Reviewing the Epson Expression ET-2600 Eco Tank All-in-One Printer: A Jack of One Trade!

Rating

Epson touts its revolutionary EcoTank cartridge-free printing system, which has been integrated into several of their printers. This system uses refillable ink tanks that can be quickly replenished with affordable ink bottles, eliminating the need for costly cartridges. Plus, you only need to refill the color that’s running low, rather than replacing all colors just because one has depleted in a traditional cartridge. While EcoTank printers tend to be pricier than cartridge-based models with similar features, Epson promises a lower overall cost of ownership. We had the chance to test the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer, a popular choice for home users in the US. After using it for three weeks, here’s what we discovered.

Table of contents

What is the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer good at?
Pros and cons
Verdict
Unboxing the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer
Hardware specifications and design
Setting up the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer
Printing with the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer
Scanning and copying with the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One
Bugs and problems with Epson’s software
What is your opinion about the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One?

What is the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer good at?

The Epson Expression ET-2600 all-in-one printer is an ideal option for home users who prioritize affordable printing above all other features.

Pros and cons

Strengths of the Epson Expression ET-2600:

Inexpensive ink bottles that, in theory, could save you up to 80% on refills compared to traditional cartridge printers.
Refilling the ink tanks is simple and easy, even a child can do it (we tested it with a 10-year-old!).
The Draft quality setting uses minimal ink.
Produces good quality prints when set to Standard or High quality.
Supports printing from both PC and mobile devices (iOS and Android).

However, the Epson Expression ET-2600 does have some notable downsides:

Refilling the ink tanks can be messy if you’re not careful, making it easy to stain your hands or clothes.
The Draft quality setting is not suitable for documents with colored text or images, requiring you to switch to Standard quality.
Lacks an input paper tray for the scanner, and the controls are limited to buttons and LEDs—there’s no display.
Does not support borderless printing.
Software and drivers are problematic, especially with the latest versions of Windows 10, making installation difficult.
No USB cable is included in the box, complicating setup further due to driver issues.
The Epson Connect feature doesn’t work as advertised, preventing you from printing remotely as promised by Epson.

PRODUCT RATING

2/5

Verdict

The Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer really excels in one area: the cost of ink refills. While you pay a bit more upfront for the printer, refilling the ink is significantly cheaper. You also get decent print quality with the Standard or High-quality settings. However, for the price, the ET-2600 feels lacking in features. Other printers at a similar price point offer a screen for setup and operation, an input paper tray for the scanner, and the ability to print borderless. To make matters worse, the ET-2600 suffers from numerous driver and software issues, particularly on Windows 10, which can severely impact the user experience. While the overall running costs may be lower with the ET-2600, we believe a smoother, more user-friendly experience is equally important. As of our review, this printer doesn’t quite deliver that. We recommend considering higher-end models within Epson’s range or exploring other brands at a similar price.

Unboxing the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer

The Epson Expression ET-2600 printer arrives in a large box, with an image of the device on top and a highlight of its key features.

Inside the box, you’ll find the printer, four ink bottles (Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow), a power cord, the user manual, and a CD with drivers and utilities. However, there’s no USB cable included, which could make the installation process more challenging for some users.

The unboxing process is straightforward and hassle-free, as expected. However, there are no premium accessories included. Notably, Epson has opted not to include a USB cable for connecting the printer to a computer, which may disappoint some users.

Hardware specifications and design

Epson claims that the Expression ET-2600 comes with enough ink to print up to 4,000 pages in black and 6,500 color pages using the draft quality settings. According to Epson, this should last around two years for typical home use, based on an average of 150 pages per month. Unfortunately, we can’t verify these claims, as our testing period lasted only three weeks before publishing this review.

The Epson Expression ET-2600 offers a maximum print resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi (dots per inch). In terms of print speed, it can produce up to 10 pages per minute in black and 4.5 pages per minute in color. The input paper tray holds up to 100 sheets, while the output tray can accommodate up to 30 sheets—sufficient for most home users.

As an all-in-one device, it also functions as a scanner and copier. When used as a copier, it can copy up to 7.7 pages per minute in black and 3.7 pages per minute in color.

For scanning, the printer features an optical resolution of 2400 dpi, with an interpolated maximum resolution of 9600 dpi, which may be especially useful for scanning high-quality photographs.

The Epson Expression ET-2600 is a wireless printer that supports 802.11 b/g/n WiFi standards and includes WPS support for quicker connections to your home network.

