Epson - EcoTank Photo ET-8550 All-in-One Wide-format Supertank Printer

Try saving as a PDF from Illustrator and then printing from the PDF. I get significantly better prints from my EcoTank when I do that — like night and day. Also make sure you have all the drivers installed and up to date.

I hope someone can suggest something, but AFAIK unfortunately this is kind of just what you’re going to get with an EcoTank (for the cost-effective printing). I have two I use for my business, with the primary being an 8550 which is a 6-color printer. I was using it for greeting cards for a while but it was becoming too time consuming so I now hire those out to a local printer. They use a laser printer, though, and the colors are worse than the EcoTank. Really the next step up would be a pigment ink type of printer — that’s how you get really vibrant colors. But the prints themselves aren’t quite as durable and I’m not sure if they’d hold up as a card. There’s always a trade-off.

I use the Epson ET-8550 6 color printer. It produces excellent prints up to 13x19” and borderless too. It isn’t hard on ink so not expensive to use either. Highly recommend it. Check YouTube (Kieth Cooper / North Light Images) for reviews on printers. He really goes in deep on the nut and bolts to give complete accurate assessment on capabilities and good/bad on printers. Lots of info.

I print a test page on my ET8550 a couple time a month just to keep any issues at bay and do a head cleaning periodically if I see any problems. Using a tank based ink delivery system does away with much of the headaches of cartridges. I know I’ll NEVER go back to using cartridges again. Even my day to day inkjet is an Epson EcoTank printer, ET2800.

Back in the day, some cartridges had integrated heads. Bad design all around. I had an Epson Workforce series cartridge style printer. What a dog! Didn’t have int’g heads but I could not keep cartridges from messing up in that thing. Almost swore off Epson because of that printer, then I started looking at the ECOTANK technology. Bought the ET2800 as a test bed. Used it for nearly a year and never once had any issue short of an occasional head cleaning (seemed to be YELLOW that gave me the most problems). When the ET8550 was marked down for BF a couple of years ago, I took the gamble based on what I saw using the ET#800. Best gamble I ever made.

Second the choice of the Epson ET8550. I bought one a couple of years ago and do my own prints, everything from 8x10 to 13x19 (max size). Even did a trial run of a landscape panorama I created on 13” wide roll paper (cut to 48” long) and it was fantastic looking. As to longevity of the prints, under glass and not left in strong direct sunlight, estimated to last several decades. Kieth Cooper (on YouTube) will give you more detailed information about the ET8550 and printers in general than you can imagine. The man’s a printer guru! You can watch his review of the information about the processes used to make this longevity claim here https://youtu.be/AzESi8ecgiQ?si=2byKfnmJo4RhDJ0L The ET8550 is very economical to use. I’ve done lots of prints and just recently needed to refill the tanks. Luckily I bought a couple complete sets of bottled Epson ink at the same time as the printer as ink prices have gone up so a full set of 6 inks needed is now around $130 but unless you going into printing commercially, should last for over a year. The supplied ink that comes with the printer will last quite a while. eBay has some good deals but be careful you’re getting ACTUAL Epson ink. Even at these prices, Epson ink is one of the least expensive sets of ink on the market. I highly recommend you do not use 3rd party inks with the ET8550, not because they don’t work (probably will but I’ve spent to much time perfecting my color calibration to chance it) but because you don’t know the standardization of the ink itself and in doing so, you could throw all your good efforts for color calibration out the window. I recommend you read up on color calibration, as you may want to use color profiles with this printer to achieve near perfect color rendering. I use DataColor’s full suite of tools (software and hardware sensors) to calibrate my monitors and printers to standardized samples. All of my papers I use are calibrated to Epson inks and unless they are actual Epson OEM papers, I create an ICC color profile that is loaded in the printer. My prints come out looking exactly how they look on any of my stack of four color calibrated 27” UHD monitors. Hope this little missive helps anyone who’s looking for a good photo printer.

Mainly price. The ET8550 was on sale at Amazon for a bit over $500 during BF a couple years ago. Haven’t been sorry at all. Even got the additional extended warranty for 5 years (IIRC). So far it’s been an exemplary performer for my printing needs.

I have had issues getting things to come out as I want but only have had to ‘take what I could get’ a few times. I don’t shoot what you might call ‘fine art’ images, more a general purpose of landscapes and street style. The ET8550 does a fabulous job in that respect for my own wall hangings and photo albums plus I give them as gifts to family and friends.

I have the Epson ET-8550 6 color photo printer (13” x 19” max prints) and print my own work. I also use Datacolor’s suite of calibration tools to ensure all devices in my workflow are calibrated to the same standard so what I see on my display is what I see on my final prints. Unless you plan on making 100’s to 1000’s of prints, this is the way to go since you have ultimate control. If you plan to hang the prints I’d recommend using UV resistant glass/plexiglass coverings if hanging in areas of direct sunlight unless you opt for using pigmented inks. Myself I use the standard dye inks.

I’ve got the EPSON ET-8550 6-color photo printer and I really like the results. It runs around $600 and a full reload of all 6 bottles of bulk ink runs around $130 unless you happen to find it on sale like I did last year and bought up a large stock. It lasts for an extremely long time unless you’re constantly printing large prints. I refill about every 8-10 months and tend to print on a periodic basis in sizes up to 11x14”. The max paper that it can handle is 13 x 19” unless you hand feed longer sheets 13” wide and up to 79” long, like for panoramas. It’s a nice setup but you’re definitely not going to get it for $200 unless you happen to find a used one on eBay or such. There is the ET-8500, a smaller version (LTR size paper I believe) but not sure how much or the specs. Go to EPSON.COM where you can get specs and docs to review.

It uses ink tank's father than cartridges. Has a photo black and grey as well. I regularly print 11x14 with great quality. Qimage ultimate software on a pc let's you print multiple sizes or copies on one sheet of paper. So an 8 1/2 by 11 can do several 2 x 3 and a 4x6 for example.

I'm currently using an Epson ET8550 all in one printer. Does great photos and uses ink tanks, so no cartridges to dry up. I do lots of 4x6 and some 8x10. Occasional 11x14 as well. Theres a program Qimage Ultimate that lets you print multiple copies or mixed sizes on one sheet of paper. So 2 wallets and 2 4x6 on one sheet.

