爱普生(Epson)吹嘘其革命性的EcoTank 无(EcoTank)墨盒打印系统(printing system)。他们已经在他们的许多打印机中实现了它，它涉及使用可在几分钟内重新填充的可再填充墨水盒，用廉价的墨水瓶代替昂贵的墨盒。您还可以仅重新填充缺少的颜色，而不是一次填充多种颜色，因为颜色墨盒(color cartridge)中的一种颜色已用完。他们的EcoTank打印机比其他具有类似功能的墨盒打印机更贵，但爱普生(Epson)承诺降低总拥有成本。我们得到了Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One 打印机(Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer)，这是一种流行的型号美国家庭(US home)用户。我们对其进行了大约三周的测试，这是我们在将其用作打印机时所学到的：
Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One 打印机(Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer)擅长什么？
Epson Expression ET-2600 一体(Epson Expression ET-2600 all-in-one)机打印机是家庭用户的理想选择，他们最优先考虑的是低成本打印，并且他们认为这一点高于其他功能。
优点和缺点
Epson Expression ET-2600具有以下优势：
- 与传统的基于墨盒的打印机相比，低成本墨水瓶理论上可以帮助您节省高达 80% 的笔芯费用
- 重新填充墨水盒很简单。即使是孩子也可以做到。我们测试了一个 10 岁的孩子。🙂
- 草稿(Draft)质量设置使用很少的墨水
- 使用标准(Standard)或高质量(High-quality)设置时的高质量打印
- 您可以使用它从 PC 和智能手机或平板电脑(smartphone or tablet)（iOS 和 Android(iOS and Android)）打印
不幸的是，Epson Expression ET-2600有很多缺点：
- 加油时不注意，很容易弄脏手或弄脏衣服
- 草稿(Draft) 质量设置(quality setting)不适用于带有彩色文本和图像(text and images)的文档。你必须切换到标准(Standard)
- 您没有用于扫描仪的输入纸盘(paper tray)，也没有显示屏，只有按钮和LED(LEDs)
- 它不能进行无边距打印
- (Poor software and drivers)无法在最新版本的Windows 10上安装打印机的(Windows 10)不良软件和驱动程序
- 由于我们提到的驱动程序问题，盒子中没有USB 电缆，这使得初始设置更加困难(USB cable)
- Epson Connect 功能(Epson Connect feature)不起作用，您无法从任何地方打印，正如 Epson 所承诺的那样(Epson)
判决
Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One 打印机(Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer)在很大程度上是一招制式的小马：这完全取决于重新填充墨水的价格。您为打印机支付的费用更高，而重新填充墨水的费用却少得多。此外，使用标准(Standard)或高质量(High-quality)设置时，您可以获得高质量的打印件。但是，对于您获得的功能，Epson Expression ET-2600价格昂贵。其他品牌的打印机以类似的价格为您提供设置和使用打印机时可以使用的屏幕、用于扫描仪的输入纸盘(paper tray)和无边距打印(scanner and borderless prints)。更糟糕的是，Epson Expression ET-2600存在许多与驱动程序和软件相关的问题，这些问题会破坏用户体验(user experience)，尤其是在您使用Windows 10时。是的，使用Epson Expression ET-2600(Epson Expression ET-2600)的总运行成本可能会更好，但我们希望获得高质量的用户体验(quality user experience)。在我们审查这台打印机时，它没有提供。我们建议您查看同一爱普生系列(Epson family)中更昂贵的型号或其他品牌和类似价格的打印机。
Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One 打印机(Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer)拆箱
Epson Expression ET-2600 打印机(Epson Expression ET-2600 printer)装在一个大盒子里，顶部有设备图片及其一些最重要的特性。
在包装盒内，您会找到以下物品：打印机本身、四瓶墨水（黑色(Black)、青色(Cyan)、洋红色(Magenta)和黄色(Yellow)）、电源线(power cord)、用户手册以及包含驱动程序和其他实用程序的 CD。不幸的是，包装内没有USB线(USB cable)，这会使某些用户的安装方式(installation way)更加困难。
正如您所期望的那样，拆箱体验快速而轻松。没有高级配件。事实上，爱普生已决定不捆绑 USB 电缆通过 USB 端口将打印机连接到计算机。一些用户不会欣赏这个决定。(The unboxing experience is quick and painless, as you would expect. There are no premium accessories. In fact, Epson has decided not to bundle a USB cable to connect the printer to a computer through a USB port. Some users will not appreciate this decision.)
