Epson EcoTank ET-2980 review: a quick, low-cost all-in-one printer for families
MSRP
$299.99
Score Details 'Epson's EcoTank ET-2980 is fast and offers great long-term value with a few tradeoffs to keep the cost low.'
Pros Comes with three years of ink
Fast short and long document prints
Good print quality
Low cost per page
Attractive design with icy-blue tower light
Cons Frequent paper jams on duplex prints
Inconsistent photo quality
Tiny display
Table of Contents
Table of Contents Specs Design Printing performance Special features Software and compatibility Price Is this the printer for you?
Epson's new EcoTank ET-2980 eliminates the hassle of replacing cartridges and minimizes the cost of ink with large ink reservoirs. It's also one of the quickest tank printers.
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The best printers find the perfect balance of speed, quality, and cost. I went hands-on with the EcoTank ET-2980 to find out how it compares, who should buy it, and how much value it offers.
Specs
Epson EcoTank ET-2980 Dimensions 14.8 x 13.7 x 7.4 inches Weight 11.5 pounds Print speed 15.5 ppm (black), 8 ppm (color) Copy speed 11 cpm (black), 5.5 cpm (color) Print resolution 4800 x 1200 dpi Scan resolution 1200 x 2400 dpi Ports Hi-Speed USB Paper capacity 100 sheets Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/k/v/r (multiband)
Design
The Epson EcoTank ET-2980 is a compact and attractive printer available in black or off-white to best match your decor. I have the white model with light gray accents that will blend in nicely with most homes. The black on black model might work well in a home office or room with a dark theme.
The ink tanks are clearly visible, and it's easy to see the supply levels at a glance. Epson marketing shows colorful stripes, but all four inks look dark gray through the translucent plastic.
As an all-in-one that can print, copy, and scan, the EcoTank ET-2980 is quite compact with a footprint of 14.8 by 13.7 inches. The weight is minimal at just 11.5 pounds, making this a family-friendly printer that anyone can handle.
The appearance is quite similar to the Epson EcoTank ET-2850, but even smaller and lighter. The newer and faster EcoTank ET-2980 also has a delightful highlight at the top of the ink tank tower, an icy blue rectangle that glows to alert me that the printer requires attention.
Otherwise, the design is quite utilitarian with a tiny color display that measures just 1.4 inches diagonally. Epson surrounded the display with 12 buttons that change settings and make copies. That sounds complex, but the usual arrow keys, back button, and OK button account for half of those. The control panel tilts so it works while standing or seated.
The EcoTank ET-2980 has only one paper tray in the back that holds up to 100 sheets of paper. A width slider adjusts the tray to hold small photo paper and envelopes. The height with letter-size paper inserted is 10.4 inches. The output bin automatically extends nine inches from the front during printing.
Printing performance
The Epson EcoTank ET-2980 is fast for an inkjet tank printer. The first page flies out in about six seconds. That's faster than the best color laser printers for one-off prints. That speed is possible because an inkjet doesn't use heat transfer.
Sustained speed on long monochrome documents can accelerate up to 15.5 pages per minute (ppm). Color pages print as fast as 8 ppm. That's 50% faster than older Epson EcoTank models in the same class.
Epson achieved this speed boost by fitting the EcoTank ET-2980 with PrecisionCore technology. That's the same high-end print system found in small business printers like the super-fast 25 ppm Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850.
Print quality is great despite the speed. Graphics are crisp, and even fine print is easy to read. The EcoTank ET-2980 is a great choice for color documents. However, I noticed some inconsistency with photo prints.
Most pictures came out looking great, but some were disappointing. I noticed glossy photo prints often had a blue tint in the shadows. Plain paper prints could use more contrast. The best photo printers are optimized for pictures and sometimes use more than four inks to improve color accuracy.
Overall, performance was good, but I ran into trouble when I tried printing duplex. Double-sided documents jammed frequently. The display guided me through clearing the jam via the rear panel for easy access to the rollers.
