Introducing the Money Saving Epson ET-4550 Printer

I have always been a printer hogger at home. I used to get moaned at for using up all the paper when I was growing up, printing posters for my bedroom wall, song lyrics and of course all my coursework. When Midge was born I used my printers for all her photos instead of using online sites, but then cartridges got more and more expensive and then I moved out and never managed to afford a new printer so back I went to the library and begging parents to print things out for school route. 


Now things have changed! I have been sent this amazing printer, the Epson ET-4550. It is an Eco Tank printer, ink cartridges have been replaced with ink filters which can last up to 2 years saving you money in the long run. Already a win for me. This printer can print up to 11000 pages in black and white or colour and delivers your print outs fast.

When I received the ET-4550 I was surprised by how lightweight it was despite its size. I popped it on my craft drawers next to several sockets and started the set up! This printer is also a copier, fax and has a scanner too. It came with magenta, black, blue and yellow ink bottles which is where I started. 




I was worried I would need a super steady hand but filling the ink tank was really easy. First open the ink bottle and remove the foil cover, then pop the lid back on tightly. I'd recommend doing those 2 steps then snipping the top off of the ink lid to avoid any mess. The ink tank is clearly labelled so you don't have to worry about filling the wrong ink tank up with one of the other colours. There is a clearly marked line to indicate where your ink should fill up to and then you can replace the rubber stoppers before closing the lid to the tank. What I also found great about the ink bottles was the drip flow, this minimised spillages. Any ink I did spill was a very, very tiny amount and cleaned up easily straight away. 




I then plugged the printer in and set up the space around me to continue the set up process. You can set up your fax function around this point too but I haven't done this yet purely because I have no idea who I would fax! For a working office or someone who does use fax I'm sure you'd have no trouble setting it up because the instructions are very straight forward.

Once set up I loaded my paper into the bottom tray for printing. We also tried the scanner at this point and it was really great quality. Following the instructions on the printers screen I was easily able to connect to my wifi and select layouts, paper size, quantities etc The longest part of this set up is allowing the ink tank to fill up which takes 20 minutes , I was just impatient to get started, it's really not that long to wait! 


The ET-4550 is WiFi connected, some laptops will recognise your printer straight away using the wireless detection and some can download the software using the disk provided with the information booklets.I don't have a CD Drive on my laptop so I searched the Epson link provided in the booklet and found the download process straightforward. I actually downloaded the software as I was waiting for the ink tank to fill so this helped waste some time!

I wasted no time in printing out some documents, coupons and also photos which was the one thing I really wanted to try. Printing was surprisingly quick and every image and document was clear. I am really pleased.

As I read through the booklet I decided to try connecting the Epson ET-4550 printer to my phone. I downloaded the Epson app using the app store on my phone, (this is free), and as long as your phone has no trouble finding your printer you're well away. If you have a little trouble you can find your printers I.P address which came up on my screen during the downloading process on my laptop which helps your phone find the connection. I printed a photo and several coupons from my bedroom (2 floors up!) with zero problems. The paper tray caught the print outs so they were not on my floor when I came down, the connection didn't have any trouble considering I was pretty far from my front room and again, print quality couldn't be faulted!



I have been blown away by this printer. It's the first printer we have owned in years. I know the ink will last a very long time because we don't print a huge amount. I'm pleased I can now print coupons for my shopping, the children can print out school work and I don't have to pay the library for their printing and scanning services (or ask my Dad repeatedly if he has remembered to print something important that I need!) I also have to add that I like that this printer is environmentally friendly. Not many people discard cartridges properly but now cartridges aren't a problem and I know my local recycling center take the plastic ink bottles, I can pop them out for collection and this is a plus to me.

The Epson ET-4550 has an RRP of £369.99 and comes with a 3 year warranty on the Epson site. I think it is absolutely worth the money. In the long run this printer will save you money on cartridges that in my experience don't last very long and these days even come with price tags as high as £20! What do you think? Would this printer save you money?

Cupcake Mumma

2 comments:

  1. What a bargain ! you can finally print all those money saving coupons now :-)

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    Replies
    1. I know I'm so excited and have already been at it! Very lucky :)

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