Epson’s releases EcoTank printers that use cheap bottles of ink

Epson has addressed an issue that makes consumers livid: cheap printers but incredibly expensive ink refills.

Cheap bottled ink is back with Epson's new EcoTank printers. Epson claims ink will last up to 2 years and will print around 13 reams.

Epson has addressed an issue that makes consumers livid: cheap printers but incredibly expensive ink refills.

In its new EcoTank printers, you fill tanks with bottles of ink. Each bottle costs $16.99 and a set of 4 colours will typically print 13 reams of paper, lasting two years, according to Epson.

It is a move away from what has become both an annoying and counter-productive business model — namely that printer manufacturers try and make much of their revenue from sales of ink rather than printers.

As a result, many users have drastically reduced their printer use; some have abandoned it altogether.

And for years, consumers, manufacturers and third-party ink suppliers have played cat and mouse with some manufacturers losing revenue to suppliers of unauthorised ink cartridges.

Manufacturers in turn invested R & D funds into proprietary computer chips that could detect the dodgy cartridges.

If Epson’s model succeeds, it could be back to the future for other printer manufacturers. Revenue would be mostly from printer sales, rather than ink.

At a press event in Sydney today, Epson said that once you bought an EcoTank printer, most of the costs associated with printing were already paid for, bar the paper.

Epson showcased four EcoTank models: two “Expression” models target the home and two “WorkForce” models are for home office use.

“Thanks to the integrated high-capacity ink tanks, ink is supplied continuously to the printer, so there are no cartridges to replace making printing a hassle free experience,” Epson said in a news release.

Epson says its cheap bottled ink will last up to 2 years and will print around 13 reams. Bottles cost $16.99 and $24.99.

You’ll pay more for EcoTank models. The four models cost $449, $499, $599, and $699. But you get the first set of bottles thrown in, or as Epson claims, 2 years of ink. One bottle is enough to fill an ink tank, an Epson representative told The Australian.

“If required one simply tops up the tanks and continues printing without worry,” Epson says.

“Additional high-volume ink bottles can be purchased (all ink bottles only cost $16.99 each except the large black ink bottle for the ET-4550 which costs $24.99) that have a drip-free nozzle and resealable cap for easy storage.”

Bottles hold enough ink typically to print 4,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour on three of the models, and 6,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour on the fourth.

Models typically feature multifunctional print, scan, copy and Wi-Fi options and up to 2400 dpi scanning. Some offer Wi-Fi Direct for router-free printing from mobile devices.

It’s the second case of Epson replacing the ink cartridge. Earlier this year it announced commercial printers with a replaceable ink tank system, which used large plastic bags of ink.

EcoTank printers can be bought through Harvey Norman, JB HiFi, the Good Guys, and Bing Lee.