Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Review, Pros and Cons

Epson has released product lines for the business environment dubbed EcoTank Pro. While the public has known the excellent Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5800, it has a younger sibling known as the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850. This product boasts generous paper capacity as well as reliable print quality, allowing you to enjoy engaging printing experience in the office.

As with its counterpart, the ET-5850 is equipped with a supersized ink tank. The ability to print more pages lets you save a lot of energy and money on printing costs. As a bonus, the manufacturer offers unlimited reimbursement for 2 years of free ink if you purchase one of the products by March 31, 2021. I assure every office and business needs to check this printer out.

Professional Design with Side-Ink Tank

Professional printing and convenience are wrapped in a stylish design. The EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is well-designed with sturdy and robust construction, plus smooth lines that accentuate its sleekness to makeover your office interior. It has a rotatable control panel with a clean look, allowing you to handle each document without spending much time on the screen.

The dimensions and weight are exactly the same as its sibling. It measures 18.1 inches by 16.7 inches by 32.4 inches (H x W x D), which is quite compact for a heavy-duty printing machine. Weighing 39.2 pounds makes it safe enough to locate the printer on your desk.

The manufacturer planted an automatic document feeder on the top of the device that lets you handle double-sided documents without your intervention. It also features a 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen that supports voice-activated printing.

Epson’s ET-5850 is also designed with double input trays that extend forward, ensuring its high paper capacity. The output tray is located above the input cassettes where all your documents are organized. Additionally, you can spot the side-ink tank that enables you to refill the ink without spills.

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Capabilities

The ET-5850 boasts standard all-in-one functionalities including print, copy, scan, and fax. This machine promises high-quality output, thanks to PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology. Combined with maximum print resolution up to 4800 x 2400 dpi, it manages to deliver crisp and sharp results. With such resolution, the ET-5850 is more prominent than its counterpart that delivers up to 4800 x 1200 dpi.

Powerful copy functionality gives added point to this versatile printer. The copier supports up to 999 pages to meet the demand of small to medium businesses with a maximum copy size of 8.5 inches x 14 inches. A wide array of features such as color, black and white, multipage, 2-sided copy, and reduction-enlargement allow you to handle various office documents.

The ET-5850 also comes with a useful scanner, featuring color flatbed and ADF types. The scanner supports 1200 dpi for clean and clear scan results. With numerous features such as Scan to Cloud and Scan to the USB memory device, transferring paper documents into a digital file has never been this easy. Besides, fax functionality supports up to 550 pages with color and black-white features.

Print Speed That Won’t Make You Wait

Whenever you have a lot of files to print but don’t have much time, a slow printer can make you frustrated. When it comes to print speed, I found that the ET-5850 is a machine that won’t make you wait longer. Compared to its counterpart, the ET-5850 offers a more powerful performance with better speed.

Epson rates this printer at 25 pages per minute for ISO document, both monochrome and color. For duplex printing, I noticed the speed reduced to 21 pages per minute for both printing options. Even though it is incomparable to laser printers, the speed of the inkjet ET-5850 is excellent and is dependable for a tight deadline.

High Input Capacity

The heavy-duty printer is specifically engineered to meet the needs of small to medium enterprises. For this reason, the manufacturer has planted four input options including double paper cassettes, rear feed, and automatic document feeder. The rear feed can be used for specialized paper and is able to hold up to 50 sheets.

It also comes with cassette 1 and cassette 2, each of which can handle up to 250 sheets. It means the total input capacity of the ET-5850 is 550 sheets. But when I consider the 50-sheet automatic document feeder, the ability to hold paper has improved to 600 sheets.

A variety of paper sizes can be handled by this printer. You can use sheets as small as 2.52 x 5 inches up to legal sizes. The printer also supports borderless printing with a maximum size of 8.5 x 14 inches. The supported paper types include photo paper and presentation paper such as premium presentation paper or multipurpose paper.

The manufacturer rates its monthly duty cycle at 66,000 with recommended monthly volume up to 3,300. I should say that this rate is not impressive as other printers at similar prices offer higher monthly volume. If you run a small business, this monthly volume and duty cycle is not a significant troublemaker.