Print lots of photos on my Epson ET-8550. Six ink colors.

I am on my second ET-8550. The first one ran for 4 years perfectly until it gave me a paper jan error message which I eventually found was caused by a roller jamming the feeder bar. I was unable to find a fix so I purchased a second printer. Now I am finding that the new printer produces poorer quality prints particularly with contrast tones. I have tried all kinds of adjustments to the image without much luck. When you compare prints side by side you can see a significant difference. Anyone has a solution for this, of a source for replacement parts particularly the paper feed roller bar for my previous printer?

The et-8550 is incredible, I can’t recommend it enough.

I have this printer and I love it! It’s done an amazing job for me. From prints to stickers to mini comics and zines! Great workhorse, a little slow when it comes to multiple prints per minute at the highest color quality but other than that a great investment all the way

You're asking about price per print, *including* the amortized cost of the printer. In the long run, ink and paper costs always dominate. Short term however, the price of the printer dominates. A more expensive printer, such as the Epson ET8550, will have very good long term cost, but the initial investment is steep. A less expensive printer, such as a Canon SELPHY, will have a modest initial price, but price per picture adds up much faster. The least expensive printer is Walgreen's, with no up-front cost, but high ongoing cost. A second consideration is quality. The more expensive the printer, the higher the print quality. The ET8550 will outperform Walgreens, producing richer colors and more detail. A professional printer such as the Canon Pro 1200, will be even better. The SELPHY does not match Walgreens. And then there's effort. Walgreens takes your JPEGs and prints them. SELPHY does, too. But a dedicated printer will require some fiddling with a computer to get good results. On the flip side, you get to play with various paper types and sizes. But make no mistake, this is extra effort. Personally, I went with a Canon Pro 200, which is roughly equivalent to the Epson ET8550, but cheaper to buy and more expensive to operate. It's all a matter of how much do you intend to print. I also have a much cheaper Epson XP8500, which prints better photos than the SELPHY, for less money, but can't match the Pro 200. I also have a SELPHY, which is nice for what it is, but can't match Walgreen. And I have an INSTAX printer, which fits in my pocket and prints adorable little polaroids. But quality can't match even the SELPHY. Depending on your needs, all of the mentioned printers are a good purchase. In your case, I'd probably recommend the Epson XP8800 as a cheap, good quality photo printer. You'll be able to buy six full ink replacements before you'll reach the cost of the ET8550, which should take several years. If you'd like to splurge, the ET8550 is definitely the better printer, with lower ink costs. And keep in mind that ink is only one part of the running costs. It's easy to get swept up in the marketing that an ecotank printer makes printing "free". But that's ignoring paper costs, which in my experience dominate printing costs in the long run. First party paper is reliable and good, but offers only limited variations. Third party paper requires matching printer profiles, which can be hard to come by for non-professional printers such as the XP8800 (but some paper manufacturers (Photospeed) profile for free, and there are cheap services for creating bespoke profiles).

I have the ET-8550 and I am absolutely loving it.

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I use the ET-8550 and I deliver professional prints with it daily. I have never had even my most discerning customers seem dissatisfied. At its price per print, I don't think there's anything else that I might even remotely consider unless my business somehow quadruples magically. It's more than enough for a small business pro photographer, and is THE choice in my opinion. This comes from someone with a very unique position of working for cool Best Buy managers who basically let me print on every printer we get coming through, even the returned $1,500 Canons. I can't tell the difference between the Canon and the Epson for quality. Their color is slightly different for most things, and Canon is very warm sometimes.

Wow did not expect so many responses and questions. Let me say that I am still in the middle of experimenting with many different things, not to mention I am only just now getting to the stage of playtesting a full deck of my proxies. I will pull some of the general questions and answers into this comment. **Paper/Print:** At the moment after testing paper and print settings on an Epson 8550 I have settled on using Canon double sided matte photo paper with the print quality setting at standard. The eventual hopeful goal is to be able to play straight paper cards, I do not know if that will be possible with an inkjet printer due to the way the ink and paper interact. I choose to print backs as well purely out of personal preference with an eye towards unsleeved play. **Finish:** For spray finish I am balanced between Minwax oil based polyurethane warm satin two light coats, rotating the paper 90° between coats, then Minwax water based polycrylic matte for a final coat has the best feel/shuffle of a card. The reverse order and coat numbers for the best look of a card. I wish to try the polycrylic in satin but I can't budget that yet. If the above commander deck tests well with wear/play I will print out another deck for testing of the opposite combo. **Cutting:** I am going to cut them after finishing with a guillotine style cutter with the blade sharpened at a roughly 24/25° single bevel edge. Depending on how they cut I might double bevel the edge to a roughly 30° angle. **Corners:** I haven't even touched on rounding the corners yet. I will see how much of a pain it is to use scissors to manually round the corners, if its too much of a pain I will try one of those corner rounders. **Cut edge:** After that I plan to use a sharpie to blacken the cut, in the future I might use an ink pad instead. Then I will stack, compress and hit the edges with a light coat of finish to seal them. **Thickness:** A basic swamp from onslaught measures .28 mm on my calipers. The same printing on my double sided canon matte photo with a spray finish measures at .25 mm. There is a variance of +/- .02 mm or so, since too much force will start to compress the paper itself. Also I might accidently go heavier or lighter on the spray finish due to human error

Canon 63lb double-sided matte photo

At the moment for double sided printing I am going with Canon 63lb Double-sided Matte Photo. Then I coat with finishes. I am still experimenting, but its close enough that I was willing to print out a full commander deck for play/stress testing. I was using canon 45lb single sided matte photo then gluing the back side with the same paper to it. Too much of a pain in my rear for me to continue. Some of the prints that I glued are having a reaction 2 weeks later to the oil based finishes and yellowing (I half expected that to happen or that the glue would fail due to the oil base). That combo makes a card that is a bit too thick/heavy once you put a finish on it.

