Epson EcoTank ET-8550 A3+ Wi-Fi Ink Tank Photo Printer

This printer has been absolutely faultless and is easily one of the best purchases I’ve made. I use it constantly and it never skips a beat. Print quality is excellent with sharp detail, smooth gradients, and very accurate colours, even on larger A3+ prints. Whether printing photos, graphics, or everyday work, the results are consistently professional. The EcoTank system is a huge plus – ink lasts a long time and running costs are very low compared to cartridge printers. Setup was straightforward, Wi-Fi connection is stable, and it integrates well with different devices. Paper handling is solid and reliable, even with heavier or specialty media. It’s quiet, fast enough for regular use, and feels well built. Maintenance has been minimal despite heavy use, which says a lot about its reliability. If you’re looking for an A3+ printer that delivers quality, efficiency, and long-term value, this one is an easy recommendation. Would 100% buy again.

I do photography and wanted an A3 photo printer, but also for it to be able to copy (A4), scan (A4), and print normal text paper (eg letters, office papers, etc). This printer does it all, with the advantage of cheap inks. I had a designated photo printer but it was not good for normal text paper, as it uses far too much ink. So I needed a second printer to print letters etc. When both printers died, I did a huge amount of research, then tested a friends ET-8550 and was hugely impressed. This printer really does it all. Photos are excellent, with good colour rendition especially if printed via Photoshop so that you can use the various colour profiles. Just turn off 'printer manages colour' to do this. A3 and A4 photo paper can be fed via the rear tray to save bending the paper. I haven't yet used the straight feed for Fine Art papers yet, but should be easy enough. Just remove the back panel and it will glide straight through. Text, letters, and what I call 'office' paperwork can be printed easily and at reasonable speed. Perhaps not so good if printing a lot of papers as the paper tray only holds up to 30 sheets, but is good for normal home use. As others have mentioned, the ink tanks are easy to fill (ink bottles each have a different shape surrounding the nozzle so can only be fitted to the correct hole). Just put the bottle in the the right hole and it will fill. No need to squeeze or anything. Once filled just remove and keep the lid on if any left in the bottle. I only use Epson genuine Claria inks. I have tried 'compatibles' in the past and they wrecked the printer head resulting in having to buy a new printer. Whilst the genuine Epson inks are more expensive, the photos last a long time with no fading or colour bleeding. Photos are excellent, and are good enough quality for competitions. The one thing I'm not impressed with is the 'advertising' from Epson regarding the number of photos being able to be printed on one set of inks. It states 2300 photos, although elsewhere it states 1800 photos. Well yes it does, but if you hunt and research you will find that number is for 15cm x 10cm prints. That is 1/4 sheet of A4. If you print a full A4 photo, you can print 450 - 575, depending on the colours of the photos. This is still 10x more than most photo printers, and makes for very economical printing, but saying 2300 could be a bit misleading for some people. Obviously A3 will use twice the amount of ink, so 225 - 288 A3 photos. My old photo printer could only manage 20-40! Scanning is easy using the Epson ScanSmart programme, which is downloaded when you set up the printer. Talking of which, I removed 24-30 blue tapes from inside and around the printer when setting it up. They hold everything in place for transport, but you must remove them all before use. Do look inside, around the back, everywhere! They could stop the printer from setting up correctly. I set up manually from my tower computer, but have also used the automatic and wi-fi from my laptop. Both are easy to do if you follow the instructions. I have connected to my computer via USB, and also set up wi-fi so I can print from my laptop, both of which work well. There is also an ethernet port if you wish to connect via that. One thing which took me a while to find was the receiving tray closure. It opens automatically when printing to receive the paper, but to close it you can gently push it back in, but it is very very stiff. Or... go to the touchscreen and touch the close button, and hey presto it closes! I wish Epson would tell us! All in all a really good printer, and yes I would recommend it.

I run a small business that relies heavily on printing—cards, keepsakes, custom art prints, and more—using a wide variety of paper types, textures, and weights. I purchased the Epson ET-8550 in the hope that I was investing in a professional-grade, versatile photo printer that could support my growing creative work. After two months of daily use, I can say this with full confidence: This is one of the worst printers I’ve used in my 35 years on this planet. Let me give credit where it’s due: out of the box, the Epson 8550 prints beautifully. The first 20 or so sheets come out looking crisp and professional, especially on plain paper. Colours appear rich (though not entirely accurate), and the detail is sharp enough to feel like I’d made the right decision. That brief honeymoon period is where the positives end. One of the main reasons I bought this printer was the rear paper feed, which Epson claims can handle a variety of cardstocks and paper weights. This is flat-out misleading. After a short while, the rear feed becomes completely unusable, throwing up constant paper jam errors—even when there's no jam. The only workaround? You physically have to press the card or paper down with your hand while it attempts to feed through. That's not just impractical—it’s absurd on a £629 machine. Anything over 230gsm causes problems. 300gsm? Forget it. You’ll be manually feeding one sheet at a time, praying the printer doesn't reject it, misfeed, or jam mid-print. And even if it miraculously accepts the paper, chances are you’ll be greeted with smudges, smears, roller marks, or grainy, inaccurate colours. After just a few weeks, the print quality deteriorated rapidly. I started getting: Smears at the end of every page Banding and lines across coloured areas Inconsistent ink coverage Dull, lifeless colours, no matter how much I tweaked the settings Want to print a solid block of colour? It will come out grainy and uneven. Need accurate colour matching? Good luck. What you see on your screen is not what this printer delivers—no matter how many settings you fiddle with. And for a printer sold on its photo-printing capabilities, that’s not just disappointing, it’s laughable. Every single day I use this printer, I have to perform: * Nozzle checks * Head cleanings * Alignment corrections It's like owning a vintage car that needs tuning every morning just to get to the end of the driveway. The maintenance required to get one decent print is exhausting, and sometimes even that’s not guaranteed. Not only is the rear feeder a nightmare, but even the paper guides don’t hold firm. They shift on their own, meaning every single time I print, I have to readjust and triple-check alignment—or risk a wonky or failed print. This shouldn’t be happening at this price point. This printer cost me over £629, and I honestly feel conned. I wanted a reliable, professional printer that could support my business, but what I got was a machine that makes my working day harder, not easier. It's unreliable, high-maintenance, and not fit for the purpose it's marketed for. The only silver lining? The ink lasts a long time—possibly because you’ll be wasting half your prints and constantly reprinting due to quality issues. You might not run out of ink quickly, but you’ll run out of patience, time, and trust in Epson faster than you can say "EcoTank." If you are a small business owner, artist, crafter, or creative professional looking for a versatile, reliable printer to handle varied paper stocks and deliver consistent quality—this is not it. The Epson ET-8550 is a masterclass in disappointment, and each passing day deepens my regret. Epson, if you're listening: this printer is not fit for purpose. Please stop marketing it as such. I didn’t spend this much money to become a part-time printer technician. I spent it to run my business—and this machine has actively made that harder.

