Epson EcoTank ET-18100 Evaluation: Prints Charming

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, after all, is that EcoTank printers value extra to purchase within the first place and must be used pretty repeatedly so their nozzles don’t clog up with dried-out ink.

The brand new ET-18100 is geared 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 explicit EcoTank doesn’t have a scanner or doc feeder and doesn’t print on either 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 large as you may count on. Nevertheless, 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 system, along with your telephone or pill changing the printer’s display screen.

You possibly can print from a PC or Mac, after all, and you may go correctly old-school when 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 picture paper solely once you’re able to print. The good thing about a rear feed is that the paper doesn’t must 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 photographs proper to the sides of the paper no matter dimension.

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 when you nonetheless burn CDs or house motion pictures then it may show helpful.

Setup

Once you unbox the ET-18100 there’s quite a lot of folded paperwork with no apparent quick-start information. However as soon as you discover the sheet in your language and realise you’ll be able to scan a QR code you’ll be able to 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 straightforward: every one has a coded sample and can solely match into the right slot for that color, so it isn’t potential to by chance pour within the incorrect color.

No ink escapes the bottle once you flip it the other way up: it empties solely when seated into its slot, and mechanically 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 photographs from subsequent bottles.

The app someway makes organising Wi-Fi a 30-step course of, however as soon as that specific irritation is out of the best way you’ll be able to then begin printing.

It’s value noting that you simply don’t want a smartphone or pill: it’s potential to observe 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 remaining instruction and obtain the Home windows or Mac software program which you’ll want as a way to arrange Wi-Fi.

Nevertheless, when you configure Wi-Fi through the telephone app first, Home windows will discover the ET-18100 in your community and mechanically set up a driver so no further software program is required. You’ll most likely wish to set up at the very least Epson Photograph+, although, because it makes it simpler to print photographs in addition to letting you print picture collages and, after all, these CDs and ID playing cards.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Efficiency

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

Even when pace isn’t your precedence, the ET-18100 is impressively quick in its ‘Customary’ mode, which is the default in each the cellular app and Photograph+ desktop software program. A borderless 6x4in picture takes simply 30 seconds and a full A3 picture 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’ll want to print A4 paperwork on plain paper, they’ll seem at about seven pages per minute at normal high quality (an eight-page doc took 70 seconds), however that pace will increase dramatically when you solely want draft high quality.

It slows down when you select to collate a number of copies of a doc, however since this can be a picture printer it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be doing that very a lot.

It additionally explains why there’s no auto-duplex: you’ll be able to print on either 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 incorrect printer for you.

Jim Martin / Foundry

What’s vital is that picture high quality is great. Feed it a picture with a suitably excessive decision (at the very least 300 dpi) and also you’ll have the ability to see a surprising degree 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 screen.

For those who’re printing from a laptop computer or PC, it is best to make certain your display screen is calibrated utilizing a colorimeter if color accuracy is vital within the remaining prints.

And whether or not you’re utilizing a telephone, pill, laptop computer or PC, keep in mind that display screen brightness impacts how photos look: it’s simple to assume they’re vibrant sufficient however prints seem too darkish. There, a histogram (present in a reliable picture 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 just a few events the place a tiny quantity of black ink appeared in remoted locations on edges. Actually nothing actually noticeable, although.

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

Nevertheless, total, the ET-18100 is a incredible picture printer.

Initially, the absence of a display screen appeared like a disadvantage. However after printing over Wi-Fi from a telephone or PC, I didn’t miss it in any respect: the apps provide tremendous management over precisely how you can place the picture you wish to print, so even when it doesn’t match the paper’s facet ratio, you’ll be able to management what will get lower off.

Wi-fi printing is totally dependable, too.

If there’s a criticism it’s that the templates provided in Photograph+ are fairly fundamental and aren’t editable. It’s tremendous when you just like the structure, however though one template appears to be like prefer it is perhaps for passport photographs, it isn’t named as such and also you’re left to try to work out which paper dimension to make use of to get the best picture dimension.

Worth & availability

Epson’s official worth for the ET-18100 is £699.99. Nevertheless, it wasn’t that can be purchased from Epson’s web site in March 2023.

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

It isn’t offered within the US, Canada or Australia.. at the very least but.

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

For those who 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 may as well see our suggestions for different fashions in our roundup of the finest printers.

Working prices

EcoTank printers is perhaps costly to purchase, however they’re low cost to run. Every ink bottle prices £9.99 and may print 2,100 6x4in (10x15cm) photographs. 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 slightly below 3p, not together with paper.

Epson doesn’t give yields for A3, however A3 is about 8.3x bigger than 6x4in, which means you’ll be able to count on to print round 250 borderless A3 photographs earlier than needing one other set of ink.

Utilizing this estimate, every A3 picture 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.

For those who solely printed paperwork with 5% protection, every bottle would final for five,700, which 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 photographs, it’s aggressive.

Verdict

The ET-18100 is an uncommon printer, as a result of it’s totally centered on low-cost picture printing and doesn’t actually do anything. Dwelling customers will most likely discover the printer’s worth a barrier, even when working prices are low, as a result of they merely gained’t have to print photographs on the form of quantity the ET-18100 is designed for.

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

However if in case you have a aspect hustle on Etsy or ebay and wish the choice to print paintings and photographs larger than A4, it’s an awesome alternative.

Specs

• 6-colour inkjet printer
• Ink sort: Dye tank fill
• Print decision: 5760 x 1440dpi
• Borderless: Sure
• Most paper dimension: 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       
• Power use: 0.6W (sleep); 19W (printing); 0.2W (energy off)
• Guarantee: 1 yr