Description
What The Epson EcoTank ET-3760 Is
The EcoTank ET-3760 is a color all in one inkjet printer that replaces cartridges with refillable ink tanks. Instead of clipping in a plastic cartridge, the user pours ink from a bottle into a tank built into the printer. Epson calls this cartridge free printing and uses keyed EcoFit bottles so each color can only be poured into the correct tank. The machine prints, scans, copies and connects over Ethernet, wireless or USB.
This is the format that changed inkjet economics, and it is the reason to consider the ET-3760 over a conventional inkjet such as the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820. Within the EcoTank line itself the ET-3760 sits above the smaller EcoTank ET-2720, adding an automatic document feeder, Ethernet and a larger paper tray.
Ink, Yields And The Fine Print
The consumable story is the whole argument for this printer, so it is worth separating what is stated from what is implied. The printer ships with one bottle of 502 Black at 127 mL and one bottle each of 502 Cyan, Magenta and Yellow at 70 mL. Epson states that a replacement ink bottle set contains enough ink for up to 7,500 black and 6,000 color pages, and describes that as equivalent to roughly 80 individual cartridges.
Two footnotes on the listing matter more than the headline. Epson states that part of the ink from the included bottles is used for initial setup, so the yield from the bottles in the box is lower than the yield from a replacement set. Epson also states that actual yields vary considerably with images printed, print settings, temperature and humidity, that yields may be lower when printing infrequently or predominantly in one color, and that all four colors must be available for printing and for printer maintenance. That last point is the one that catches people out: a color tank running dry can stop black printing as well.
The Savings Claim
Epson advertises savings of up to 90 percent on replacement ink. The footnote attached defines that as a comparison against the cost of enough standard capacity Epson cartridges to match the bottle yields, using manufacturer suggested prices as of February 2019, on similarly featured Epson consumer inkjet printers. That is a manufacturer comparison against a specific competing set of Epson products at a specific past date, not a general market claim, and Epson itself notes that actual savings vary considerably with print tasks and volumes.
Paper Handling, Scanning And Connectivity
The paper tray holds 150 sheets and duplex is automatic, so two sided documents print without manual flipping. A 30 sheet automatic document feeder sits above a flatbed scanner, which is the right combination for a home office: the feeder handles multi page documents and the flatbed handles books, ID cards and anything that cannot be fed. Maximum media size is 8.5 by 14 inches, and the supported sheet size list runs from 3.5 by 5 inch photo paper through letter, legal, A4, A6, half letter and executive, with a user definable option.
Connectivity is more complete than most home printers offer. Wireless covers phones and laptops, USB covers a directly attached computer, and a wired Ethernet port covers a small office network where wireless is unreliable. Epson also lists voice activated printing. The control panel is a color display, and print resolution is quoted at 4800 by 1200. For document heavy workflows the printer pairs naturally with a dedicated scanner such as the Epson ES-400 II when volume outgrows the built in feeder.
Highlights
- Refillable ink tanks instead of cartridges.
- Keyed EcoFit bottles so colors cannot be mixed up.
- Flatbed scanner plus a 30 sheet automatic document feeder.
- 150 sheet paper tray with automatic duplex.
- Ethernet, wireless and USB connectivity.
- Color display on the control panel.
- PrecisionCore print head, resolution quoted at 4800 by 1200.
- Legal size support up to 8.5 by 14 inches.
- Four separate ink tanks, so only the empty color needs topping up.
Things To Consider
The single most important line on this listing is easy to miss: the specification table marks Is Discontinued By Manufacturer as Yes. Anyone considering this printer should factor in what that means for long term driver support, firmware updates and parts, even though 502 series ink remains widely used across the EcoTank range. Elsewhere the table is unreliable in familiar ways. Item weight is listed as 4.2 ounces for a machine measuring 13.7 by 14.8 by 9.1 inches. Controller Type is listed as Android and Control Method as Voice. Scanner Type is listed as Sheetfed while the description clearly describes a flatbed scanner with a separate feeder. The additional printer functions field lists fax, which does not appear in the product name or the description.
- The listing marks this model as discontinued by the manufacturer.
- Part of the included ink is consumed during initial setup, so first fill yields are lower than replacement yields.
- All four colors must be available for the printer to operate, including for black only jobs.
- Ink tank printers dislike long idle periods, since infrequent printing lowers yields and risks head clogs.
- The 90 percent savings claim is a manufacturer comparison from 2019 with several conditions attached.
- Fax appears in one field but nowhere in the product description.
- Refilling from bottles is a manual operation and can be messy if rushed.
Who Should Buy It And Who Should Not
The ET-3760 suits a home office or small business that prints regularly in color and is tired of cartridge costs. Regular use is the key phrase: tank printers reward volume, and the machine makes most sense for someone printing a few hundred pages a month rather than a handful. The feeder, the flatbed, the Ethernet port and the duplex unit together cover most small office document work in one device, and the rest of the ink tank printers category shows how the range scales up and down.
It is the wrong printer for very low volume households, where an idle inkjet can clog and where cartridge costs never accumulate anyway. It is also the wrong choice for high volume black and white text work, where a monochrome laser such as the HP LaserJet Pro M426fdw is faster and cheaper per page, and for offices that need color laser output at speed, where a machine like the Xerox C325 is the better fit.