MTGProxyPrinter, Epson 8550 using Canon 63lb double-sided matte photo paper. Epson print settings: Semi gloss photo setting, quality set to standard print. 2-sided printing settings: Manual (Long-edge binding), left long edge binding, back page binding margin adjusted by .3 mm. Color Correction: Brightness 3, Contrast -3, Saturation 3, Density -3 I am unfortunately no expert when it comes to color correction fine tuning. I got as close as my wallet/skills could afford for the moment. I keep hoping someone who is more of an expert in color correction will chime in with a better profile. The cards are close enough but anyone who really looks will see they are slightly off. Its close enough that I felt I could move on to testing a full deck with what I have.

I use an epson 8550 with decent results. This [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicproxies/comments/1ij7pip/paper_test_summary_list_with_links_epson_8550/) has a few links to different paper test posts with photos. I should note the epson 8500 is functionally identical to the 8550 but limited to max width of 8.5in u/UnguIate has a canon pro-1100, here is a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicproxies/comments/1lgg18e/comment/mz28fs4/?context=3) with some of his results.

I personally am an inkjet guy, but if you go with a thermal type laser you get access to Koehler black cored paper that replicates a real card snap. I can't help on a best recommendation for laser though. If your family will occasionally do photo prints as well you might consider an epson 8500 or its larger brother the 8550. I use the 8550 for my proxies but my gf uses it for her photography as well. Its a very capable printer, and having the black document ink in addition to pigment black really helps on refills if you are doing a fair amount of plain document prints. Ink is very affordable and my proxies run $0.015USD per single face cards or roughly $0.135 per page of epson brand ink. It may matter or it may not to you but the 8500/8550 is also capable of printing on 1.3mm foam board from the rear slot. Here is a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicproxies/comments/1ij7pip/paper_test_summary_list_with_links_epson_8550/) with various papers I have tested with my 8550 in addition to several links to other posts by fellow proxy makers. Edit: For the record I was unable to get successful prints on my 8550 using an inkjet on black core card stock to justify the price, furthermore what is widely sold as "cardstock" from most manufacturers is not a true cored playing card stock. I have been told that swapping over to a full pigment based ink on my 8550 would allow me to print, or alternatively if I prepped with a product called "inkaid" I could get reasonable prints. However I have never seen a post with photos about either of them in use.

Concur! Im going on 2 years with mine and it's very good.

I’ve had the 8550 for 2 years and it is hands down the best printer I’ve ever owned. It has always been easy to use and the prints are beautiful!

I have an et-8550 as well. To get the best out of it you'll need to calibrate your monitor and create a print profile. I got a spider print and a spyder 4 for this and the prints are bloody good :)

>Epson 8550 (or 8500 in the USA, the same thing). Agree, it's a great choice. Since the OP /u/SecureRich1212 wants to make 13 x 19" prints, I'd recommend sticking with the Epson ET-8550. It can go up to that size. The Epson ET-8500 max print size is 8.5 x 11." Maybe it's different outside the U.S.? I know the product names are sometimes changed depending on the location. You're right, they're pretty much the same printer aside from that. I also recommend checking out if the ET-8550 is available on Epson Certified ReNew before buying if they're in the U.S. Full price is $749.99. Certified ReNew price is $479.99. I bought an Epson Fastfoto FF-680w photo scanner as Certified ReNew and it was in like-new condition with all the accessories.

Take 83 real magic cards and measure the thickness of those. You're down in the dirt of what the caliper can measure. They are very precisely 12 mils / 0.30 mm.

63# is 240 gsm which is a little light and no snap so I would image it feels quite flimsy. Maybe the spray coating helps? A real card is \~320 gsm, 12 pt (mils) thick, and has a plastic "stop-light" core that is tinted blue and gives the card "snap". You can buy ink-jet paper that is 12 mils thick but it still doesn't feel like a card because it doesn't have the core. I considered trying to use double-sided lamination inside-out and putting paper on it on both sides. Basically manually assembly a core and glue the paper on but decided against it.

I looked at a large number of printers and also selected the ET-8550 eco tank. The rear flat feed unfortunately has a lot of variance in how it pulls the paper in but you can feed sheets for cards from the top. I wrote a fancy python script that produces proofs and among other things, it reads the edge color from the scyrfall json data and adds bleed using Inkscape then prints to a pdf to make the sheets. If it's a borderless card then it does no bleed and you just have to cut it perfect. If you're going to sleeve them then you don't need to bother printing the backs. I've have had trouble getting the backs to line up well for double-sided cards; still working on that. Something in my code or printer is off by ⅛". While the matte paper has a tighter ink capture I like using [this Uinkit heavy double-sided gloss paper](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PFMY8T3) as it's 300 gsm (but no core so still flimsier than a real card). It's designed for brochures. The gloss paper lets you skip a finish coat which can be problematic and makes the process take that much longer. You cannot spray the gloss paper, I tried, they interact and it goes bad and smears everything. Most information about the cards and their size, thickness, et. al. on the Internet is close but wrong with the exception that (non-foil) cards are very precisely 12 pt (mils) thick as the paper-company is responsible for that not the print-house. Magic cards **are not** imperial. The first ones were made in Belgium and they have always been metric otherwise known as "European Playing card" sized. (Go get a caliper and measure them.) The corner cut is 2.5 mm. I measured it to 1/9600^(th) of an inch. I found a 63 mm x 88 mm [heavy-duty ID card cutter](https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/88-63mm-R3-playing-card-die_1601048626398.html). It takes a little practice but once you get going it's way faster than using a paper-cutter and 4x corner-cuts and getting a [corner-rounder the correct radius](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G2QUZO2) is already $45. You can get a [cheap corner-rounder for $12 that is 3mm](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076FJ7SS). If you're going to do a lot of cards, especially if you go with the thick paper, I highly recommend the heavy-duty cutter. Very useful for cubes. When you're all done you can make a nice looking card for about $0.30 each. The proxy printers are better since they are printing on at least black (if-not blue) core playing-card stock but once you double-sleeve them you can't tell the difference. PS As a layman messing around, this printer is awesome. Check out this [13" x 19" paper](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QBZ4S83) for printing photos. you can get cheap 13" x 19" frames on amazon as well.

