Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Cost Per Page: Strong on Black, Weaker on Color
The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 is a photo-oriented ink tank printer that prints, copies, and scans, with auto-duplex, a touchscreen, and Wi-Fi. It sells for $700. Running costs land at $0.36 per 100 pages in black and $1.42 per 100 pages in color — the black figure comes from a $24 ink bottle rated for 6,700 pages.
Step down Epson's EcoTank range and the ET-1910 ($160), ET-2900 ($240), and ET-4903 ($300) all hold flat at $0.38 per 100 pages in black and $1.10 in color, whatever functions or fax capability get added along the way. None of the three has auto-duplex or a touchscreen, both of which the ET-8500 carries. The ET-8500 undercuts them on black cost per page but runs pricier in color.
Canon's MAXIFY GX tanks show the same pattern: the GX3020 ($432), GX4020 ($540), and GX7120 ($864) all sit at $0.52 per 100 pages in black and $1.31 in color regardless of price, with fax, Ethernet, and a touchscreen arriving only on the pricier two. The Epson beats all three on black cost per page but loses to them on color.
Among the 30 ink tank printers InkTax tracks, the Canon PIXMA G3270 holds the color running-cost floor at $0.97 per 100 pages against the ET-8500's $1.42, despite selling for just $249 with no auto-duplex or touchscreen. On black cost per page the ET-8500's $0.36 beats the G3270's $0.38, good for 5th of 30 ink tank printers, while its color rate ranks only 21st of 30.
For color-averse buyers, the HP LaserJet Pro 4006dw is a mono laser at $400 that prints only — no copy or scan — with toner running $2.23 per 100 pages, far above the ET-8500's $0.36 in black. It also prints far faster, at 47 ppm against the Epson's 16 ppm.