This review first appeared in issue 353 ofPC Pro.
Well come back to the latter, but the first is explained by this MFPs refillable ink tanks.
Its better value out of the box than a comparable entry-level, cartridge-based machine.
These ink tanks make all the difference, turning this MFP into a bargain
And entry-level the ET-2830 is.
Instead, you get a few buttons and LEDs, and a reasonably appealing and uncluttered design.
It offers just a single rear paper feed, and a basic scanner with no ADF.
Theprintercant flip over pages for double-sided prints, although the driver will help you do it manually.
The ET-2830 arrives with blue tape holding down every conceivable flap.
We found its verbosity annoying, but it worked perfectly and turned out to be a time-saver overall.
Once set up, this MFP offers no real surprises.
As you might expect, its not especially fast, managing only 12.3ppm on our 25-page black text test.
However, with the print quality dropped to draft it reached 17.2ppm significantly more than Epsons stated 15ppm.
Color photocopies provided another opportunity to grow facial hair, with a single copy needing 35 seconds.
At least mono copies, at 14 seconds each, were relatively brisk.
The ET-2850sscannerdidnt hang about at lower resolutions.
At 300dpi, the same job took 22 seconds.
However, scan speeds remained competitive at 1,200dpi, with the same document needing just less than a minute.
Delightfully, theres nothing especially entry-level about the quality of this MFPs prints, scans or copies.
Draft text was quite faint, but Normal quality produced crisp and dark results.
Photocopies faithfully reproduced the originals although colour copies were a touch less saturated.
The EcoTank ET-2830 may be basic, but its not unduly slow, and it does everything well.
Dont be fooled by the purchase price: the ET-2830 is a bargain.
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