While laser
printers are generally cheaper when it comes to the printing cost per page,
inkjet printers are better at printing documents with colored images and
graphics as well as photo prints. Of course, while most entry- and mid-range
inkjet printers don’t cost very much up front, replacement ink cartridges
typically don’t come cheap.
An
All-In-One Ink Tank Sytem Printer With Wireless, Fax And Adf Capability
To address
the problem of expensive ink replacements, Epson has come up with an ink tank
system designed to be cost-effective. The Epson L550 is a multi-function ink
tank system printer; it comes with detachable ink tanks which are refillable
(with ink from Epson, obviously). Each refill prints up to 4,000 pages and goes
for $9.90, making higher-volume printing more affordable in the long run.
Epson’s
proven original ink tank system
delivers reliable printing with unrivalled economy.
The L550 also
comes with an automatic document feeder (ADF) that makes it easier to scan,
copy and fax multi-page documents. Unfortunately, the printer doesn’t come with
a duplexer, so printing double-sided documents require you to manually flip the
pages over. With the Epson iPrint app (available on both Android and iOS), you
can print photographs, PDF fi les and documents from various cloud storage
services like Google Docs, Evernote and Dropbox. But as the L550 doesn’t have
built-in Wi-Fi, you will have to connect it to a router before you can proceed
with remote printing.
Where print
speeds are concerned, the L550 isn’t very fast, with a 10-page monochrome print
job taking 1 minute and 10 seconds, which equates to about nine pages per
minute. Monochrome text prints are reasonably sharp, making it suitable for
internal documents, though some might find it insufficient for business
documents. The L550 doesn’t fare so well when it comes to documents with
colored graphics and images though, as colors are washed out and images are a
bit blurred.
The L550
includes a simplex 30-page automatic document feeder (ADF) for quick and easy
multi-page scanning, copying and faxing. Its 2-line LCD panel provides status
of print jobs and printer maintenance for greater efficiency
Overall, the
L550 does provide good value for money due to its ink tank system, so it’s up
to the user to decide if that is worth the higher asking price (there are other
printers that offer the same specifications at a lower price). However, its
lackluster print speeds and average print quality makes it hard for us to
recommend it as a small office printer.
Specifications: ·
Print speed: 4.5
images per minute (Color), 9 images per minute (Mono) ·
Print Method: On-demand
ink jet ·
Maximum
Resolution: 5760 x 1440 dpi (with Variable-Sized Droplet Technology) ·
Maximum Paper
Size: 8.5 x 44" ·
Paper Hold
Capacity: Input 100 sheets, A4 Plain paper (75g/m2), 20 sheets, Premium
Glossy Photo Paper; Output 30 sheets, A4 Plain paper, 20 sheets, Premium
Glossy Photo Paper ·
Dimensions: 474
x 377 x 226 mm ·
Weight: 6.2kg ·
Price: $359
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