Special features
Epson is different from other leading printer brands. It no longer makes laser printers, focusing on improving inkjet technology. It also thinks differently about scanning. While many manufacturers include a 600 dots per inch (dpi) scanner in their all-in-ones, Epson doubles that resolution to 1200 dpi and has for many years.
The EcoTank ET-2980's scanner is quiet, fast, and can scan documents and photos at 200 to 1200 dpi. Lower resolution scans are often good enough, but I like having the option to go higher when I want to get the most detail from a small photo or capture fine print without hurting readability.
I can also make color copies with the EcoTank ET-2980. Epson claims copy speed at 11 ppm in black and 5.5 ppm in color. However, I'd need machine-like speed and accuracy to lift the lid, swap pages, and close the scanner that quickly.
For multi-page copies, it makes more sense to choose an all-in-one that includes an automatic document feeder (ADF). For example, Epson's EcoTank ET-3850 is a larger and slightly more expensive PrecisionCore printer with an ADF. The ability to copy long documents is essential for some businesses, but not as important for home printers.
Software and compatibility
Epson's quick start guide offers two paths to set up the EcoTank ET-2980, with the mobile app or manually. The printer's display is quite small and only has a few buttons to navigate settings, so I installed the Epson Smart Panel app. From past experience, I know that's usually the simplest method. Entering a long Wi-Fi password without a keyboard can be challenging.
I used my iPhone for setup, but Epson supports Android, Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS. Everything flowed smoothly. The app guided me to fill the tanks with the four large ink bottles Epson includes with the printer. During the 11-minute ink initialization step, Smart Panel prompted me to connect the printer to Wi-Fi, which was quick and easy. I was able to step away for a few minutes, and the app alerted me when it was finished priming the ink lines.
The ink levels, visible through the translucent tanks, give the appearance that the supply dropped by about a fifth. However, I didn't lose any ink. It's just drawn into the machine, ready for printing.
For printhead alignment, I had to switch to the EcoTank ET-2980's display and controls. It's not hard to finish the process, but I had to look closely and make note of the special symbols to complete this step. Should I press the button with a triangle in a circle or the one with a line in a diamond? I think some people might need reading glasses or a magnifier app the see the difference in the on-screen display.
With the mobile app, setup was quite simple, and the software worked as expected, even when printing an envelope from my phone, something that's nearly impossible with most printers. My Windows PC saw the Epson EcoTank ET-2980 immediately and had no trouble connecting via Wi-Fi. The printer also includes a USB port for a direct connection to a computer.
Price
The Epson EcoTank ET-2980 is surprisingly fast for an entry-level inkjet. The $300 price makes it one of the most affordable inkjet tank printers on the market.
Beyond the low initial cost, Epson includes enough ink in the EcoTank ET-2980 to print thousands of pages before you need to replenish supplies. When that time comes, you refill the tanks with bottles that hold about 90 cartridges worth of ink.
The bundled EcoTank 502 ink bottles provide up to 6,600 monochrome pages and 5,500 color pages, adding significant value to the printer and reducing the cost per print to less than a penny. Each monochrome page costs about three-tenths of a cent, and color is a very affordable eight-tenths.
Is this the printer for you?
The Epson EcoTank ET-2980 is a fast, efficient, and economical inkjet tank printer at a great price. While that combination is hard to beat, it's not the best all-in-one printer since it lacks an ADF.
There are some strong competitors like HP's Smart Tank 5101 that sells for $250. It could be more than a coincidence that I experienced troubling paper jams with that printer. Low-cost printers typically have less robust paper feed mechanisms.
Epson's own lineup includes the EcoTank ET-3850, a business-oriented printer with an ADF. For pictures, the Epson Expression Photo XP-8800 is a low-cost, six-color all-in-one with great photo quality.
Still, the Epson EcoTank ET-2980 offers a balance of speed, economy, and value that makes it a good choice for families. There's great utility in a printer that can roll through thousands of pages without the hassle and expense of replacing ink cartridges.
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