2nd ET 18100 printer
This printer is amazing. It has no touch screen which takes a bit of getting used to. It’s big when you open it up for printing at 990mm deep. You need 160mm at the back for the paper feed.Filling the ink tanks is easy. Slot the bottle in the port and it self fills. There is no spillage at all.Priming the printer with ink isn’t explained very well. This is what you do.Turn on printer. Wait till you see the orange ink light come on. Then press the button for 5 seconds. The priming cycle should start. If nothing happens. Turn off printer and unplug power cable and usb lead. Then press the start button for 30 seconds. Connect everything again. Turn it on and do the priming cycle again. This is what Epson told me to do and it worked. It took about 5 minutes and then I had to turn printer off and then press start button and the right hand button at same time to print the nozzle check.It’s then you install the software and you will get a firmware update as well.The Epson printer connection checker has the printer utilities but I’ve not used them as yet.Software support isn’t as comprehensive as I would have liked. Nowhere near as good as my XP-960.There also a phone app which may give you more functions.I did 2 print test images on Epson A4 glossy photo paper 183gm using the Epson photo+ on standard quality setting. This is a brilliant piece of software. My phone camera doesn’t do the quality of the prints justice.Once you get your head around not having a touch screen this is for my usage the perfect printer.Replacement 70ml ink bottles are £9.99 direct from Epson so printing even at A3+ is very affordable.If you want high class prints on Glossy metallic. Lustre and Baryta papers this is for you.Update 2Been using this printer a lot. My print output has gone through the roof.I’ve printed a further 47 Astronomy images on A4 with 19 on A3 along with close to 60 A5 test prints. My ink levels have hardly moved, I’m now about 1/3 of the way into the 2nd mark. I’m wondering if my extra 2 sets of ink bottle purchases were a bit premature.If i was still running my Epson XP 960 i would have used 2 or 3 sets of XL Elephant cartridge sets by now which is approximately £192-£288 of ink and be into the 3rd or 4th set which is another £96. Which makes this printer a very cheap investment even though the initial cost felt high.The out tray is still a little stiff and so is the rear paper feed platen. The printer still makes clunking noises when printing but i have become used to the sound now and doesn’t detract from using it.Using the High quality print setting isn’t much use to me as all it does is lay down extra ink which can in some situations remove some of the finer details in my images.On big bold colour prints it’s ideal, for my type of prints it detracts so i will stick to Standard quality and let the ICC profiles do their magic.As for print quality.. I can’t tell the difference between Claria photo inks in the XP 960 and the 107 Eco tank ink sets in a side by side comparison.The Astro images are 800dpi scans of my printouts on Lustre 300gsm with ICC profile. I hope they give a good idea of the print quality of this printer.I’ve now expanded my range of paper types to 5 with Smooth pearl 310gsm and Velvet Fine Art 275gsm in A4 which give me a better look for LRGB images ( Luminance Red Green Blue ) bare in mind paper weight does not equate to paper thickness the 275gsm Velvet is slightly thicker than the 310gsm Pearl.The only downside.. if this is a thing, I had to buy a cabinet to hold the paper boxes and sit the printer on.

return it before its too late
I run a small business that relies heavily on printing—cards, keepsakes, custom art prints, and more—using a wide variety of paper types, textures, and weights. I purchased the Epson ET-8550 in the hope that I was investing in a professional-grade, versatile photo printer that could support my growing creative work. After two months of daily use, I can say this with full confidence:This is one of the worst printers I’ve used in my 35 years on this planet.Let me give credit where it’s due: out of the box, the Epson 8550 prints beautifully. The first 20 or so sheets come out looking crisp and professional, especially on plain paper. Colours appear rich (though not entirely accurate), and the detail is sharp enough to feel like I’d made the right decision. That brief honeymoon period is where the positives end.One of the main reasons I bought this printer was the rear paper feed, which Epson claims can handle a variety of cardstocks and paper weights. This is flat-out misleading. After a short while, the rear feed becomes completely unusable, throwing up constant paper jam errors—even when there’s no jam. The only workaround? You physically have to press the card or paper down with your hand while it attempts to feed through. That’s not just impractical—it’s absurd on a £629 machine.Anything over 230gsm causes problems. 300gsm? Forget it. You’ll be manually feeding one sheet at a time, praying the printer doesn’t reject it, misfeed, or jam mid-print. And even if it miraculously accepts the paper, chances are you’ll be greeted with smudges, smears, roller marks, or grainy, inaccurate colours.After just a few weeks, the print quality deteriorated rapidly. I started getting:Smears at the end of every pageBanding and lines across coloured areasInconsistent ink coverageDull, lifeless colours, no matter how much I tweaked the settingsWant to print a solid block of colour? It will come out grainy and uneven. Need accurate colour matching? Good luck. What you see on your screen is not what this printer delivers—no matter how many settings you fiddle with. And for a printer sold on its photo-printing capabilities, that’s not just disappointing, it’s laughable.Every single day I use this printer, I have to perform:* Nozzle checks* Head cleanings* Alignment correctionsIt’s like owning a vintage car that needs tuning every morning just to get to the end of the driveway. The maintenance required to get one decent print is exhausting, and sometimes even that’s not guaranteed.Not only is the rear feeder a nightmare, but even the paper guides don’t hold firm. They shift on their own, meaning every single time I print, I have to readjust and triple-check alignment—or risk a wonky or failed print. This shouldn’t be happening at this price point.This printer cost me over £629, and I honestly feel conned. I wanted a reliable, professional printer that could support my business, but what I got was a machine that makes my working day harder, not easier. It’s unreliable, high-maintenance, and not fit for the purpose it’s marketed for.The only silver lining? The ink lasts a long time—possibly because you’ll be wasting half your prints and constantly reprinting due to quality issues. You might not run out of ink quickly, but you’ll run out of patience, time, and trust in Epson faster than you can say “EcoTank.”If you are a small business owner, artist, crafter, or creative professional looking for a versatile, reliable printer to handle varied paper stocks and deliver consistent quality—this is not it. The Epson ET-8550 is a masterclass in disappointment, and each passing day deepens my regret.Epson, if you’re listening: this printer is not fit for purpose. Please stop marketing it as such. I didn’t spend this much money to become a part-time printer technician. I spent it to run my business—and this machine has actively made that harder.

Excellent A4 size photo prints

مو كل انواع الاوراق تطبع عليها الفوشية ماتطبع عليهو للاسف خربت بعد ٨ شهور وامازون مايغطي ضمانها بسبب انها شحن دولي ف لاانصح بشراء شي دولي لان بدون ضمان

La qualità delle stampe, soprattutto su carte di alto livello, è veramente molto elevata!Anche le stampe in b&w sono decisamente molto buone anche grazie all’apposita cartuccia grigio che permette di gestire correttamente le sfumature di grigio.Il costo dell’inchiostro per singola stampa è davvero molto bassoHa anche uno scanner per gestire delle piccole attività ufficioAnche la gestione con smartphone è davvero pratica e veloce