However, it doesn’t support modern networks that use the 802.11ac standard or the 5 GHz frequency.

The Epson Expression ET-2600 is compatible with a range of operating systems, including Windows (from XP to Windows 10), Mac OS X 10.6 or later, and both Android and iOS devices (via the Epson iPrint mobile app).

In terms of size, the printer is fairly large, measuring 17.5″ x 20.8″ x 11.96″ (44.45 x 52.83 x 30.37 cm) in width, depth, and height. It also weighs 11 lbs (5 kg), making it quite hefty.

To view the complete list of official specifications, including supported paper types and operating temperature ranges, visit this page and click on “See Full Specs“: Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One Printer.

Setting up the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer

Setting up the Epson Expression ET-2600, along with other printers in the same Epson family, differs from the typical setup of cartridge-based printers. Once you’ve unboxed the printer and removed all the protective packaging, the next step is to fill the ink tanks. This process is straightforward and can be done by anyone, but it can get messy if you’re not careful. Be sure to avoid getting ink on your clothes, as it may be difficult to remove.

Once you’ve filled the ink tanks, turn on the printer, wait for the power light to stop blinking, then press the Stop button for three seconds. This will initiate the ink charging process, which takes about 20 minutes. During this time, the printer is not usable, so you’ll need to wait for the process to complete before proceeding.

Next, load paper and install the printer’s software on the computer you wish to use it with. We attempted to install the Epson Expression ET-2600 on two different desktop computers one running the Windows 10 Creators Update and the other the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Unfortunately, Epson’s setup program failed repeatedly, displaying the error message: “The IP address of the printer may be incorrect. Make sure that DHCP is valid in your network.“

The same connectivity problems were also encountered when using the Epson Connect Printer Setup program, which helps you make an Epson Connect account that you can use to print from anywhere on the internet. No matter what we did, Epson’s software was incapable of installing the printer. We tested two other wireless printers on the same network, from other brands, and all of them were installed without issues. This problem is a software one, caused by Epson’s programming.

The issue is made worse by the lack of a USB cable in the box. If one had been included, you could have connected the printer via USB for the initial setup and then configured it for wireless use. Fortunately, we were able to connect the printer to the wireless network using WPS and the Windows 10 setup wizard. Windows 10 quickly detected and installed the printer, and afterward, most of Epson’s applications recognized it. We were able to use the printer, though the Epson Connect feature remained unavailable.

We also installed the Epson iPrint and Epson Print Enabler mobile apps on a Nexus 6P smartphone running Android 8.0 Oreo. The apps installed successfully, detected the printer, and allowed us to configure it for mobile printing.

Setting up the Epson Expression ET-2600 takes longer than with traditional cartridge-based printers and is more complicated than necessary. This is mainly because Epson doesn’t include a USB cable, and the printer’s Windows drivers and software have bugs that require fixing.

For details on print quality and the experience of copying and scanning documents, photos, and images, check out the second page of this review.

Printing with the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer

We printed hundreds of pages with the Epson Expression ET-2600, primarily on plain paper, but also on glossy photo paper. Our testing began with printing pictures and images using a variety of Windows apps.

Printing images on plain paper yields good results, though the colors can appear somewhat washed out. However, since this printer is designed for home users rather than professional artists, most people will find the results acceptable, especially when using the Standard quality setting.

When printing pictures on glossy photo paper, the results were visually appealing, but the printed images often appeared darker than the originals, with less brightness captured on paper. For top-notch results, you’ll need to switch to the High-quality setting, though this significantly increases both the printing time and ink usage.

Next, we printed documents with colored text and images, testing all three available quality settings: Draft, Standard, and High. The results with Draft quality were disappointing—honestly, for color documents, Draft quality is almost unusable, as lighter colors are barely visible. In comparison, other printers at a similar price point often offer better quality at the Draft setting.

Switching to Standard quality significantly improved the output, and most users will find the results satisfactory. Choosing High quality further enhances the prints, but it comes at the cost of increased ink consumption.

Finally, we printed text documents using only black ink, testing the same quality settings. In this case, the Draft setting is somewhat more usable, but only if the documents aren’t critical. However, the quality in Draft mode is still lower compared to other printers in the same price range. Fortunately, switching to Standard quality results in a significant improvement, and most users will be pleased with the output. Printing black text at High quality doesn’t offer much of an improvement, so it’s only worth using for very important documents where top-tier print quality is necessary.