ET8550 here, good quality prints, eco tank is easy on the ink too

Ours came from ebay a new model with no ink included for $499 they are there! Maybe cheaper ours had a $15 coupon

The best option is an et-8550, but doing professional level wide format printing isn't really something you pull off with a $200 budget. The printer will run you far more than that, and while the OEM inks are more economical than most other options, they are dye based and will still limit you to certain papers if longevity is required (it should be if you are selling). Add to that the fact that there's still somewhat of a learning curve so the consumption will be higher as you learn what works and what doesn't. But yeah, Epson ecotank 8550.

When Epson ET 8550 & 8500 first came out, I couldn't find one for months. I finally was able to get the smaller 8500, and I jumped on it. I'm still able to print amazing 8.5 x11 photo printers. They look amazing. I kind of wish I would have waited for the 8550, to be able to print 13x19 photos, but I haven't needed to, outside of two projects Refillable ink is amazing. And the pictures truly come out better than anything I've been able to have printed at office max, office depot, or some of the local shops near me

I will preface this by saying this is by far the easiest, cheapest to use, and quality printer I have ever seen, on a per dollar spent basis. I use this printer for my printing business, and customers are satisfied with the quality. It doesn't produce fluorescent colors, but for CMYKG + Pigment Black (this is a dye/pigment hybrid printer), it is pretty great. However, it does not come without it's limitations. Pros: 1. It's an ecotank. The ink comes in bottles, which is way cheaper than cartridges, so you do not feel guilty about making prints. With this printer, you'll actually spend multitudes more on paper than you will ink. You are not vendor-locked by the ink, but I still use the ink from Epson to insure that I get the best prints possible (there's no reason not to if the ink is already cheap). 2. It can print up to A3+ Borderless Prints (13"x19") 3. The Epson Print Layout software makes visualizing what the print will look like easy before it's actually printed 4. The colors are vibrant and accurate (albeit that the colors are within gamut capabilities of the printer, which most of the time they are unless you are printing fluorescent 100% saturated colors that can only be seen on a screen) 5. You can print through the local network, or print directly to the printer's native network. Either one works great. 6. There is a guy named Keith Cooper who runs a channel called North Light images, who has basically documented everything about this printer you could imagine, and who has saved my ass on multiple occasions by providing very niche solutions to user-error problems I have run into while operating this printer. 7. You can convert this into a sublimation printer using sublimation ink from Epson. I have not done this, as I do not make clothing for my designs; however I've seen many people use this printer for that purpose. Cons: 1. The manual feed in the back of the printer does not produce accurate print layouts. I have tried and tried and tried again to get prints to come out correct in the manual feed, but they always come out skewed rotationally. The only thing you need the back of the printer for is to print on very thick board that you cannot bend through the top of the printer. A little unfortunate that I can't print on thick board because of the skewing issue, but at least the printer can print on up to 300gsm paper through the top normally. It can print on thinner card stock through the top of the printer though that is somewhat more stiff than regular paper, but less stiff than board. 2. Every once in a while (about 1 every 50 prints), it will disconnect in the middle of a print and cancel for no clear reason. I have not figured this one out yet. Grey area between pro and con: 1. Airprint is not the same thing as the native printer driver from Epson. You need the driver directly from the Epson website for Epson print layout to work. Do not install Airprint if you wish to utilize EPL, which makes printing specific sizes/finishes/etc easier. Thankfully, Keith Cooper the guy I mentioned above, had a video on this specific topic and got EPL working on my Macbook. 2. It cannot print above 13" wide. I wish there was a version of this printer that could print up to 17", or 24" so I could make larger posters instead of only medium sized ones, but we are unfortunately stuck with 13" prints for now. For those who are curious, the paper I have in the photos is 11"x17" Canson Infinity Photosatin RC paper, which is a luster finish paper. It produces deep blacks and colors without the harsh reflection you get from glossy paper. It's hard to F up a print with this paper unless you use the wrong settings. These are also my own designs that I am showing. Conclusion: I would say this printer is 9/10 for artists looking to make prints of their artwork. Hope this was helpful.

Artists are not known for having exactly a lot of money to spend- I said at the beginning of this post it’s the best printer for artists *on a per dollar spent basis*. If you have an alternative option which is better that you think costs less over the long term which doesn’t sacrifice quality, then please mention the manufacturer and model. I am basing this off my own experience of using this, and I’m not claiming it’s the best printer. I’m saying that contextually for artists, this will save you an immense amount of money over the long term and that’s why it makes it the best.

Hello! I have been using my Epson EcoTank 8550 for three years now and I love it. Where I used to get prints for my projects I now know used a laser printer an there was this lovely sheen on it, not quite glossy, but not matte either Has anyone had any luck with a paper/settings/laminate that creates this effect from an inkjet? The closest I have gotten is Red River Paper's Big Bend Baryta 310 but unfortunately that only comes in a one-sided sheet, not double sided. Thanks in advance for any leads!

I recommend getting an Epson Ecotank! I decided to go with the Epson ET 8550 to print art for a market. Similar to you, I thought printing my own art would be cheaper than ordering prints. I'm really pleased with the quality of the prints. They're very vibrant. I ended up doing a video review on YouTube. I can send you the link if you want to check it out.

Epson ET-8550. I could say a lot about it, but there's a ton of reviews. It's a great all-around printer factoring in print quality, price, cost of ink, versatility, and ease of use. Can't recommend it enough.

It handles different paper types really well too. Very much not finicky. And the Epson print app is super easy across ecosystems.

You’re not getting one for $200.  The Epson et-8550 is a fantastic entry to printing. It’s got a hybrid pigment/dye system and tanks of ink so you don’t bankrupt yourself learning to use it. I’ve had mine for about 4 weeks, now, and it’s a really impressive printer.

