The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
Like most people in my age group, I can manage without a printer in my home. It’s a rare occasion when I have to print something. But with tax season upon us and my pile of returns growing bigger with every order, I decided I finally needed to get rid of my old printer which had broken over six months ago and was collecting dust in a corner of my home.
Part of the reason I’ve been hesitant to dive into research for a new printer was because ink cartridges are so expensive. Two printers ago I found myself contemplating buying a whole new printer (which came with ink) because it was cheaper than just replacing the ink on its own. That’s why I was so intrigued by EcoTank printers and their unique ink systems. After a little research, I decided on the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 and I’m already thoroughly impressed with its performance.
Let’s start with the setup. It was quick and painless compared to other printers I’ve had to set up in the past. The instruction manual had an option to install a companion app to my phone via QR code, and we were off.
Kicking it into gear and getting everything prepped and ready to go took 15 minutes (11 of them was an automatic ink calibration which I didn’t have to do anything for) and I was talked through it step by step with a smart assistant on the app. I was a little nervous about filling the tanks with the bottles of ink and making a mess, but the app walked me through that too. The nozzles are specially designed to slip into the tank and will only dispense ink when they’re inserted properly. They also stop dispensing ink into the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 when the tank below is full, meaning it’s impossible to overfill the tanks and waste ink.
Once the ink was in the tanks and the paper was loaded, I followed the prompts on my phone to connect it to my WiFi, and the tiny screen on the printer walked me through the printing test, which took a few minutes to complete. I made sure I could print from my phone, tablet, and computer, and all of them were able to connect to it immediately and print something in under a minute. This is a huge upgrade from my previous printer, which wouldn’t print anything unless the device you were using had their app installed.
As I mentioned, one of the main reasons I wanted to try the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 was the refillable ink tanks. I wanted to see if they would really last me longer than regular ol’ ink cartridges, while also saving me some money in the long run. I’ve only been using it for a few weeks, and I’m happy to report that the ink levels (which you can monitor right from the companion app) haven't really moved, and I’ve printed a lot of receipts and return labels.
The ink refills for the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 will run you around $90, but as long as you’re not printing dozens of pages a day, they should last you 18 months to two years before having to replace them. The bottles that came with the printer even have some extra in them to top up once the levels start to dip.
As for the quality of the print, if you’re looking for a printer to give you crisp, high-definition photo shop-quality prints, this probably isn't the printer for you. If you’re like me and you’re only planning on using it to print return labels, trip itineraries, and various documents, you’ll want this in your home office. I love that I can print something from any device, from anywhere in my home, and the built-in scanner has come in pretty handy too, especially for uploading receipts to my computer for tax season.
With just over 11,000 reviews, the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 has an average rating of 4.4 stars. Reviewers love how fast and efficient it is. Many agree with me that the WiFi connectivity is the fastest in any wireless printer they’ve owned, and a lot of shoppers say the refillable ink tanks really are more cost-effective than regular ink cartridges. They no longer have to constantly replace their cartridges.
Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We’ll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes.