What is the EcoTank L3550?
The Epson EcoTank L3550 is a curious mix of the old and the new: a compact three-in-one inkjet printer that prints, scans and copies, while demanding one pours bottled ink into its tanks like it’s 1999. Instead of clicking in a cartridge and watching your budget bleed out with every page, you line up 65 ml bottles of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, tip them in, and watch the transparent front-facing tanks fill up like a fishbowl of productivity. The box includes an extra bottle of black, because Epson knows that black ink is the caffeine of the printing world: it runs out first, it runs out fast, and without it you cannot function.
Epson claims a resolution of 4 800 × 1 200 dpi, which translates as sharp-looking text and colours that look good in daylight. The first black page spits out in about nine seconds and colour in around fifteen, which is quicker than most budget inkjets dare. Once it gets going, one is looking at 15 black-and-white pages per minute and 8 colour pages per minute: respectable numbers for a home or small office machine. Epson also quotes up to 33 pages a minute for draft-quality black, but unless you enjoy reading text that looks like it’s been faxed from 1986, you’ll stick with the standard modes.
Paper handling is simple: a 100-sheet rear tray for feeding, a 30-sheet output tray for collecting, and support for the usual suspects: A4, A5, A6, and envelopes. It’s not going to replace the office workhorse with its 500-sheet drawers, but will also not pretend it can. Scanning happens via a flatbed with a 1 200 × 2 400 dpi optical resolution, although finding the scanning function is a challenge in itself.
The L3550 goes ultra modern with its connectivity. Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct mean it will talk to a phone or laptop without cables. USB is there for anyone who still likes cords. It plays nicely with Apple’s AirPrint, and the Epson Smart Panel app makes setup and everyday management less of a guessing game. That app is the unsung hero of the L3550: it houses the magic of quick Wi-Fi connection, guiding you through a sequence of buttons that otherwise would feel like a puzzle from an escape room.
Epson also sprinkles in some green credentials. The printer is made with 30% recycled plastic, its packaging is more than 80% recycled cardboard, and its heat-free technology sips power instead of gulping it. More importantly, Epson estimates the EcoTank system cuts consumables by 84% compared to cartridges. That’s a serious reduction in waste, though it also means you’ll have to get comfortable with the retro act of pouring liquid into your printer.
We’ll have to follow up with a longer-term review to give a sense of the accuracy of such claims.
Taken together, the EcoTank L3550 feels like a machine that has looked back at the worst habits of cartridge printers, from the clogs to the constant replacements, and said: “Fine, let’s go back to bottles, but this time let’s do it properly.”
What does the EcoTank L3550 cost?
The EcoTank L3550 typically retails between R3 999 and R4 500. Each replacement bottle costs in the region of R150 to R180, depending on the colour. While the upfront price sits above many entry-level cartridge printers, the yield – up to 4 300 black pages and 7 300 colour pages per set – tilts the economics firmly in the buyer’s favour. For households, students or small businesses with steady output, the L3550 pays for itself in running-cost savings within months.
Why does the EcoTank L3550 matter?
Printers remain the cockroaches of technology: no matter how many times we think we can live without them, they scuttle back into our homes and offices. The EcoTank L3550 matters because it makes that return less painful. It reduces the wallet-gouging cost of cartridges and trims the environmental waste.
A combination of lower cost, reduced waste and straightforward installation makes it aco elling piece of workhorse tech. It may feel retro with its bottled ink, but sometimes the past deserves a second chance.
What are the biggest negatives of the EcoTank L3550?
- Locating basic functions, especially scanning, takes too much trial and error.
- Every fresh function insists on a firmware update before use, breaking the flow.
- Navigation through menus and buttons lacks the clarity suggested by the slick setup process.
What are the biggest positives of the EcoTank L3550?
- Setup is fast and straightforward, from filling bottles to connecting via Wi-Fi.
- Running costs are dramatically lower than cartridge printers, thanks to high-yield bottles.
- Print quality is sharp and consistent across text, graphics and photos.
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”