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Output Quality

A business printer needs to represent the business itself. And if you are expanding the business, the ET-5850 can be a great partner to convince your clients. It delivers print-shop quality output and is suitable for monochrome as well as color printing.

PrecisionCore printheads enable the printer to produce stunning detail with accurate colors. I found the device managed to deliver legible characters to the smallest font. This print result is more than enough for business documents such as contracts or invoices. When I tested handout and full-page graphics, flaws were hardly recognized. Ink-distribution was also quite well.

The ET-5850 allows you to print photos with impressive details and accurate colors. It also supports borderless print up to 8.5 x 14 inches for creative projects or marketing purposes. Overall, this printer is dependable for every purpose.

Supersized Ink Tank for Hassle-Free Ink Refill

Epson features DURABrite pigment-based ink which becomes the secret to its amazing print result. The machine uses EcoTank 542 ink that delivers professional quality and sharp text. Thanks to EcoFit replacement ink bottle that boasts a spill-free and hassle-free refill. Using supersized ink tanks, this printer helps minimize cartridge waste and reduces energy consumption.

The manufacturer provides replacement ink with generous yield. Black ink bottle yields up to 7,500 pages while the color ink bottle yields up to 6,000 pages. The good part of this tank innovation is that you can purchase and refill the ink separately.

I have ever said that most inkjet printers share the same problem—high running cost. But the ET-5850 is an exception as it boasts very low print cost, as low as 2 cents per color page. Compared to printers with laser toner that costs around 14 cents per color page, this printer is a perfect choice for small to growing businesses.

Myriad Connectivity and Software

Epson’s ET-5850 offers myriad connectivity options to redefine your printing experience. The standard connectivity includes hi-speed USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Lite Edition, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi Direct. The last-mentioned enables peer-to-peer connections to connect the printer to your tablets or smartphones.

Additionally, this machine also supports mobile printing capability such as Mopria, Apple AirPrint, Remote Printer Driver, and Scan to Cloud. Epson Connect and Email Print is also available to print directly from your tablets or smartphones.

Every package of the ET-5850 comes with included software such as Epson ScanSmart, Epson Scan 2, drivers, and utilities. The printer is protected by WPA2 security protocols.

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Pros and Cons

Specifically engineered to meet the demand of small to medium business, the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 gives all the printing convenience that you need. It boasts high input capacity as well as print-shop quality output to represent your business. However, this printer is not a perfect machine as it has several flaws to take into consideration.

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Pros

• Higher paper capacity

The key to improved work efficiency is high input capacity. And I can find the key on the ET-5850 as it brings a double cassette plus rear feed that enables you to load more sheets. The total input capacity of 550 sheets gives you peace of mind when printing a pile of documents. No more running out of paper while printing with a higher paper capacity.

• Impressive output quality

Your office documents represent your business and it helps clients make decisions. While choosing a random printer can put your business at risk, the ET-5850 keeps you safe with impressive output quality. This printer delivers highly legible characters, sharp and crisp black text as well as vibrant color. Whether you need to handle invoices or marketing projects, this printer is your best partner.

• Low running cost

Epson boasts supersized ink tanks for the lower running costs. The cartridge-free printer spends around 2 cents per color page, which is 80 percent lower than the laser toner cartridge. Supersized ink tank is the manufacturer’s innovation to solve high running cost problems on their inkjet printers.

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Cons

• High initial cost

Epson’s ET-5850 requires you to spend pretty pennies for the initial cost. On the market, the printer is available at $700 up to $800. But when compared to every cent you can save, this device is worth purchasing.

Final Verdict

The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a new definition of printing convenience. The machine combines a sleek and compact design with copious features to increase work productivity. Coming with cartridge-free printing, the device promises to be affordable if it cannot be called for a very low printing cost. Not to mention the high input capacity that supports work efficiency.

Overall, the ET-5850 is a simple device with a spectacular performance. It is dependable for office printing as it offers impressive output quality and easy to operate. Even though it requires a lot of money for the initial purchase, its low running cost makes you a smart buyer.