The Epson et-8550 is fantastic for this!  Keith Cooper recommends it as the printer to get for folks who want to _get into_ printing. I got one on that recommendation, and I’ve been really pleased. The tank-style ink means it’s way cheaper than cartridge-based printers while you learn printing. I can print 8x12 photos for about half the cost of mpix. Check out Keith’s YouTube, he is some sort of printing wizard and he has tons of content on this printer

came here to say this, seemed the most popular a few years back when I got mine and it's been great, and can handle the size OP wants and super thick cardstock too. On nice paper quality has been as good if not better than cheap printing services I've used before, and it's hard to beat that rapid turnaround! consistently on sale for black friday, too, if you can wait a bit

I have the Epson xp15000 and love the prints. But if I were doing it over I would probably get the 8550 due to the lower ink costs over time. It costs about $120 to replace all 6 cartridges on the 15000. B and H has both on sale right now for really good prices.

I have an Epson EcoTank 8550 and I love it! The quality is excellent for art prints and the ink tanks are so easy to manage as it warns you when you should order more etc. Which photo paper do you use for photographs? I’d like to print some because I got a little camera recently but I’m not sure which paper to get.

Third the ET - 8550 current sitting on 23 decks and I'm terrible at all of them :) I'm using [danyeaman](https://www.reddit.com/user/danyeaman/) paper recommendation of: [Uinkit Heavyweight Photo Glossy Brochure Paper 300GSM](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicproxies/comments/1iibyai/uinkit_heavyweight_photo_glossy_dblsided_brochure/) I use a bambulab printer for the deck boxes: [https://makerworld.com/en/models/401879-mtg-commander-display-deck-box-magic-the-gathering#profileId-353675](https://makerworld.com/en/models/401879-mtg-commander-display-deck-box-magic-the-gathering#profileId-353675) For sleaves I'm just getting dragon sleeves off amazon.

I have the PRO-200 it is excellent overall, easy to maintain, cheap to run, outstanding at color photos, can make great black & white, but you have to experiment with it. It is slow to prints, as expected for a photo printer. For a photo printer it is better. The Epson ET8550 eco-tank can double as a regular printer, it is much faster, and insanely, like out of this world cheap per print, it is almost free. The PRO-200 still will actually do a better job at B&W text, but it is just so slow, like 2ppm if that that for documents, while the Epson says 15ppm, which is still not super fast compared to laser B&W printers, but manageable. SO they are kind of different in purpose, but I know they get compared.

The sure color and some canons have expensive pigment inks and should be “better” but the et-8550 definitely is the best tank based printer. Been loving mine.

For OP - this one is recommended by Keith Cooper and has the best mix of value, longevity, and image quality. I own one and love it.

I just bought this printer and, so far so good but maybe you can help with something. I have been trying to figure out what paper it will take where. The user manual lists all sorts (are Epson brand papers really any different from anyone else's?) but under Cardstock it only lists Card Stock 1 (0.024 - 0.031 in) and 2. Nobody seems to sell cardstock in inches or cms so how do you figure out what weight 0.0024" is? Thank you!

I did so much research for this. I’ve been selling my original paintings for a year now with success so I have a good feeling prints will do well also. I ended up with an Epson Et-8550. It was like $650 and lm very happy. Quality is nice, it has zero issues with the thick paper I use. I’ve printed about 50 full pages of color and I’m not even a quarter of the way through the ink I did the math on if I sell a print for $20 I only have to sell 32 of them in its LIFETIME to pay for itself. My first event to actually be selling them is this weekend though so I’ll have to hope there is as much interest in the lower priced prints as my originals.

Epson’s XP800 is one of the cheaper inkjet pigment printers out there. It will give you “okay” quality photo. If you’re picky about your photos, you may actually be disappointed. You will start getting better results once you cross $600 USD price point (Epson ET-8550 or similar). But for top quality, you can easily exceed $1,200 for an inkjet pigment printer. ALL inkjets require weekly printing or the ink will dry and clog your printheads. Once clogging starts to happen, the quality of your print jobs starts to diminish. Unfortunately, there’s no way to escape this issue with inkjets if they sit idle for a few weeks. So, exercise ‘em or die. A possible solution involves some compromises - buying a monochrome (B&W) laser printer for all your documents as lasers don’t suffer from clogging issues and can sit idle for months. Then send all your photo jobs to your local photo print lab: CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc., if you are in the U.S. But similar labs exist elsewhere. Once you consider the cost of entry + special paper + pigment ink of various colors, it is honestly really hard to beat the quality and cost per photo from these photo labs. Food for thought.

hey man i know super old thread, but your threads on different photo papers have been a life send to me. I also have an 8550, but I use mine to print my photography. I've been experimenting with LOTS of paper.

My vote goes for Epson ET-8550. Much cheaper ink comparing to the SC P-700 with some drawbacks. Here is a good channel with opinions and reviews of an expert. More info to make a buying decision than you'll ever want . [https://www.youtube.com/@KeithCooper](https://www.youtube.com/@KeithCooper) He talks about comparable Canon printers as well.

Steady preasure on the guide while feeding card in from the back seemed to sort out the skew for me. The guide isnt very firm and I guess it just gets pushed enougth to skew the print as the card goes in without me supplying some pressure on it. I've been printing on 1mm thick A4 card like this and it has been suprisingly consistant with a 3mm border all around (Sadly I couldnt convince it to print to the edge).

It's well documented that the printer is very picky when it comes to paper. There have been widespread reports of roller indentations on thicker papers, even after the firmware update. The top paper feeder can also be a bit finicky with loading thicker papers although I believe this is not as common. I've also experienced paper marring from the top tray intake roller although this is definitely outside the norm.

If it’s living on your desk then a standard photo printer would give you the best results. The Epson ET-8500/8550 is very popular for the low ink costs. Pigment printers like the Epson P700/900 and Canon imageprograph series are considered a step up in quality but the running costs will also be higher, If you’re only ever going to be printing 4x6 then the Epson 8500 Wild be my recommendation.

These are over the OP's 400 budget. Nice printers, i have the 8550 and love it's quality.

Yes. I have the Epson ecotank with the extra photo black ink. As long as I use good quality paper it gives me incredible prints and does not cost an arm and a leg for ink.

One of the best consumer-level printers for photography with somewhat accessible ink is the Epson EcoTank ET-8550. If it's within your budget, I would highly recommend it. You generally only need to print once a week to avoid any significant clogging, and it also comes with a 2 or 3-year warranty. Plus, it can produce something like 300-400 A3 prints before you need to refill its ink. Later on, if you wanted to switch things up, you could even use a third-party pigmented ink for photography, which can be cheaper and better overall for longevity of the print. You might lose a bit of color vibrancy and contrast (since the original dye ink is often better for that on glossy paper), but you'll gain much better UV/fade resistance in return.