This printer is excellent. Set up is very easy. The on machine led window is an illuminated touch screen which hinges out to almost horizontal for easier use and has all controls I need. Colour reproduction is accurate and the images are really sharp. The tank ink lasts for a very long time I have printed a large number of A3 and A4 prints and the lowest tank ink level is only half full. I have used Affinity and Epson software and both are really good and Epson's is free. Tank filling is easy with the refill bottles keyed so that you can't fill the wrong tank. The scanner is just like any other on-board printer scanner. If you want to print A3+ prints there is a rear of the printer slot for paper infeed which means you have to have a lot of space behind the printer. Up to A3 size paper is fed in at the rear of the top paper feeder which is pulled out. It has A4 paper tray and a CD printing tray in the front. When starting printing the outfeed tray is automatically driven out to the correct distance for the print size. When the printer is switched off this tray automatically retracts in. I highly recommend this printer as it's the best I have ever owned and I've been buying printers for many years from the dot matrix times. I'll never go back to cartridge printers as they're too expensive to run.

I’ve had this printer for over a year now and it has been very good to me. However, I have had to send it back recently as it would not feed your bog standard copier paper. It took some time to get it back from the repair centre and left me without, which consequently affected my business. I am an artist and it is fantastic for prints and it’s also great for A3. I am extremely impressed with the ink usage. I think I’ve filled one certain colour twice since I’ve had it, and I print almost every day. So having said all that, I would recommend getting one of these. It could do with being a bit cheaper.

This is hands down the best printer I've ever seen. I can't imagine how the quality could be improved with another printer. It's as good as it gets. Forget ever needing to order photos or prints online, you can print your own photos at home with this. The paper you use is important however, as testing shows cheap low quality paper gives (surprise) low quality prints. But with a good photo paper, the colours are stunning. Stunning! It's easy to set up, although does take a bit of time initially. It requires a lot of space to have on your desk always ready to go, so make sure you have the space. The size of the printer itself isn't the only consideration (and it is large), the paper tray and rear feeder tray needs to be taken into account too. I love the ink tanks over cartridges. Love how you can fill them up individually and see the levels at all times physically. I'm not sure on the accuracy of the claimed amount of pages you can print on a full tank though, as it seems to be draining much faster than the stated 1000s of pages. Although I am printing a lot of full page coloured A3 art (I'm an artist). TL;DR: You will get professional level prints with this. And the ink does last a long time, but probably not as long as Epson says. At least if you plan on doing a lot of full colour A4/A3 pages. Tech Support gets 1 star cause the only time I contacted them they never replied. Luckily I was able to figure it out myself in the end. But yeah, strange and maybe an anomaly but has to be mentioned.

I was very skeptical if I should keep this but it’s just great. The convenience of the app and wireless connectivity is really handy. Pick the right paper and choose the right setting is an exercise but the result is really good. I’m quite confident that the quality is even suitable for selling products not just home use!

As an inkjet enthusiast and photo aficionado, I’ve had the pleasure of testing the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 printer. Let me tell you—it’s a game-changer for both quality and economy! 📸 Stunning Photo Output: The six-color Claria ink system in the ET-8550 delivers photos that defy expectations. Whether it’s a vibrant landscape or a delicate portrait, the colors pop off the paper. The level of detail and accuracy is truly off the charts. Ease of Use: Setting up the ET-8550 was a breeze. The large color touchscreen interface guides you through the process seamlessly. Plus, the motorized output tray adds a touch of sophistication. No more fumbling with paper jams or awkward handling. Cost-Effective Printing: Say goodbye to expensive cartridges! The ET-8550 uses refillable EcoTank technology. Instead of cartridges, you fill the six ink reservoirs from 70ml bottles. It’s like having a mini ink refinery at your disposal. And the best part? It’s incredibly cheap to run. A3+ Capability: Need to print large-format photos? The ET-8550 handles A3+ paper effortlessly. Whether you’re framing your artwork or creating stunning posters, this printer delivers. Plus, the flat paper path ensures your A3 prints won’t curl up. In summary, the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is a premium printer that marries superior photo quality with cost-effectiveness. It’s an investment that pays off in vivid memories and long-lasting prints. Cheers to capturing life’s moments! 🎨👌