硬件规格和设计
爱普生(Epson)吹嘘说，Expression ET-2600配备了足够的墨水，可以使用(Expression ET-2600)草稿质量(draft quality)设置打印多达 4000 页黑色和 6500 页彩色。据说，这对于购买打印机后两年的正常家庭使用(home use)来说已经足够了。爱普生(Epson)表示，家庭用户(home use)平均每月打印约 150 页。不幸的是，我们无法验证这些说法，因为我们在发布此评论之前仅对这台打印机进行了三周的测试。
最大打印分辨率(print resolution)为 5760 x 1440 dpi（每英寸点数）。您从Epson Expression ET-2600获得的打印速度(print speed)在黑色打印时高达每分钟 10 页，在彩色打印时高达 4.5 页。进纸盘(paper tray)最多可容纳 100 张纸，而出纸盘(output paper tray)最多可容纳 30 张纸。这对于大多数家庭用户来说已经足够了。
这款一体机打印机也可以用作扫描仪或复印机。当您将它用作复印机时，它每分钟最多可以复印 7.7 页黑色和每分钟 3.7 页彩色。
当用作扫描仪时，它具有 2400 dpi（每英寸点数）的光学分辨率和 9600 dpi 的最大插值分辨率，这在扫描高质量照片(high-quality photography)时可能很有用。
Epson Expression ET-2600是一款无线打印机，可以使用 802.11 b/g/n WiFi标准。幸运的是，它还支持 WPS(WPS support)，可以更快地连接到您的家庭网络(home network)。
不幸的是，它不适用于使用 802.11ac 标准和 5 GHz 频率(GHz frequency)的现代网络。
关于操作系统支持(system support)，它适用于Windows（从Windows XP到Windows 10）、Mac OS X 10.6或更新版本、Android 和 iOS(Android and iOS)（通过Epson iPrint 移动应用程序(mobile app)）。
打印机相对较大，宽度x 深度(x depth)x 高度为 17.5" (x height)x 20.8 " 11.96" 或 44.45 x 52.83 x 30.37 cm 。它也很重，重 11 lb 或 5 kg。
如果您想查看所有官方规格，包括可以打印的纸张类型或工作温度，请转到此页面并单击(page and click) “查看完整规格：” ("See Full Specs:") Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One Printer .
设置Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One 打印机(Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer)
设置Epson Expression ET-2600和同一Epson 系列(Epson family)中的其他打印机与处理传统的基于墨盒的打印机时不同。拆开打印机包装并移除所有保护机制(protection mechanisms)后，您需要将墨水填充到墨槽中。这个过程并不复杂，任何人都可以做到。但是，如果您不注意，它可能会变得混乱。确保(Make)你没有弄脏你的衣服，因为墨水可能不会出来。
填充完水箱后，您应该打开打印机，等待电源指示灯(power light)停止闪烁，然后按下停止(Stop)按钮三秒钟。打印机开始充墨，这个过程大约需要 20 分钟。在此期间，您无法使用打印机，您必须等待该过程完成，然后才能执行任何其他操作。
接下来，装入纸张并将打印机软件安装到您要使用它的计算机上。我们尝试在新安装了Windows 10 Creators Update的台式计算机上安装(desktop computer)Epson Expression ET-2600，然后在另一台安装了Windows 10 Fall Creators Update的台式计算机上安装。爱普生(Epson)的安装程序(setup program)屡次失败，一直说：“打印机的IP地址可能不正确。请确保DHCP在您的网络中有效。”("The IP address of the printer may be incorrect. Make sure that DHCP is valid in your network.")
