The range of machines has been cited as “the end of the dreaded printer cartridge”.
Bloomberg and TechRadar both reported on the new range of EcoTank machines from Epson, which are said to “solve the most annoying problem with inkjet printers” and bring about “the end of the dreaded printer cartridge”. EcoTank models have been launched previously in New Zealand and Singapore, but this new range will be available in the US from September.
The devices include the WorkForce Pro WF-R4640 AIO, the WorkForce ET-4550 AIO, the ET-4500, the Expression ET-2550 and the ET-2500. TechRadar stated that the machines offer the “equivalent of up to 20 previous-generation ink cartridges” in ink capacity, and that “the amount of ink loaded into the EcoTank should last consumers and small businesses for roughly two years”. One disadvantage is said to be that the “compartment specifically designed to house” the ink tanks means “each model is several inches wider and slightly heavier”, however.
The WorkForce Pro WF-R4640 AIO is said to also be the “enterprise darling” of the new printers, because it can produce around 20,000 monochrome and colour pages each from its “initial ink yield”, with a print speed of 20ppm ISO and a 580-sheet paper capacity. The WorkForce ET-4550 meanwhile is “better suited” for smaller businesses, with yields in monochrome and colour of 11,000 and 8,500 pages respectively, alongside speeds of 13ppm and 7.3ppm respectively.
Adding that “the company is smashing its business model to bits” with the new machines, Bloomberg quotes John Lang, CEO of Epson North America, as stating that the machines – which use refillable tanks instead of cartridges – are a “really big advantage to the end user”, as “that anxiety and that fear of running out of ink [has been] so prevalent”. He added that he believes a quarter of printer revenue will come from these models in “a few years”, and stated that Epson didn’t introduce the printers sooner “because it was afraid people would balk at the higher initial price”.
The WorkForce Pro WF-R4640 will be available for $1,199 (€1,093); the Workforce ET-4550 for $499 (€455); the WorkForce ET-4500 for $429 (€391); the Expression ET-2550 for $399 (€363); and the Expression ET-2500 for $379 (€345).