Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 review

Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 in detail

The ink math

Epson’s listing says a 4 x 6 photo costs about 4 cents in ink on this printer, against about 40 cents on a cartridge model. That’s Epson’s own claim, but the order of magnitude is why tanks exist. Epson also puts up to two years of ink in the box.

Ink is cheap here; paper isn’t. A 13 x 19 sheet of luster paper costs more than the ink that goes on it, which is why this site’s calculator separates the two.

Six colors, one machine

The ET-8550 uses six-color Claria ET Premium ink and prints up to 13 x 19. A touchscreen with physical buttons, an SD card slot and a front USB port make it usable without a computer. It also scans and copies, which a PRO-200 class printer won’t.

Where it falls behind

RTINGS measured the PRO-200’s color error at about 3.2 dE and the ET-8550’s at about 6.5, with lower better. Both made excellent small-detail prints in that comparison. So the tank is fine for family photos, art prints and products, and a step behind for someone proofing a client’s skin tones.

Check the seller

When this listing was pulled on Oct 30, 2026, the buy-box seller was a third party rather than Amazon or Epson. That’s common for large printers, but warranty claims are simpler when the seller is Amazon or Epson itself, so look before you buy.

The bottles you’ll buy

Epson’s 552 bottles hold 70 mL each and are sold singly or in combos. A five-color photo combo (cyan, magenta, yellow, photo black and gray) and a three-color CMY combo are both on Amazon, rated 4.8 and 4.9 on the listings I pulled. The plain 552 black is a pigment black meant for text. Epson warns that non-genuine ink can cause damage the warranty won’t cover, so buy genuine.

Placement

The listing gives 29.8 inches deep and 24.5 lb. With the trays out, plan on a dedicated spot rather than a bookshelf.