Epson is hoping to take the sting out of inkjet printer ink prices, and is tossing the printer consumables market on end at the same time. The company's new EcoTank printers come with enough ink to last years, and refills come it at a fraction of the cost of traditional ink cartridges.
Epson's EcoTank printers crank out pages for two years before they need more ink
Instead of using disposable cartridges, Epson's new printer line has built-in tanks. The company said a single tank holds about the same ink as 20 standard cartridges. Once empty, you refill the tanks and keep printing.
Epson said the tanks hold about two year's worth of ink, and refilling the tanks is surprisingly affordable compared to other printers on the market today. Refills start at US$13 each, or $52 for a full CMYK set.
The upside to Epson's new printer design goes beyond more affordable ink; it's also more environmentally friendly because there aren't scads of empty in cartridges going into the trash and landfills.
Five EcoTank printer models will ship in September: The Expression ET-2500 ($380) and ET-2550 ($400), and the Workforce ET-4500 ($430), ET-4550 ($500), and WF-R4640 ($1,200).