使用Epson Connect 打印机设置程序(Epson Connect Printer Setup program)时也遇到了相同的连接问题，该程序可帮助您创建一个Epson Connect 帐户(Epson Connect account)，您可以使用该帐户从 Internet 上的任何位置进行打印。无论我们做什么，爱普生(Epson)的软件都无法安装打印机。我们在同一网络上测试了另外两台来自其他品牌的无线打印机，它们都安装没有问题。这个问题是软件(software one)问题，由爱普生(Epson)的编程引起的。
由于没有捆绑USB 电缆(USB cable)，这个问题更加严重。如果有，您可以使用它安装打印机，然后将其配置为在您的无线网络(wireless network)上工作。幸运的是，我们可以使用WPS将打印机连接到无线网络(wireless network)和Windows 10的(Windows 10)设置向导(setup wizard)，以添加打印机。Windows 10能够在几秒钟内检测并安装打印机。之后，大部分Epson的应用程序开始检测打印机，我们能够使用它，但没有Epson Connect 功能(Epson Connect feature)。
我们还安装了适用于Android的(Android)Epson iPrint和Epson Print Enabler移动应用程序，并将打印机安装在装有Android 8.0 Oreo的(Oreo)Nexus 6P智能手机上。我们能够安装应用程序、检测打印机并将其配置(printer and configure)为移动打印。
与传统的基于墨盒的打印机相比，安装和设置 Epson Expression ET-2600 的过程更长。此外，这比应有的难度更大，因为爱普生没有将 USB 电缆与打印机捆绑在一起，并且其 Windows 驱动程序和软件(Installing and setting up Epson Expression ET-2600 is a lengthier process than on traditional cartridge-based printers. Also, it is more difficult than it should be, because Epson doesn't bundle a USB cable with the printer and its Windows drivers and software )存在(have )需要修复的错误和问题。(bugs and problems that need to be fixed.)
如果您想了解打印质量以及(print quality)复印和扫描文档(copying and scanning documents)、图片和图像时获得的体验，请转到本评论的第二页。
Reviewing Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer: The one trick pony!
Epson brags about its revolutionary EcoTank cartridge-free printing ѕystem. They hаve implemented it іn many of their printers, and it involves using refillable ink tanks that can be refilled in minutes, with cheap ink bottles, instead of expenѕive cartridges. You also get to refill only the cоlor that's mіssing, іnstead of several colors at once, just because one has run out in the color cartridge. Their EcoTank printеrs are more expensive than other cartridge-based printers with similar features, but Epson promises a lower total cost of ownershіp. We got oυr hands оn the Epson Expression EΤ-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer, which is a popular model for US home users. We tested it for about three weeks, and this is what we have leаrned when using it as our printer:
What is the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer good at?
The Epson Expression ET-2600 all-in-one printer is a suitable choice for home users whose top-priority is low-cost printing, and they prize this above other features.
Pros and cons
Epson Expression ET-2600 has the following strengths:
- Low-cost ink bottles that, in theory, should help you save up to 80% on refills, compared with traditional cartridge-based printers
- Refilling the ink tanks is straightforward. Even children can do it. We tested with a 10-year old. 🙂
- The Draft quality setting uses very little ink
- Good quality prints when using Standard or High-quality settings
- You can use it to print both from your PC and your smartphone or tablet (with iOS and Android)
Unfortunately, Epson Expression ET-2600 has quite a few downsides:
- If you don't pay attention when refilling the tanks, it is easy to dirty your hands or stain your clothes
- The Draft quality setting is unusable for documents with colored text and images. You have to switch to Standard
- You don't have an input paper tray for the scanner, and there is no display, only buttons, and LEDs
- It cannot do borderless prints
- Poor software and drivers that are not able to install the printer on the latest versions of Windows 10
- There is no USB cable in the box and that makes the initial setup even harder, because of the driver issues that we mentioned
- The Epson Connect feature doesn't work, and you can't print from anywhere, as promised by Epson
Verdict
The Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer is very much a one-trick pony: it is all about the price of refilling the ink. You pay more for the printer and a lot less to refill the ink. Also, you get good quality prints when using the Standard or High-quality settings. But, for the features that you get, Epson Expression ET-2600 is expensive. Printers from other brands, at a similar price, give you a screen that you can use when setting up and using the printer, an input paper tray for the scanner and borderless prints. To make things worse, Epson Expression ET-2600 has many driver and software related issues that ruin the user experience, especially if you are using Windows 10. Yes, the total running costs might be better with Epson Expression ET-2600, but we want a quality user experience to go with it. At the time we reviewed this printer, it doesn't deliver that. We recommend that you look at the more expensive models from the same Epson family or at printers from other brands and similar pricing.
