Epson EcoTank ET-2900: Specs, Price, Pros & Cons
This review measures the Epson EcoTank ET-2900 against the full 24-spec sheet we track for printers, comparing it like for like with the 50 other models in our database. It earns a VS Score of 36 out of 100 — the weighted result of every verified specification measured against the class average.
On the spec sheet it is strongest in connectivity and weakest in scanning & copying. Its clearest single advantage over the class average: a higher print resolution — 5,760 dpi vs 4,041.94 dpi (avg). Street prices currently start at $ 239.99 for the Epson EcoTank ET-2900.
Category strengths
Where the Epson EcoTank ET-2900 beats the average
- Has supertank / refillable ink ?
- A higher print resolution ?5,760 dpi vs 4,041.94 dpi (avg)
- A much lighter build ?4.2 kg vs 9.07 kg (avg)
- Has color printing ?
- Has all-in-one ?
- Has Wi-Fi Direct ?
- Has Apple AirPrint ?
- Has Wi-Fi ?
Where the Epson EcoTank ET-2900 trails the average
- A lower print speed (black) ?11 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg)
- No automatic duplex printing ?
- No automatic document feeder ?
- A much lower print speed (color) ?6 ppm vs 12.51 ppm (avg)
- A much lower input tray capacity ?100 sheets vs 182.02 sheets (avg)
- No ethernet ?
- A much lower monthly duty cycle ?5,000 pages vs 19,346.15 pages (avg)
- No touchscreen display ?
- A much lower output tray capacity ?30 sheets vs 68.95 sheets (avg)
- No duplex scanning ?
Editor’s note
The ET-2900 is the cheapest way into Epson's EcoTank idea, and that idea is still the most persuasive argument in home printing. Instead of cartridges you get four bottles in the box, enough for roughly three years of light household use, and refills that cost a fraction of what an equivalent stack of cartridges would. If you are the sort of person who prints twenty pages one week and nothing for two months, this is the machine that stops you discovering a dried-out, empty cartridge every time you need something urgently. Epson's Heat-Free printhead is designed to last the life of the printer, which matters more on a tank machine than a cartridge one.
Be clear about what the entry price buys, though, because the ET-2900 is the bottom of the range and Epson has trimmed accordingly. There is no automatic duplex – two-sided printing means feeding the stack back in yourself. There is no document feeder, so scanning or copying a ten-page contract is ten trips to the flatbed lid. There is no ethernet port and no fax. The wireless radio is Wi-Fi 4 only, which is fine for a printer's tiny data needs but does mean it will want a 2.4 GHz network available. The 1.44-inch screen is navigated with buttons, not touch.
Speed is modest and honest: 11 ISO ppm black, 6 colour. The 5760 x 1440 print resolution and the four-bottle dye set do produce genuinely good photos for the money, which is not something you can say of most printers at this price.
The design detail I would flag is the paper path. The 100-sheet capacity comes from an open vertical rear feed rather than a closed front cassette, so loaded paper sits exposed – worth thinking about if the printer is going to live somewhere dusty or in a room where things get knocked.
Buy it for low-volume home printing where ink cost is the thing that has been irritating you. Anything resembling office work wants a model further up the range.
Specifications
Quality bars are generated automatically against 50 other printers.
Printing
Laser prints crisp text fast; inkjet handles photos and colour better.
Prints in colour, not just black and white.
Black-and-white pages per minute; higher is faster.
Colour pages per minute; higher is faster.
A higher dot density produces sharper prints.
Prints both sides of the page without manual flipping.
Refillable ink tanks cut the cost per page dramatically.
The maximum recommended pages per month.
Scanning & copying
Scans and copies as well as prints.
Feeds multi-page documents through the scanner unattended.
How many pages the document feeder holds at once.
Scans both sides of a page automatically.
Sends and receives faxes.
Paper handling
A larger tray needs refilling less often.
How many printed pages the output tray holds.
The largest paper format supported (e.g. Letter, Legal, A3).
Connectivity
Print wirelessly over the home network.
Connect devices directly without a router.
A wired network port for reliable office use.
A direct USB connection to a computer.
Print from iPhone, iPad and Mac without extra drivers.
Print and manage the printer from a phone app.
Design
An onboard touchscreen makes standalone tasks easier.
A lighter printer is easier to place and move.
How the VS Score works — and what it can’t tell you
Every measurable spec is scored against the average of all the printers we track: matching the class average scores 50, clearly beating it climbs towards 100, and each spec counts according to an editorial weight that reflects real-world impact — a battery-capacity gap moves the score far more than a colour-options list. The quality bars on the spec cards above show where this model sits inside the full range for its class, and the overall VS Score rolls every weighted result into one number.
Unknown values are never estimated. A spec this product doesn’t report simply drops out of its scoring — it isn’t penalised with a guess — but a thinner spec sheet does mean a score built on fewer data points, which is why completeness is disclosed under About this data.
Most importantly: a spec-sheet lead is not the same as a better product. Megapixels, gigahertz and benchmark points describe capacity, not experience — image processing, software optimisation, thermals, haptics and ergonomics decide how a device actually feels, and no table captures reliability or long-term support quality. Treat the VS Score as a structured summary of what can be measured, not a substitute for your own priorities.
About this data
- Specifications are compiled from each manufacturer’s official spec sheet, cross-checked against trusted specification databases, and normalised into one schema so identical things are compared identically.
- Specifications last verified August 23, 2026.
- Data completeness: 23 of the 24 specs in this category are verified (96%). Anything we could not verify is shown as Unknown — never estimated — and is excluded from the score.
- Prices and availability come from live retailer feeds via our shopping partners and refresh throughout the day; a missing price means no partner currently lists the product, not that it is discontinued.
- Want the full picture? Our editorial guidelines explain how we research products, weight the scores and stay independent.
- Spotted an error in a spec? Tell us and we will correct the sheet.
Where to buy
Prices and availability may change. Check the retailer before buying. We may earn a commission on purchases.
Price history
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The bottom line
The Epson EcoTank ET-2900 earns a VS Score of 36, trailing most of the 51 printers we compare here, at least on the spec sheet.
- Who it’s for
- Low-volume households that print in bursts and have been burned by cartridges drying out between jobs. It is also a surprisingly capable little photo printer for the money.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone who routinely prints double-sided, scans or copies multi-page documents, needs a wired network connection, or prints enough that 11 ppm would become a daily irritation.
- The trade-off that matters
- You get EcoTank's ink economics at the lowest price Epson charges for them, and give up the automatic duplex, document feeder and ethernet that the models one step up include.
- The main alternative
- The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is the same ink system with automatic 2-sided printing added, which is the single feature most people miss on the ET-2900 and worth the modest step up if you print reports or school work.
The VS Score is generated automatically from the weighted specifications above, measured against all other printers in our database. Treat it as a shortlisting guide — not a substitute for your own priorities.
