Epson EcoTank ET-18100 Evaluate: 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 may very well 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 must be used pretty recurrently 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 massive as you would possibly anticipate. Nevertheless, it does want a good quantity of desk area when the paper trays are absolutely prolonged.

In contrast to some EcoTank fashions, there’s no show on this one. As an alternative, you’re anticipated to arrange and print from a cell machine, along with your cellphone or pill changing the printer’s display screen.

You may print from a PC or Mac, in fact, and you’ll go correctly old-school should 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 light-weight magenta.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The paper tray is on the rear, however because it isn’t lined, it’s greatest to insert picture paper solely while you’re able to print. The advantage of 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 would possibly anticipate, the ET-18100 can print images proper to the perimeters 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 should you nonetheless burn CDs or residence films then it might show helpful.

Setup

If 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 easy: each has a coded sample and can solely match into the proper slot for that color, so it isn’t potential to by chance pour within the flawed color.

No ink escapes the bottle while 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 images from subsequent bottles.

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

It’s price 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 you can go to the web site within the ultimate instruction and obtain the Home windows or Mac software program which you’ll want to be able to arrange Wi-Fi.

Nevertheless, should you configure Wi-Fi through the cellphone 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 not less than Epson Photograph+, although, because it makes it simpler to print images in addition to letting you print picture collages and, in fact, these CDs and ID playing cards.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Efficiency

• A3 print in beneath 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 ‘Normal’ mode, which is the default in each the cell 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 have to print A4 paperwork on plain paper, they’ll seem at about seven pages per minute at customary high quality (an eight-page doc took 70 seconds), however that pace will increase dramatically should you solely want draft high quality.

It slows down should 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 flawed printer for you.

Jim Martin / Foundry

What’s necessary is that picture high quality is great. Feed it a picture with a suitably excessive decision (not less than 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.

When you’re printing from a laptop computer or PC, you must make sure that your display screen is calibrated utilizing a colorimeter if color accuracy is necessary within the ultimate prints.

And whether or not you’re utilizing a cellphone, pill, laptop computer or PC, keep in mind that display screen brightness impacts how photographs look: it’s straightforward to suppose 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 would possibly result in smears across the edges (a message you don’t get on cell) and there have been a number of events the place a tiny quantity of black ink appeared in remoted locations on edges. Actually nothing actually noticeable, although.

I attempted printing a number of photographs that weren’t images to see if blocks of color matched their on-screen counterparts. They did basically, 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 downside. However after printing over Wi-Fi from a cellphone or PC, I didn’t miss it in any respect: the apps supply high-quality management over precisely the way to place the picture you wish to print, so even when it doesn’t match the paper’s side ratio, you’ll be able to management what will get lower off.

Wi-fi printing is completely dependable, too.

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

Value & availability

Epson’s official price for the ET-18100 is £699.99. Nevertheless, 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 offered by many retailers on-line. Park Cameras, Harrison Cameras, Carmarthen Cameras and Camera Centre had it for £649.

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

If the ET-18100 is just 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 images) or an A4 mannequin such because the ET-8500 (though that’s probably not less expensive).

When you just like the ET-18100 however need a scanner as effectively, 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 best 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) images. You will get multipacks (a full set of all six) however these I discovered have been costlier 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, which means you’ll be able to anticipate to print round 250 borderless A3 images 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.

When you 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 images, it’s aggressive.

Verdict

The ET-18100 is an uncommon printer, as a result of it’s completely targeted 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 operating prices are low, as a result of they merely gained’t have to print images on the sort 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 when you’ve got a aspect hustle on Etsy or ebay and wish the choice to print art work and images 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 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