Unboxing the Epson Expression ET-2600 EcoTank All-in-One printer
The Epson Expression ET-2600 printer comes in a large box which features a picture of the device on the top and some of its most important characteristics.
Inside the box, you will find the following items: the printer itself, four bottles of ink (Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow), the power cord, the user manual and a CD with drivers and other utilities. Unfortunately, there is no USB cable inside the packaging, and this will make the installation way more difficult for some users.
The unboxing experience is quick and painless, as you would expect. There are no premium accessories. In fact, Epson has decided not to bundle a USB cable to connect the printer to a computer through a USB port. Some users will not appreciate this decision.
Hardware specifications and design
Epson brags that Expression ET-2600 comes with enough ink to print up to 4000 pages in black and 6500 color pages, using the draft quality settings. Supposedly, this is enough for two years after purchasing the printer, in normal home use. Epson says that home users tend to print, on average, about 150 pages each month. Unfortunately we, cannot verify these claims, as we have tested this printer just for three weeks, before publishing this review.
The maximum print resolution is 5760 x 1440 dpi (dots per inch). The print speed you get from Epson Expression ET-2600 is of up to 10 pages per minute when printing in black and 4.5 pages when printing in color. The input paper tray can take up to 100 sheets of paper, while the output paper tray can hold up to 30 sheets of paper. This is enough for most home users.
This all-in-one printer can also be used as a scanner or a copier. When you use it as a copier, it can copy up to 7.7 pages per minute, in black, and 3.7 pages per minute, in color.
When used as a scanner it has an optical resolution of 2400 dpi (dots per inch) and interpolated maximum resolution of 9600 dpi, which may be useful when scanning high-quality photography.
Epson Expression ET-2600 is a wireless printer and can work with the 802.11 b/g/n WiFi standards. Luckily, it also has WPS support, for faster connections to your home network.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work with modern networks that are using the 802.11ac standard and the 5 GHz frequency.
Regarding operating system support, it works with Windows (all the way from Windows XP to Windows 10), Mac OS X 10.6 or newer, Android and iOS (through the Epson iPrint mobile app).
The printer is relatively large, having 17.5" x 20.8" 11.96" or 44.45 x 52.83 x 30.37 cm in width x depth x height. It is also heavy, at 11 lb or 5 kg.
If you would like to see all the official specifications, including the types of paper it can print on, or the operating temperatures, go to this page and click "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 and other printers in the same Epson family is different than when dealing with conventional cartridge-based printers. After you unbox the printer and remove all the protection mechanisms, you need to fill the tanks with ink. This process is not complicated, and anyone can do it. However, it may get messy if you don't pay attention. Make sure that you don't dirty your clothes though, as the ink might not come out.
After you are done with filling the tanks, you should turn the printer on, wait for the power light to stop flashing and then press the Stop button for three seconds. The printer starts charging the ink, a process which takes approximately 20 minutes. During this time, you cannot use the printer, and you must wait for the process to finish, before doing anything else.
Next, load the paper and install the printer's software on a computer where you want to use it. We tried to install Epson Expression ET-2600 on a desktop computer with Windows 10 Creators Update freshly installed and then on another one with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Epson's setup program has repeatedly failed and kept saying that: "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.
This issue is even more aggravated by the fact that there is no USB cable bundled. If there were, you could install the printer using that and then configure it to work on your wireless network. Luckily, we could use WPS to connect the printer to the wireless network and the setup wizard from Windows 10, for adding a printer. Windows 10 was able to detect and install the printer in seconds. After that, most of Epson's applications started to detect the printer, and we were able to use it, but without the Epson Connect feature.
We also installed the Epson iPrint and Epson Print Enabler mobile apps for Android and installed the printer on a Nexus 6P smartphone with Android 8.0 Oreo. We were able to install the apps, detect the printer and configure it for mobile printing.
Installing and setting up Epson Expression ET-2600 is a lengthier process than on traditional cartridge-based printers. Also, it is more difficult than it should be, because Epson doesn't bundle a USB cable with the printer and its Windows drivers and software have bugs and problems that need to be fixed.
Go to the second page of this review if you want to learn about the print quality and the experience you get when copying and scanning documents, pictures, and images.
