Description
What The Epson EcoTank ET-2720 Is
The EcoTank ET-2720 is the compact end of Epson’s supertank range. It prints, scans and copies, connects wirelessly, and replaces ink cartridges with refillable tanks filled from bottles. Epson describes it as the ideal basic home printer, and the specification supports that framing rather than a business one: a 100 sheet input capacity, a flatbed scanner without a document feeder, and a color display for setup and status.
Within the same family, the EcoTank ET-3760 is the step up, adding a 30 sheet automatic document feeder, a wired Ethernet port and a larger paper tray. The ET-2720 keeps the ink economics and drops the office features, which is a reasonable trade for a household.
Ink Economics, With The Footnotes Attached
Epson quotes three related figures and each has a condition attached. A replacement ink bottle set is stated to print up to 4,500 pages, described as equivalent to about 80 individual cartridges based on a comparison with Epson standard capacity cartridges as of September 2018. Up to two years of ink is quoted per set, based on an average monthly print volume of about 125 pages. Savings of up to 90 percent are quoted, based on a comparison of replacement bottle cost against enough standard Epson cartridges to reach the same yields, using manufacturer suggested prices as of February 2019.
All three are manufacturer comparisons against Epson’s own cartridge products at specific past dates, and Epson itself states that actual savings and costs vary considerably with print tasks, volumes and usage conditions. The yield footnote adds more: yields are based on a standard test pattern, vary with images printed, print settings, temperature and humidity, may be lower when printing infrequently or predominantly in one color, and all four colors must be available for printing and for printer maintenance. That final condition is the one worth remembering, because an empty color tank can prevent black printing.
What Comes In The Box
The included components list gives one bottle of 522 Black at 65 mL and one bottle each of 522 Cyan, Magenta and Yellow at 65 mL, alongside the printer, a manual, a setup CD-ROM and a power cord. Note that unlike some tank printers, all four bottles here are the same 65 mL size, so the black supply is not larger than the color supply.
Printing, Scanning And Connectivity
Print resolution is quoted at 5760 by 1440, and the maximum media size is 8.5 by 14 inches. The supported sheet size list is broad for a home printer, running from 4 by 6 inch photo paper through 5 by 7, A6, half letter, letter, A4, executive and legal, with a user definable range stated from 2.2 by 3.4 inches up to 8.5 by 47.2 inches. That long dimension covers banner printing, which is an unusual capability at this level.
Input capacity is 100 sheets and copy speed in black and white is listed at 10 pages per minute. Connectivity is wireless plus USB, with voice activated printing named among the control options. Power draw is listed at 13 watts. Epson also states a two year limited warranty with registration, with a footnote clarifying that the standard cover is 12 months or 30,000 plain paper sheets, whichever comes first.
Highlights
- Refillable ink tanks rather than cartridges.
- Keyed EcoFit bottles so colors cannot be mixed up.
- Flatbed scanner and copier built in.
- Color display for setup and status.
- Wireless printing from phones and tablets.
- Print resolution quoted at 5760 by 1440.
- Legal size support and a long user definable sheet range.
- Listed power draw of 13 watts.
- Two year limited warranty with registration.
- Compact at a listed 8.8 pounds.
Things To Consider
Before the specific errors, one general note: this printer is aimed squarely at households, and several of the omissions below are deliberate product decisions rather than data problems.
The most important gaps are features this model does not have rather than errors. There is no automatic document feeder, so multi page scanning means placing each sheet on the glass. There is no Ethernet port, so networking is wireless or USB only. There is no fax. The specification table lists Dualsided printing as Yes, but the description never mentions duplex printing and no duplex unit is described, so buyers who need automatic two sided printing should confirm that separately rather than rely on that field. Elsewhere the table lists Scanner Type as Sheetfed where the description says flatbed, print media as plain paper only despite the photo sizes listed, compatible devices as tablets only, and a battery requirement of one AA cell on a mains powered printer.
- No automatic document feeder. Multi page scans go on the glass one at a time.
- No Ethernet port and no fax function.
- Automatic duplex is claimed in one field but not described anywhere else.
- 100 sheet input capacity is small for anything beyond household use.
- All four color tanks must have ink for the printer to operate.
- Infrequent printing lowers yields and risks print head clogs.
- The savings and yield claims are manufacturer comparisons from 2018 and 2019 with conditions attached.
Who Should Buy It And Who Should Not
The ET-2720 fits a household that prints regularly in color: school work, forms, recipes, photos and the occasional document, where cartridge costs have become annoying and the printing volume is steady rather than occasional. The bottle refill model is the whole argument, and it works best for people who print something most weeks rather than twice a year.
It is the wrong printer for an office that needs a document feeder, Ethernet or fax, where the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820 or a laser machine is the better answer. It is also the wrong choice for households printing mostly black text at volume, where a compact monochrome laser such as the Xerox B230 or the Brother MFC-L2700DW costs less to run. Anyone printing photos as the main task should compare a dedicated photo set such as the Canon RP-108, and the rest of the ink tank printers category shows how the range scales.
