellphone, pill, laptop computer or PC, do not forget that display brightness impacts how photographs look: it’s straightforward to assume they’re shiny sufficient however prints seem too darkish. There, a histogram (present in a reliable photograph editor) is your pal.

You’ll see a warning when printing from Home windows that enabling borderless mode may result in smears across the edges (a message you don’t get on cellular) and there have been a number of events the place a tiny quantity of black ink appeared in remoted locations on edges. Definitely nothing actually noticeable, although.

I attempted printing a number of photographs that weren’t pictures to see if blocks of color matched their on-screen counterparts. They did normally, however yellows tended to be a bit darker and extra orange than they need to have been.

Nonetheless, total, the ET-18100 is a improbable photograph printer.

Initially, the absence of a display appeared like a downside. However after printing over Wi-Fi from a cellphone or PC, I didn’t miss it in any respect: the apps provide advantageous management over precisely methods to place the picture you wish to print, so even when it doesn’t match the paper’s side ratio, you possibly can management what will get lower off.

Wi-fi printing is completely dependable, too.

If there’s a criticism it’s that the templates supplied in Picture+ are fairly primary and aren’t editable. It’s advantageous in the event you just like the structure, however though one template seems to be prefer it may be for passport pictures, it isn’t named as such and also you’re left to try to work out which paper measurement to make use of to get the proper photograph measurement.

Value & availability

Epson’s official value for the ET-18100 is £699.99. Nonetheless, it wasn’t available for purchase from Epson’s web site in March 2023.

Because it was model new on the time of evaluation, it wasn’t being bought by many retailers on-line. Park Cameras, Harrison Cameras, Carmarthen Cameras and Digicam Centre had it for £649.

It isn’t bought within the US, Canada or Australia.. not less than but.

If the ET-18100 is just too costly for you, then you may go for a four-colour A3 printer (such because the ET-14000, though that’s extra for paperwork than pictures) or an A4 mannequin such because the ET-8500 (though that’s probably not less expensive).

In case you just like the ET-18100 however desire a scanner as properly, the ET-8550 can also be an A3+ mannequin, and that was on sale direct from Epson at £729.99.

You can even see our suggestions for different fashions in our roundup of the finest printers.

Working prices

EcoTank printers may be costly to purchase, however they’re low cost to run. Every ink bottle prices £9.99 and may print 2,100 6x4in (10x15cm) pictures. You may get multipacks (a full set of all six) however these I discovered have been dearer than shopping for bottles singly.

Every 6×4, then, prices just below 3p, not together with paper.

Epson doesn’t give yields for A3, however A3 is about 8.3x bigger than 6x4in, that means you possibly can count on to print round 250 borderless A3 pictures earlier than needing one other set of ink.

Utilizing this estimate, every A3 photograph prices 24p in ink, once more not together with paper.

The included preliminary set have a decrease yield of 1,500 6x4in prints, as a result of some ink is used to initialise the system.

In case you solely printed paperwork with 5% protection, every bottle would final for five,700, that means a black-and-white A4 doc prices simply 1p.

If that web page had 5% protection of all six colors, that’s 6p.

These costs are increased than for Epson’s A4 ET-3850, however in case you are after a printer for churning out a great deal of A3 pictures, it’s aggressive.

Verdict

The ET-18100 is an uncommon printer, as a result of it’s solely targeted on low-cost photograph printing and doesn’t actually do the rest. Dwelling customers will in all probability discover the printer’s value a barrier, even when working prices are low, as a result of they merely gained’t have to print pictures on the type of quantity the ET-18100 is designed for.

Certainly, Epson affords solely a one-year guarantee on it, or 50,000 pages, whichever is reached first.

However in case you have a aspect hustle on Etsy or ebay and need the choice to print art work and pictures larger than A4, it’s a fantastic alternative.

Specs

• 6-colour inkjet printer
• Ink sort: Dye tank fill
• Print decision: 5760 x 1440dpi
• Borderless: Sure
• Most paper measurement: A3+
• Enter trays: 1 (80 sheets)
• Output trays: 1 (100 sheets)
• ADF: No
• Double-sided printing: handbook
• Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
• Dimensions: 523‎ x 369 x 150 mm (W x D x H)
• Weight: 8kg       
• Vitality use: 0.6W (sleep); 19W (printing); 0.2W (energy off)
• Guarantee: 1 yr