– EcoTank ET-4800 Print/Scan/Copy Wi-Fi Ink Tank Printer with up to 3 Years of Ink Included

My old HP Multi-function printer was ruined during a house move so I was looking for a quality replacement. I have alway bought HP as I like the software and quality of the kit but was fed up with the cost of the ink and print head cleaning. After much research, I saw the Epson ink tank printers scoring highly in a number of independent reviews. It seemed to me that the initial cost of the machine was off-set by the low cost of ink over the long-term. The features of the ET3850 were exactly what I was looking for; quality printing (including auto-duplex), scanning and wifi printing from mobile devices. It was easy to set up and the ink filling process was easy and spill-free using the foolproof fittings which differed for each colour to avoid mistakes. Connecting it to my wifi network was also easy although it did take a little time to update its firmware early in the process. I have 2 minor niggles when comparing it with the various HP models I’ve owned: 1) the software is not as user friendly or as comprehensive, but it works, 2) pressing the off button does not switch the machine off, you have to then use the menu buttons to change an option and then confirm with the ok button before it switches off. Although some might find this a benefit, I find it annoying that I have to press 3 different buttons to switch it off. On the plus side, as well as good quality printing, the machine seems to be able to print decent quality when started up even when it hasn’t been used for a while. I found that the HPs often required head cleaning and test printing which wasted paper, time and expensive ink! So far, I haven’t had to do this at all. Overall, I think this model is good value when looked at over a two or three year period and hope it last much longer than that. Having owned and used it for a few months now, I would buy it again.

Build Quality The EcoTank ET-3850 feels pretty well-built. The automatic document feeder on top is probably the only part that isn't sturdy and feels a bit thin and flimsy, and it squeaks when moved. The design is fairly user-friendly, as it allows easy access to the ink tanks and paper jams. Be warned though that the scanner’s lid doesn’t have a dampener, so it'll slam shut if you don’t raise it slowly and make sure it’s in the locked position. Ink The Epson ET-3850 has four refillable ink tanks that yield a large number of prints, meaning it is a perfect choice for high printing volumes. It's easy to see the ink levels from the front of the printer. However, it is important to keep an eye on the ink levels as letting the ink levels run too low or emptying the tank can introduce air bubbles into the print tubes and damage the printer. Print Quality Print quality is pin sharp for black and white documents. Coloured is still good, although not as impressive as the black and white due to some graininess. It is still head and shoulders above a previous all-in-one printer I had. App Features The Epson Smart Panel app is very useful to have. It allows you to print, copy, scan (You can scan with both the scanner on the printer itself and scan something from your phone's camera). You can also carry out most maintenance tasks from the app, including nozzle checking and print head cleaning. Overall I considered several printers, including a Canon Pixma model, but decided with the ET-3850 in the end - while both offered outstanding page yields and low costs per print, the Epson was both faster at printing and produced higher-quality scans.

Update 24/11/25 I have taken the trouble to update my review becasue I am totally gobsmacked that the awful ET-3850 is still available. For all of you out there looking at the many positive reviews, take my word for it that this rinter is not for printing photographs. It work fine for b/w but and indeed it prints a nice photograph. But if you want to print a number of photos - not just one or two - it WILL keep ejecting paper and tell you that there is none in the magazine. It's still £300+ plus and behaves like a £50 printer, fit only for b/w or occasional photographs. I have to sit alongside it constantly trying to convince it that it has paper. They even suggest cleaning inside with isopropyl alcohol. They know this printer is badly flawed but they carry on selling it. Do yourself a favour and don't be a mug. AVOID the ET-3850!!!! I bought this for a large photograph printing project that I have undertaken. It was recommended by Which? for the purpose. I need to start off by saying the project - 100s of A4 photos - would be absurdly expensive with a cartridge printer. I used the supplied bottles quite quickly - on A4 pictures at Highest Quality - but in normal use they would last for ages. You can use generic ink which is cheaper than Epson and I couldn't see any difference, The quality of printing is, to my eyes, very good. Now onto the problems and idiosyncrasies. Firstly, my early pictures had horrible colour casts - often orange. After trying all sorts of paper and all sorts of settings, the truth dawned on me. This happened with any picture I had photoshopped! I also use Luminar Neo and this causes no such problems. So this must be down to Photoshop, not the printer. The printer, however, tends to print darker than on your screen so before printing a photo I strongly recommend you rauise the brightness of your picture and. in some cases, reduce the colour saturation. The user interface on the printer is much too small for its complexity and there is much fiddling with buttons. It is very frustrating and not for those with poor eyesight. The panel is like something from twenty years ago. The software is also confusing and there are far too many modules. Ease of use is very poor all round. In fact I hate the user interfaces. Then the biggest issue - the Wireless function. Want to print a few pages on plain paper? Its fine. Want to print A4 photos on glossy paper? It's a nightmare. Too often pages come out half-printed after lots of clacking and whirring at which point the printer asks if you want to check the connection. It repairs it. Half a dozen pages later it happens again. I found out on a forum that it's a common problem with no solution despite Epsons's feeble "answers" such as updating the firmware etc. What's more, it seems that, as it did for me, this problem emerges after a while just when you think you have bought a great printer. The only solution - obtained from a forum - is to connect via a usb cable and this solved the problem for me. You can install a usb connection whilst keeping the wireless connection for more everyday tasks. You CANNOT, however, use an Ethernet connection next to your wireless, connection. I can only think that there is some sort of buffer in the wifi interface that causes problems when it overflows. I repeat, you will find many people have had this problem. Then there is the paper handling. Plain paper - no problem. Photo paper? It will drive you mad by unnaccountably ejecting sheets before finally finding one it likes.. Bizarre and annoying. USB connection cannot solve this issue, of course. Whether changing brand of paper would fix it, I don't know. Overall, it prints good pictures but the shortcomings have meant my first few months of ownership have been a bit of a battle. How a company like Epson can produce a £300+ printer with so many issues is something of a mystery. Like all ink tank printers it can save you a fortune in ink. But I can't help feeling there are others as good but less problematical in use out there. Thumbs down for Which? as well as Epson frankly. Update 15/9/25 : It's now just terrible. It will print a batch of pictures then decides continually that it is out of paper. You can re-feeding the tray, fanning the pages, whatever but it still keeps happening. There's a lot of clacking and whirring and sure enough, up comes the "paper out" message. This is the most frustrating pievce of kit I have ever owned. You would be mad to buy one.

... gerne wieder und habe das Gerrät immer noch und läuft ohne Klagen. Benutze es ca. 1 x im Monat

S'adaptent parfaitement

Das ist ein sehr gutes Gerät. Druckt hervorragend und hat mir schon eine Menge an Geld erspart an Tinten-Patronen.

Printing blank pages

Très bonne qualité d'impression tant sur du papier ordinaire ou du papier glacé photo. Il faut juste s'assurer de bien régler les paramètres. Le recto verso fonctionne bien avec un temps de séchage entre les couches. Le scanner n'est pas très rapide mais très correct. Le logiciel de scan ne permet pas de réglages avancés mais il fait le travail. Fonction copie autonome bien pratique et plus vite disponible qu'une imprimante laser.