Printing The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 prints using inkjet technology, which sprays liquid ink onto the paper from a moving head. It has very good text quality, though not quite as good as the best printers. It's on the slow side for text, 5 pages took 28 seconds, costing 0.3 cents per page. Its color graphics printing is very good for reports, newsletters and web pages, costing 4.2 cents per page. It prints very good photos on glossy paper that most people would be happy with. It has auto-duplex printing to print both on sides of the page. The capacity of the main paper tray is 100 sheets, a typical amount. There's a second input tray that can hold another 50 sheets.
Scanning and Copying This is a multi-function printer. Scanning performance was very good, fine for general-purpose scanning.
Controls and Display The printer has a color display screen 4.5-inch diagonal size, touch-input capability, and can be tilted.
Connectivity and Networking It can print documents via USB, USB thumb drive, Ethernet, WiFi and an SD memory card. We found it relatively easy to setup the WiFi connection on this printer.
Cost of Ownership and Ink When this page was last updated, the printer's purchase price was about $700, very high for a all-in-one tank inkjet printer. Printing uses up ink and the costs add up over time. This printer uses six (6) tanks. When the ink runs low, you refill the tanks. The inks are sold in bottles. The inks we used in testing were the Epson 552 BK, 552 C, 552 M, 552 Y, 552 PBK, and 552 GY bottles—at the time, the prices were $22, $20, $20, $20, $20 and $20 respectively. We estimate each tank of ink to last at least 10 years—an extra-long time—following a typical monthly printing amount of 24 text and 11 graphic pages. After 2 years of typical use, we estimate your total equivalent cost to be $714—very high for a inkjet. The estimated yearly cost is $7, which is very low for a inkjet type of printer. The theoretical total cost after 5 years is $736.
Note The printer takes up a lot of space and might be more suitable for an office than a small desktop.
Printer Firmware Firmware is software that exists inside the printer. All models are evaluated using the latest firmware version available at the time of testing. The firmware version of the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 was ON10KC.
Software The collection of software accompanying the printer may include: the printer driver, printer applications, electronic user manual and scanning, faxing, and OCR apps. These get installed on your personal computer. All models are evaluated with a PC and the Windows operating system, using the latest version of printer software (driver) and printer support apps available at the time of testing. The software version was NP.
About the ink, software and firmware Our test results are valid only for the Epson-brand ink, and the software and firmware versions indicated. If your printer's software or firmware differ from the ones shown, you either have an older or a newer version of these. Manufacturers may periodically upgrade the printer's firmware to enhance operation, fix bugs, or add features. Firmware updates are downloadable directly to your printer via a wired or wireless network (if internet capable). You can check your printer's firmware version, or upgrade to the latest firmware: Either (1) run the Epson printer-update app on the PC, or (2) access the "Settings" section of the printer menu and navigating to the firmware update option. Consult the user manual or Epson's website for further guidance.
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