I'm, sorry, but at least the 8180 or the 8550 are not, it would require someone to take a good look to see a difference. And most of the time would be in some colors like violet. This guy for example would die defending his 8550: [https://www.youtube.com/@KeithCooper](https://www.youtube.com/@KeithCooper) If someone is trying to learn start to print, the 8180 or 8550 would be the best choice. Editing in lightroom, then seeing how it show up after printing, then editing again... doing some work with icc profile. All of this while the ink price at a fraction of the cost. And another video with print comparasion: [https://youtu.be/VJcnMxcLQt4?t=1031](https://youtu.be/VJcnMxcLQt4?t=1031) (I'm not saying that this is proof because it's a video there is a lot of colors that the camera don't capture...) But anyway, it should not be a huge difference. Anyway if you want to say "garbage" at least say what model would you compare it for, and what cost would be per a3 print in ink.

You can't really have auto duplex and photos with entry level printer. Brother does not have good offering for photos printers. Double sided printing is usually not a thing that comes with printers focused on photos like the canon G5XX/G6XX series (3 digits not 4). However, if you are printing something just good enough and not almost pro level. I would recommend canon G6XXX Series. However if you want to print for something to sell and has some sale value, with printing media that does not accept pigmented ink, with double-sided printing. There is only the Epson 8500/8550(with ink tank)(but you should not be using it for printing documents, only photos/stickers, because it's ink cost is a lot higher, because it is a pro level ink). Anyway what i really recommend is. Canon G6XXX series for general use. Canon G6XX Series for photos only. You can't have both worlds in the same printer. Edit: If you don't need automatic duplex printing, then epson ET 2800 is perfect for both entry level photos, and documents, it's ink is cheaper... However, it can leave deeper roller marks on some types of photo papers, as it is not designed as a photo printer(same as the G6XXX series). But the type of ink that it uses, can work in all types of papers (unless is paper for laser printer).

Roller marks problem how to fix: Get better quality paper (also some printers if you select thick paper on configurations, also make it leave less roller marks, don't know if this is the case). Or Get a printer that is more focused for photos. (right now the cheapest are the canon G5/6XX series). If you don't find them, then the Epson ET8500/8550 (they do still leave some roller marks but with better quality paper they are fine). Or the epson ET 8100/18100 (it's ink does not have lightfastness). I only recommend ink tank printers for most uses cases. If you are going for pro level printing and going to sell them for high price then there are the Canon Pixma Pro Line, and Epson Surecolor p700/900. About your brother, well i don't recommend because it's a cartridge printer(seriously this black that you used could easily be like 3-5% of all of it's black ink). I would return if still possible. And purchase any ink tank.(If you won't print like 40+ documents pages or 5+ photos a month then it's a fine printer, more than this only if you convert it for ciss or use somekind of compatible cartridge). Edit: Ohh and about consumer level printer that you want mostly for documents, and then some photos. Canon Megatank GXXXX series. And Epson ET 2/4XXX series, then you will compare price and what they offer, like duplex, in case of epson a4 borderless as well. IF you want fewer features but better photos, some epson have 4 dye ink that are better for printing on cheaper glossy ink (you can check if their black tank is the same size as the colored tanks, if it is the same size then it's ink is dye).

Epson ET 4800 or Canon G 6XXX/7XXX series. If you ever go to glossy sticker paper, it will not use blacks, but mix the CMY to from a somewhat black color so it's not great. In this case there is four choices. Get only a ET 2800 and don't have resources like auto duplex and a4/latter borderless, and is slower, but can print in almost any media. Get a ET 4800 but fill the black ink with a dye ink and maybe lose warranty (but it does not have any type of risk for the print if you get a good quality black/use even the original one from the et 2800, you will need just to fill it using a syringe, just remember to never use both type of inks together, you will need to have dye ink from the start at the system, and leave the pigmented ink aside) Get a cheaper ET 2800 for these type of papers and G6XXX if you need auto duplex for documents. Get an ET 8550/8500 for great quality photos/stickers and a G6XXX for the documents. However, with the ET8550 you can offer a lot more of products and printing media, as it is almost a great almost pro level photo printer. EDIT: with the et 8550/8500 you can print on media with up to 0.7mm thickness or 500gsm, so it's a beast.

The only way to do this job is with ink tank printers. The only thing that you need to do is to print a page with all colors one time a week. (WHY IS THIS SO HARD?). Anyway the downside is so small (priting one page a week). For all the cost and perfomance that there is no way that laser is a better solution. And again no laser printer for less than $2000 usd will do a job close to an entry level ink jet printer with the right paper. About printers. You will need a photographic printer/good paper so it does not get lines (if you are talking about lines from the rollers that pull the paper). If it's lines from priting quality then this don't happen even with entry level if you have the right configuration. About printers i can only recommend, ET 8550/ET 8500 or Canon G5XX G6XX lines (with only 3 digits these are photographic printers). If you want less lines from rollers, but again need good quality paper aswell. Their ink are more expensive, but have the same quality of pro level printers that has ink that can last for 20 years+. Edit: If lines that you are talking about is not roller marks, but lines from “missing ink”. Then the fault lies on you, and even g5020 is almost perfect for what you are doing.

The ecotank et-8550 might be what you want. I have the previous version of this, the 7550, and it makes great prints, handles larger paper well, and the photo prints look great.

The ecotank et-8550 might be what you want. I have the previous version of this, the 7550, and it makes great prints, handles larger paper well, and the photo prints look great.

beast of a printer. amazing machine.

Does it need to be like a pro printer with the colorfast pigment inks? If not, the Epson ET 8550 is fantastic. It prints up to 13x19, the prints are GORGEOUS, and it has ink tanks instead of cartridges so you can print for ages before replacing ink. Its only drawback is that it uses regular dye inks so not technically colorfast, although it would take decades to fade. So, I wouldn't use it to make expensive art prints to sell, but for hanging stuff around the house, it's perfect, and it's less than $700 USD

Epson EcoTank 8550. Thank me later.

