Epson brings again bottled ink – Gadget

What is the EcoTank L3550?

The Epson EcoTank L3550 is a curious mixture of the previous and the brand new: a compact three-in-one inkjet printer that prints, scans and copies, whereas demanding one pours bottled ink into its tanks prefer it’s 1999. Instead of clicking in a cartridge and watching your price range bleed out with each web page, you line up 65 ml bottles of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, tip them in, and watch the clear front-facing tanks refill like a fishbowl of productiveness. The field contains an additional bottle of black, as a result of Epson is aware of that black ink is the caffeine of the printing world: it runs out first, it runs out quick, and with out it you can not operate.

Epson claims a decision of 4 800 × 1 200 dpi, which interprets as sharp-looking textual content and hues that look good in daylight. The first black web page spits out in about 9 seconds and color in round fifteen, which is faster than most price range inkjets dare. Once it will get going, one is 15 black-and-white pages per minute and eight color pages per minute: respectable numbers for a house or small workplace machine. Epson additionally quotes as much as 33 pages a minute for draft-quality black, however until you take pleasure in studying textual content that appears prefer it’s been faxed from 1986, you’ll follow the usual modes.

Paper dealing with is easy: a 100-sheet rear tray for feeding, a 30-sheet output tray for amassing, and help for the standard suspects: A4, A5, A6, and envelopes. It’s not going to exchange the workplace workhorse with its 500-sheet drawers, however will even not fake it might probably. Scanning occurs by way of a flatbed with a 1 200 × 2 400 dpi optical decision, though discovering the scanning operate is a problem in itself.

The L3550 goes extremely fashionable with its connectivity. Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct imply it should speak to a telephone or laptop computer with out cables. USB is there for anybody who nonetheless likes cords. It performs properly with Apple’s AirPrint, and the Epson Smart Panel app makes setup and on a regular basis administration much less of a guessing recreation. That app is the unsung hero of the L3550: it homes the magic of fast Wi-Fi connection, guiding you thru a sequence of buttons that in any other case would really feel like a puzzle from an escape room.

Epson additionally sprinkles in some inexperienced credentials. The printer is made with 30% recycled plastic, its packaging is greater than 80% recycled cardboard, and its heat-free expertise sips energy as an alternative of gulping it. More importantly, Epson estimates the EcoTank system cuts consumables by 84% in comparison with cartridges. That’s a severe discount in waste, although it additionally means you’ll must get comfy with the retro act of pouring liquid into your printer.

We’ll must observe up with a longer-term evaluation to provide a way of the accuracy of such claims.

Taken collectively, the EcoTank L3550 appears like a machine that has appeared again on the worst habits of cartridge printers, from the clogs to the fixed replacements, and stated: “Fine, let’s go back to bottles, but this time let’s do it properly.”

What does the EcoTank L3550 value?

The EcoTank L3550 usually retails between R3 999 and R4 500. Each substitute bottle prices within the area of R150 to R180, relying on the color. While the upfront worth sits above many entry-level cartridge printers, the yield – as much as 4 300 black pages and seven 300 color pages per set – tilts the economics firmly within the purchaser’s favour. For households, college students or small companies with regular output, the L3550 pays for itself in running-cost financial savings inside months.

Why does the EcoTank L3550 matter?

Printers stay the cockroaches of expertise: regardless of what number of occasions we expect we will dwell with out them, they scuttle again into our houses and workplaces. The EcoTank L3550 issues as a result of it makes that return much less painful. It reduces the wallet-gouging value of cartridges and trims the environmental waste.

A mix of decrease value, lowered waste and simple set up makes it aco elling piece of workhorse tech. It might really feel retro with its bottled ink, however typically the previous deserves a second probability.

What are the largest negatives of the EcoTank L3550?

• Locating primary capabilities, particularly scanning, takes an excessive amount of trial and error.
• Every contemporary operate insists on a firmware replace earlier than use, breaking the circulation.
• Navigation by way of menus and buttons lacks the readability urged by the slick setup course of.

What are the largest positives of the EcoTank L3550?

• Setup is quick and simple, from filling bottles to connecting by way of Wi-Fi.
• Running prices are dramatically decrease than cartridge printers, due to high-yield bottles.
• Print high quality is sharp and constant throughout textual content, graphics and images.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and writer of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”