We also printed a few images and documents from our Nexus 6P smartphone running Android 8.0 Oreo. We found the Epson iPrint app to be somewhat clunky and less intuitive to use. The print results weren’t as impressive as those from Windows. However, if you need to print something quickly and only have your smartphone available, the Epson iPrint app gets the job done.

We noticed that after each print job, the Epson Expression ET-2600 makes a whizzing sound, likely due to the ink charging system. While the noise isn’t particularly loud, some users may find it a bit annoying. Another notable difference compared to other printers is the printer’s boot time: from the moment you power on the Epson Expression ET-2600, it takes noticeably longer to be ready to accept print jobs than with typical cartridge-based printers. This delay is likely due to the unique ink charging process.

One limitation that might be important for some users is that the Epson Expression ET-2600 doesn’t support borderless printing. All of our printed samples had visible white borders.

A distinctive feature of Epson printers like the Expression ET-2600 is that the ink tanks are visible from the outside. This makes it easy to see which colors you’re using most and how quickly the ink is running low. For instance, in the image below, it’s clear that we used more Yellow and Magenta than Cyan and Black.

Printing with the Epson Expression ET-2600 is straightforward, as expected. However, the Draft quality setting produces subpar results, and most users will likely avoid it. Switching to Standard quality greatly improves the print output, making it satisfactory for the majority of users. That said, this comes at the expense of higher ink consumption than what Epson estimated for a full ink tank.

Scanning and copying with the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One

Next, we tested the Epson Expression ET-2600 as a copier and scanner. To quickly copy something, simply place the paper in the scanner and press the Copy Black or Copy Color button. You can also choose the number of copies beforehand. For these tasks, having a small display would have been helpful. However, this feature is only available on higher-end models in Epson’s lineup, and similarly priced competitors often include it.

Next, we explored the scanning capabilities of the Epson Expression ET-2600. The scanning apps offer a variety of settings and presets to customize your scans. The results for document scanning are generally satisfactory, but you’ll quickly find yourself wishing for an automatic document feeder. With the Epson Expression ET-2600, if you need to scan a multi-page document, you’ll have to scan each page individually, which can be quite time-consuming. In contrast, similarly priced printers from competitors often include an automatic feed.

When scanning images and photographs, the results are of average quality. Additionally, the presets for scanning photos take significantly longer than those for documents. We may sound repetitive, but we’ve seen better quality from similarly priced all-in-one printers from other brands.

Scanning and copying with the Epson Expression ET-2600 are functional, but they take longer compared to other all-in-ones, and the results are only of average quality. Competitors at a similar price point generally provide a better overall experience.

Bugs and problems with Epson's software

Hardware-wise, the Epson Expression ET-2600 is a solid all-in-one that should meet the needs of most home users. However, the overall user experience is marred by numerous issues with Epson’s drivers and software. The most frustrating problem is with the Printer Setup program. On Windows 10, it fails to properly install and set up the printer. We tried various settings, even reset our wireless router and disabled all security software, but nothing worked. The setup process remained unsuccessful. This issue is made worse by the fact that Epson doesn’t include a USB cable. As IT professionals with extensive certifications and experience, we struggled to get the printer set up with Epson’s software (including older versions). If we faced this problem, it’s easy to imagine how frustrating it would be for a regular home user encountering the same issue.

We were fortunate that Windows 10 was able to detect and install the Epson Expression ET-2600 automatically through the “Settings -> Devices -> Printers & scanners -> Add a printer or scanner” menu. Without this feature, we wouldn’t have been able to use the printer and would have had no choice but to return it. Epson really needs to address this issue, as their setup programs don’t work well on Windows 10, which is the second most widely used operating system after Windows 7. Moreover, Windows 10 comes preinstalled on most new computers aimed at home users the primary audience for this printer.

The Epson Connect Printer program also failed to detect the Expression ET-2600, preventing us from using the feature we were hoping for: printing from anywhere via the internet.

To make matters worse, the Epson Connect Services didn’t work either. Epson claims that your printer can receive a unique email address, and by sending a document or image to that address, the printer will automatically print it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get this feature to work either.

If Epson is reading this review, here’s a screenshot showing the firmware version we were using, along with the root certificate associated with Epson’s cloud services.

We find the issues we encountered during this review to be quite frustrating, and we believe Epson needs to address them promptly. We’ll be sending this review to them in the hope that they take swift action to resolve the software problems.

What is your opinion about the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One?

Now that you’ve heard about our experience with the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you already purchased this model? If so, how has your experience been? Is it similar to ours? Feel free to share your feedback in the comments below, and let’s have a conversation!