I only use it for covers and colour inserts. at 50k warranty its a bit flimsy on durability. If i used it for text it'd be dead within the year. The price of paper for my inserts makes my eyes water each time i hit buy too. Its ok for what it is.

The best way is to clean the jet heads once a month or so. To prevent the buildup of a blockage. The regular clean cycle on my 8550 seems adequate and doesn't use much ink. I really like my 8550. I wrote in a user review that it is the most satisfying inkjet printer I have ever used.

Maybe the Liene? I don't know, I'm looking at two photos in front of me, and honestly, they're almost indistinguishable from each other, but the Liene looks ever so slightly punchier, but that might be due to the fact that the Canon prints I have are a couple years older than the ones from the Liene. I would say that quality is not a distinguishing factor between the two of them. As an aside, I also print with an Epson 8550, and a Canon 1100, and the 4x6's from those inkjets absolutely blow both the Selphy and the Liene out of the water as far as quality. The big advantage of these little 4x6 printers is their portability and being able to print "in the field" so to speak.

I have a very strong recommendation for the Epson 8550. I also have the Canon 1100, and while it's an amazing printer, it costs more to operate, and it's much more temperamental in use than the Epson. I can coax slightly better gradients out of the Canon, but it takes more work and test prints to get there, and I doubt anyone other than me could even tell the difference. The big advantage of the Canon, other than the larger print size, is the archival pigment inks, which are rated to last significantly longer than the dye based inks of the Espon. On the other hand, pigment isn't quite as punchy as dye, so it's much easier to get very bright and highly saturated prints from dye-based inks. The fact that the epson is so much cheaper to use makes a big difference in quality in the end. Because it's so economical, it's not a big deal to make lots and lots of test prints in order to dial in exactly what you're looking for, and you can afford to experiment and just sort of play around with different things. After all, printing is its own art form, every bit as robust and complex as photography, and it requires practice, just like every other art form. The Epson gives you the freedom to do that. Using the Canon is sort of like learning photography on a 4x5 sheet film camera. While there's nothing wrong with doing it like that, learning on something digital gives you the freedom to smash that shutter button as ofter as you like without worry. On the whole, the Epson is a joy to use, it's easy and cheap to run, and I always prefer it over then Canon whenever I don't need the archival qualities or the size of the Canon. Whichever way you go, though, these are both fantastic choices capable of amazing quality prints. As an aside, and you're probably already aware, but the biggest hurdle most people have to making quality prints is not using the correct profiles for the printer/ink/paper combination that they're using. A lot of paper manufacturers provide profiles for their paper across a wide variety of printers, and this makes a significant difference in what you produce. I use Red River Paper, and can't say enough good things about them. They provide free profiles for both of these printers you mentioned, and there are a lot of resources on their website to help you get the best prints you can. My personal favorite is the 60lb polar matte, but I'd recommend a sampler pack so you can see all the options available. https://www.redrivercatalog.com Also, check out Keith Cooper. He's been helping the internet print for over 25 years, and you're hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgeable about the subject. https://www.youtube.com/@KeithCooper Good Luck!

I have the 8550 and it produces brilliant prints. The inks last for ages.

Small, postcard size: Canon Selphy, about 100-130,-. Good quality, up to Din A 4, low ink costs: Canon G620 / 550, about 220-250,-. Best bang for the buck, up to Din A 3, very good quality relative to price, low ink costs: Epson ET-8550, about 550,-. Professional photo printers, exhibition quality are much more expensive and use expensive cartridges, like the Canon Pro Series, not tanks.

Some of the more affordable tank printers are great for photos. Like the G620/550 from Canon. It is focussed on quality photo printing, only has a tiny non backlit led display etc. Mine hasn’t dried out despite not printing for months. Epson makes comparable printers. About 200-250. The disadvantage: No dedicated drivers with ICC profiles for Macs. If you can afford a bit more than 400,- the Epson ET-8550 is broadly recommended among photographers. About 600,-. It does Din A 3+. There’s an identical model about 100,- less that prints up to Din A 4.

One of the most recommended photo printers for Din A 3+ is the Epson tank printer ET-8550 for about 600,-. If you want even higher quality, you have to invest significantly more. I use a Canon G620 tank printer, surprisingly good for 230,-, but just Din A 4 and no Apple drivers with ICC-profiles. The tank printers have much lower printing costs than the cartridge models.

Yessir, have multiple DNP printers and an Epson et-8550. The DNP printers are magic for up to 8x12's. My Epson is for oddball sizes and beeg prints. 13x19 is a very nice size I find

I haven't used any others, but I have an ET-8550 and I can't fault it. It prints really well, which is all I can ask for.

Love my 8550 I just printed a 13"x72" banner the other day. The printer is a beast that everyone seems to sleep on.

I love my Epson 8550

Epson is historically the best there is at photo printers, although Canon often gives them a run for their money. Between these, the numbers get complicated. Classically 6-color printers relied on CcMmYK, with the lowercase being light variants. This gave them way more subtlety than just sticking with the primaries. The EcoTank printer you linked to is skipping the light variants, and instead subbing in a pigmented black, which is purely a convenience play so you can also get better-quality B&W text documents that are color-fast (dye-based inks suck at sharp text, but are the best there is for photo printing), and a gray cartridge which will go a long way to getting you better grayscale (black and white photos) prints. But that means color range will not be as good as some of their Claria HD printers that due the true 6-color printing. The SureColor is definitely going to be at their high end, using their UltraChrome inks. This has always been the best of the best for them, and what pros are often using. Intense color-fastness, wide gamut. This one's also not truly 10 colors though, because it also has the pigmented black as above, as well as light gray and light light gray (they really call it that), for the ultimate in B&W photography printing. They also add violet to the color mix. So for ultimate color, you'll want the UltraChrome, no question. The EcoTank will be more economical, but definitely won't touch it, or their Claria HD-packing Expression models, for color accuracy. As for Canon, they usually came pretty close at the higher end. They typically had interesting differences, such as green ink, and one key advantage was replaceable print heads. Can't say if that's still the case. Epson's were usually capable of finer detail, but if you didn't print on them regularly, they'd clog easily, although not as badly on the dye-based photo printers. Canon, though, had the worst software. Hopefully that's improved over the years, but the last times I dealt with them it wasn't better. Epson was far, far friendlier. Disclaimer: I sold Epson printers for a living on the weekends for 7 years, but I left that job 15 years ago. Fascinating to glance back in and see what has and hasn't changed. I'd still pick Epson in a heartbeat for photos, but nothing else. My print volume guarantees an Epson printer will always be clogged for me.

