Review: Epson EcoTank ET-2980 Printer

I was wary of ink tank printers at first. I'm a little clumsy and not the most organized, and I was concerned about added upkeep or maintenance, not to mention spilling cyan all over my favorite sneakers.

The EcoTank ET-2980 from Epson not only put my concerns to rest, it turned me into an ink tank convert, at least for home use. Even though it's a little more expensive up front, it comes loaded with plenty of ink, prints efficiently and cleanly, and only suffers from an undersized paper tray and a slow startup speed. I’m more than happy to recommend the switch to any printer shoppers feeling burned by ink cartridge schemes.

Bottles and Tanks

Photograph: Brad Bourque

The ink tanks are the draw here, but also the biggest potential pain point. Even as someone comfortable with assembling PCs and dealing with thermal paste, I was prepared for permanently colored spots on my desk or carpet.

To my surprise, the setup was straightforward and clean. Unlike some of the other ink tank printers I tested, the Epson has keyed bottles. It might not sound important, but I actually did almost load up the wrong ink, accidentally swapping the cyan and magenta bottles, but was stopped by the shape of the nozzle just in time to avert disaster. There's also no squeezing or measuring, they just sit upside down on the filling port and quietly glug until the tank fills up.

This deal is even sweeter than it sounds. A full set of EcoTank bottles sells for just $50, and Epson says they should last around 5,000 pages. Meanwhile, the official HP cartridge bundle retails for $135, promising less than 1,000 pages per cartridge of color, and only 1,250 pages on the black ink. I don't mean to pick on HP, which is one of my picks if, for some reason, you need cartridges, but the math works out heavily in the newer tech’s favor. At $130 more for the Epson than the HP, you'll break even the first time you have to buy cartridges.

Paper Handling

Photograph: Brad Bourque

The vertical paper loading is the other big departure for this EcoTank from other printers I've tested recently. It loads via a vertical tray from the back, which holds up to 100 sheets of regular paper or 20 envelopes. Classic front-loading paper trays tend to hold upwards of 200 sheets, although they require more work to access and refill.

If you're often printing small quantities of photo paper, cardstock, or other oddly shaped paper, the vertical tray is beneficial. There's less risk of jamming when the paper doesn't have to bend as much. I print a lot of envelopes, which can cause issues with multiple feedings and crinkling, but the Epson handled them just fine, albeit in shorter stacks than I'm used to.

On the other hand, if you just print on regular letter or photo paper, and do so by the dozens, you'll probably find yourself refilling the tray more often than you'd like.

Print Quality and Speed

Photograph: Brad Bourque

For photos and general color printing, most people will be very happy with the quality from the Epson without much tweaking. It's a little on the slow side, but if I'm printing something where quality matters, I'm willing to wait. Getting the right paper and ink settings for the best photo quality took a little extra tweaking, but made my photos come out rich and detailed. I also have less issues with skipped lines and artifacts than I had with my previous ink cartridge printer when it came to just black and white text and lines.

Laser printers are still the best option for primarily text and straight lines. They have a cleaner, crisper look to documents without as many gradients and little details. I suspect this won't be as important for most home printers, where variety and image quality matter more than perfect serifs.

Where color laser printers I tested ran about three or four seconds per page in black and white, the EcoTank was more like six per page, right in line with full color ink cartridge printers. In the small numbers the Epson’s tray can handle, that probably won't feel all that bad, but it might start to wear on you if you regularly print 50-100 pages at a time.

When printing wirelessly, there's sometimes a substantial delay of 30-45 seconds between hitting the print button and the printer actually starting up. This is my biggest complaint about the EcoTank, and even printing multiple times a day, I often wonder if I sent the command to the wrong printer, or if it needs my attention about something before it can start, only for it to start whirring shortly after.

Printing Is About Trust

Photograph: Brad Bourque

Printer makers are increasingly concerned with locking you into using first-party toner using microchips and QR codes, which only serves to raise the price even further. The cartridges that come with printers also sometimes have less ink than replacements, so you may find yourself refilling sooner than later. It's eroded the trust of the very people who print the most, and enough to send you into the arms of off-brand ink makers with inconsistent quality.

With an ink tank printer, it feels like there's a handshake agreement between you and the manufacturer that nothing scummy is happening. You can watch the tanks fill when you set it up, and see them slowly drain over time while you print. While you should probably use the manufacturer’s ink for the best results, there's no path here for the company to force it. It's just ink, and both you and the company know you can just as easily buy liquid gold elsewhere.

While the Epson EcoTank ET-2980 might be more expensive than similar cartridge printers upfront, the savings are significant, and they won't take long to feel. Particularly if you don't trust printer makers because you've been burned by lousy cartridges and shady practices, you'll rest easy knowing you're getting your money’s worth. Everything else didn't give me a headache, which can't be said of every printer in my home at the moment.