INKJET PRINTERS
Epson EcoTank ET-2865
Much to like, from the refillable ink tanks and thus low running costs to decent prints, scans and copies
SCORE
PRICE £194 (£233 inc VAT) uk.insight.com from
If you’ve ever owned an inkjet you’ve probably found yourself cursing short-lived cartridges, and the sheer cost of keeping the replacements coming. Refillable ink tank printers such as the Epson EcoTank ET-2865 and HP Smart Tank 7005 offer a promising answer. Although you’ll spend more to buy the printer, you fill it with bottled ink without the big markup, letting you print high volumes without fear of a steep cost per page.
The ET-2865 arrives with a full set of Epson’s 104 ink bottles. These are rated for up to 4,500 black and 7,500 colour pages, but you’ll lose a large proportion of the first set to a one-time priming process. With an anticipated subsequent yield of 3,600 black and 6,500 colour pages, the supplied ink alone lasts about ten to 15 times as long as a typical “high-yield” inkjet cartridge. That makes the ET-2865 better value than many cartridge-based multifunctions even before you have to buy any ink.