C'est une EXCELLENTE machine! Et les résultats avec les profils icc fournis dans le driver Epson donnent les mêmes que ceux que j'ai généré avec iOne Studio!

I just got and epson et8550. Et stands for ecotank, meaning no cartridges but ink tanks and cheap refills (cheap by the ml/cost ratio compared to cartridges). The paper size is up to a3+. I am filled with joy. The fact to be able to homeprint decent quality photos is beyond valuable for me. I waited almost ten years before deciding to get a proper printer (budget, hectic life, moving city and country often were in the way). I spent less than 1k euro on this et8550 brand new and enough paper for some months. Yes it is not a pigment printer but I can't care less if I get to play around and experiment. And having my best pictures hanging on my house's walls is insane. I even made my first zine. I think that if you have the space and time for it, you will enjoy to homeprint. If you have a huge budget for your photography and can afford just to send the tiff file to a professional print shop and get the framed photo in the mail, probably is the best for quality. But quality is secondary to joy, imo. I also have a canon selphy 1500 and I like it very much. I wish the battery was not so expensive tho.

Do you have any issues with roller marks on glossy paper or cardstock? I get pizza wheel marks. Otherwise, I love the printer.

Hi, Ryan from [Rtings.com](http://Rtings.com) here. Yes, the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500/8550 is a great choice. There's also the Canon PIXMA PRO-200S, a dye-ink inkjet printer. The Canon has better color accuracy; however, it doesn't have a scanner, and its recurring cost is a little higher than the Epson because its page yield isn't quite as good as the Epson.

Epson PM-400 prints multiple sizes up to 5x7. The print app is easy to use. Ink cartridge is an all in one and cost about $35 for 100 prints which is the average number of prints per cartridge. It prints on anything that will work in an ink jet. It's a great portable small printer and I have one for crops. At home I use an Epson Eco Tank. I've had it 4 years this Christmas and have only bought ink refills once. I print all my pictures at home. It is an all in one print/copy/scan. Photos are excellent quality and resolution. It doesn't print bigger than 8.5x11.

I've also noticed my canon g7020 prints better pictures then Epson ECOTANK I also noticed the canon G7020 sits better not printing for 1 week at a time vs the Epson I also noticed my canon has no expiration on the ink. But the Epson is like 2-3 years.

Ecotank is garbage for photo prints

I have an ecotank for printing documents. They are not well suited for making photographic prints

I have Epson eco tank, but it doesn’t print in “high quality “ as you describe. I’d suggest printing your things somewhere like FedEx, they have great prices for their quality

Epson EcoTank (ET) printers are the way to go. The teacher will really, really, really appreciate the very inexpensive cost per page because the ink is so inexpensive.

I have an epson eco tank that I use for an entire line of prints that have quite dark colors. I really like it! That said, I have to do a little bit of tweaking pre-print so they don’t turn out *too* dark and lose their contrast. I usually raise the brightness by anywhere from 20-50% and they do just fine.

For about the same cost as a mini printer, you could get something like an Epson Ecotank, and then you have your choice of photo paper, which means you can also choose the finish, thickness, quality, etc. And a pack of 8.5x11 photo paper is MUCH cheaper than the cartridges or mini papers that go into the mini printers. It gives you the flexibility to make the pictures as big or as small as you want, and you just have to cut them out. For example my junk journal is about 5.5"x8.5", and I can turn photos into full-page backgrounds, or use one photo to make a full 8.5"x11" spread across 2 pages. Or I can print 2, 4 6, 8, 12, etc photos per page, and cut them. You can also get full sheet sticker paper to print onto, and make your own stickers, or print photos onto it. Epson has a utility that's basically drag-and-drop for photos, it's super easy to use. And they also have an app to print from your phone. I'm talking a lot about Epson because it's what I have, but I would guess that most modern printers have similar functionality.

I love my epson eco tank. There's a lot of models but I got one in the $130 range and its printed tons of stuff with the ink bottles that come with the printer :) but paper really does make the difference in photo printing. Premium glossy, premium semi gloss and premium matte all look great 👍🏻

Wish I saw this comment before I bought my Epson. Reds are brown, everything is a bit muddy, such a disappointment. I saw you switched to matte photo paper, is that really a big improvement?

Epson Eco-Tank. The ink is practically free.

The eco tank from Epson. I haven’t had to refill my ink in a long time. I came from a cannon printer where I was constantly changing the ink.

I have the Epson Eco tank. Up front cost is high, but I am not buying a set of cartridges every few months.

I bought an Epson eco tank, and it’s been great for printing photos.

I have left an Eco tank printer in air-conditioned storage for a year, 3x. I had to run the head cleaning process multiple times but it functions fine after that. I prefer the brother super cartridge printers over the Epson eco-tank. They print faster and seem to have better color accuracy. Both should work well for photos. In my experience, glossy prints will always smudge. Use satin or matte paper. Canon has also released a similar lineup that I’ve not tried.

I have had good success with matte and the brother MFC-6555DW. I found the Epson ecotank colors were a little off.

I looooove my eco tank. It was costing me over $60 a month in ink for my HP to print labels for my small business. I havnt had to even reload the black ink in over a year on my eco tank.

There are a ton of different ways to print photos with a even more tradeoffs and pitfalls. My recommendation is to get an epson ecotank printer and start there. They are a little more expensive upfront than an hp or whatever the cheapest inkjets are, but the ink and consumable cost per page is way less. As long as you use nice paper the color and contrast is very good. Prints should last 30+ years, longer than that and you need to use pigment based inks(and archival paper).

Epson EcoTank. I've had one since 2020 and the output is fantastic.