The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a small business all-in-one supertank printer with a high page yield and a very low cost per print. Its body feels sturdy, and it’s easy to get to paper jams. When you print, the output tray automatically slides out. It has an automatic document feeder (ADF) that can scan double-sided pages in two passes and a high-resolution flatbed scanner.
There are great options for both wired and wireless connections, and you can even print directly from USB flash drives. It also comes with two sets of black and color ink bottles. Even if you print a lot, these should last you a long time. But the flatbed scanner’s hinges only move up a little bit to scan thicker items, and it doesn’t support printing over Bluetooth.
1. Design
The Epson ET-5850 feels well made and has a sturdy body that makes it easy to get to paper jams from the back or from the inside by lifting the flatbed.
The two front input cassettes have sliders for different types of paper. The back input tray has a cover to close and hide it when it’s not in use, but it can feel flimsy or hard to close. The amount of ink in the tank is clear and easy to see, and when you print, the output tray slides out automatically.
You can also press the touch button for the output tray to make it slide back in when the job is done. The scanner lid stays open on its own, and the hinges can be slightly raised to scan thin things like magazines. Since the power cable can be taken off, it is easy to replace if it gets broken.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 has a great display with a quick, easy-to-use menu and good tactile feedback. On each side, there are touch buttons for Home, Output Tray, and Help, which start how-to videos for different tasks on the screen. You can see the screen well whether you’re sitting or standing, and you can also tilt it up and down.
2. Document
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 has a very low cost per print because its large ink tanks hold a lot of black and color ink and don’t need to be refilled often.
Even if you only print in black, most inkjet printers still use the color tanks for maintenance, so you may need to fill them up at some point.
The printing speeds of the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 are very good. The first page doesn’t take long to print, and each page after that is even faster.
During our first test, we got speeds that were much slower than what was advertised. After unplugging the printer for a night and testing again, we got the speeds shown above. Since then, our unit has been working fine, so we don’t think this will be a problem. However, if you own this printer and are having similar problems, let us know in the comments below.
Epson says that each of the EcoTank ET-5850’s front input cassettes can hold up to 250 sheets, for a total of 500. The back feeder has room for 50 more sheets. You can print in sizes from 2.52″ x 5.0″ to 8.5″ x 47.24″, as well as the sizes that are already set. If you set the measurements by hand, you can print on A5-sized paper.
3. Photo
The Epson EcoTank ET-5850 isn’t very good at getting colors right. It should work fine for documents and casual photos, but it’s not recommended for tasks that need professional-quality color reproduction.
4. Mobile apps and workings
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 works with the Epson Smart Panel app, which is a newer version of the Epson iPrint app that works with Epson’s most recent printers.
From there, you can print different types of files, scan directly from your phone’s camera, do maintenance tasks like cleaning the print head, aligning it, and updating the firmware, and even order ink and other supplies. You can even let guests use the printer without them having to connect to it directly.
You can print any type of file with the Android app, but you can’t print Microsoft Office or TXT files with the iOS app because the formatting doesn’t get changed correctly.
All View
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a great printer for small or home offices. It can print black text documents very quickly and has a very high page yield. Its automatic document feeder can scan both sides of a document in two passes, making it easy to handle double-sided, multi-page documents. It can also connect to a network through Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a great printer for small or home offices. It has a supertank ink system that lets you print a lot of pages for a very low cost per page. It prints much faster than most other supertank printers we’ve tested, and the speed at which it prints photos is especially impressive.
