Epson’s 3-in-1 printer lacks certain fundamental functions, yet it prints well and reduces cartridge costs by up to 90%.
Meet the Epson EcoTank ET-3850, the middle model in a new range of home office all-in-one printers. It’s a three-in-one printer that has an ADF (automatic document feeder) and refillable ink tanks rather than cartridges.
It may appear costly for a fairly standard all-in-one with no touchscreen and no dual scan mode at roughly $400 (around £360, AU$680), unless you realise that it comes with enough ink in the box to print 14,000 black and white pages or 5,200 colour. This translates to around 70 cartridges, and Epson’s bottled ink refills are very affordable to purchase. According to Epson, they are up to 90% less expensive than cartridges. Also Samsung Galaxy S22 rumors: release date, price, specs and Other details
Aside from its low operating costs, the Epson EcoTank ET-3850 may entice you with its small size, which can store 250 sheets of A4 paper and 337ml of ink. That type of capacity will allow you to print for extended periods of time before needing to refill. It is available in Arctic white in the United States and plain black in the United Kingdom, and it is accompanied by an upgraded companion software called Epson Smart Panel.
If you truly need a touchscreen, fax capability, and a front USB port, consider the step-up Epson EcoTank ET-4850. Otherwise, keep reading to find out how the ET-3850 fared in our testing.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Type: 3-in-1 color A4 inkjet printer
- Functions: Print, scan and copy
- Connectivity: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, USB
- Data storage slots: None
- Print speed: 15 ppm (mono)
- Paper capacity: 250 sheets
- Print quality: 4,800 x 1,200 dpi
- Scan quality: 1,200 x 2,400 dpi
- Apple AirPrint: yes
- Consumables included: 4x ink bottles (14,000 mono, 5,200 color)
- Dimensions/Weight: 375 x 347 x 131 mm (WxDxH)/6.7kg
Design and build
The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 is somewhat bigger than other A4 all-in-ones since it needs to oblige four genuinely enormous ink repositories, yet it conceals its mass well. It is practically cuboidal in shape with the entirety of its folds, including the ADF and shifting control board collapsing consistently away. It is shockingly light at 6.7kg and it feels a little feeble in development. Our example showed up in an imprinted container that had obviously been dropped and regardless of all the polystyrene bundling, it was to the point of making the folds of the ADF tumble off. They cut back in with no long-lasting harm, however it doesn’t feel like an exceptional item.
The ink tanks stand apart on the right side, however in different regards they are coordinated perfectly and we like the manner in which you can fill them with such ease. The ink bottles have spouts molded to enter into the right tank and open just when embedded accurately. Simply rearrange the container, curving it into spot, and watch the repository fill through the unmistakable plastic window. The ink will quit streaming when it’s full so you don’t have to stress over that.
Features and specifications
You will observe all of the essential usefulness of a work space printer present in the Epson EcoTank ET-3850, yet there are a couple of highlights missing. It has an auto duplex mode, however no duplex output mode, for example. It can print in shading or highly contrasting on any sort of clear media up to A4 size and has Wi-Fi worked in with a USB port at the back for a permanently set up association with your PC, however it doesn’t have a USB Host port at the front for stroll up printing from a thumb drive.
The 6.1cm LCD is shading, however it’s anything but a touchscreen as anyone could have anticipated at this price tag. The justification behind holding back on such elements is on the grounds that Epson isn’t bringing in its cash back later through deals of ink and consequently not sponsoring the underlying expense of the printer. The old ‘razor and cutting edge’ plan of action that worked with Epson’s spending plan cartridge inkjet printers doesn’t have any significant bearing here.
The spec-sheet is likewise a little disappointing for a similar explanation. The maximum velocity of 15ppm (pages each moment) for single-sided mono pages will be quick enough for most home clients, however it’s sluggish contrasted with a laser printer costing comparative cash. Shading prints arise at a pace of simply 8ppm. There’s space for a helpful measure of paper in the primary paper plate (250 sheets) and you can fit 30 sheets of printed paper in the out plate.
Critically, both the sweep goal and print goal are great and high at 1,200 x 2,400 and 4,800 x 1,200 dpi individually. This implies you can make exact duplicates and conceivably print sharp photographs. It prints utilizing Epson’s PrecisionCore Print Head spout arrangement which is comprised of 400 dark spouts and 128 shading spouts.
Arrangement and activity
The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 is especially simple to set up, because of Epson’s superb new Android/iOS application which strolls you through the methodology. With no touchscreen connection point of its own, composing in indulgent Wi-Fi passwords might have been a fiddly cycle, however the free Epson Smart Panel application makes your cell phone the point of interaction. Each printer has a sidekick application nowadays, however this one is the most instinctive we have gone over.
You will be provoked to fill the ink repositories with the ink provided in the container. Because of the shrewdly planned containers and tanks, we figured out how to do this without spilling a drop. It’s very fulfilling to see precisely how much ink you have in your printer. With cartridges, you never truly knew without a doubt how much was left.
The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 is likewise exceptionally instinctive in activity, particularly in the event that you are utilizing the application rather than the printer’s own shifting control board. The main somewhat irritating thing is that you must have to affirm your paper determination each time you open the paper plate and this implies looking to the highest point of the showcase and squeezing ‘near’ return to printing.
Execution
The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 performed well in our tests in general. It’s surely not the quickest inkjet around, however nor is it the slowest and the cited speed of 15pps for continuous high contrast pages is sufficiently exact. It dials right back to 6ppm in auto duplex mode, however it prints discreetly and easily.
Dark text looks satisfyingly strong and dull on plain paper. Indeed, even at tiny point measures the sort was neat through an amplifying glass with no spreading or smudging of the shade based ink. It is maybe a little weighty on ink, however with the expense of packaged ink so low, that is truly not an issue.
Full shading archives are similarly pleasing with no banding or impeding and the tones are overall quite splendid. The three color based hued inks function admirably on lustrous photograph paper as well. Despite the fact that it is planned for office obligation, it works rather as a photograph printer.
Duplicates made utilizing the flatbed scanner look amazingly devoted to the first, while the ADF is helpful for replicating numerous pages. It’s just a pity it can’t examine the two sides of the page consequently.
Last decision
Epson has contributed this three one printer impeccably at the work space. It’s generally reduced, given its high limit with respect to ink, and it has all the fundamental usefulness of a business printer ready. It’s a pity there’s no touchscreen, USB Host port or double checking, yet we would happily trade those extra elements for running expenses as low as this. With such a lot of ink in the case, the Epson EcoTank ET-3850 a larger number of than legitimizes the excessive cost tag. Above all, it prints well, and that goes for the two reports and photographs.