If your printer at home or office still uses the traditional ink cartridges, you’re likely spending more, especially if you’re always printing out documents or photos. These cartridges tend to run out quickly and at the same time are costly to replace. Additionally, if you have a separate scanner and no copier at home, you’ll need to transfer scanned files to your PC or laptop just to print them. These extra steps can lead to increased costs and waste more of your time even at work.
So, if you’re planning to buy a new printer or upgrade your current one, we recommend the Epson EcoTank L3550. It’s an all-in-one printer, scanner, and copier designed to maximize everyday productivity and convenience for both home and office users.
What makes the Epson EcoTank L3550 unique is its built-in high-capacity refillable ink tank system which helps reduce printing costs and supports sustainability through the brands eco-friendly innovation.
So, let’s dive into the key features of the Epson EcoTank L3550 and share our hands-on experience.
Design and Build Quality
The Epson EcoTank L3550 falls under the brand’s Ink Tank category. It has a sleek and compact design with overall dimensions of approximately 375 x 347 x 179 mm and weighs around 4.1 kg.
It’s lightweight which makes it easily portable, allowing us to carry it around the house without any issues from the living room to the bedroom when I need to do my review.
Clad in an elegant black color, the exterior body of the Epson EcoTank L3550 is primarily made of durable plastic using a high-quality matte-finish plastic for a clean and modern look. Epson incorporated around 30% of recycled materials in their product designs to support sustainability.
Although our review unit was not delivered in its original packaging box, our product guide states that it also uses over 80% recycled cardboard, it shows Epson’s full commitment to minimizing its carbon footprint.
The printer operates at 12W during printing, consumes 7.1W in standby mode, and drops to just 0.8W in sleep mode making it energy-efficient for home or office when not in use. It runs on a rated voltage of AC 220–240V which is standard and common in printers.
Going over at the key components of the printer, you have the Rear Paper Feeder at the back to load the various paper sizes and media you need to print. It has a Paper Support to ensure that the paper stays upright and feeds it correctly while the Adjustable Edge Guide helps to align it preventing skewed prints.
To prevent dust or foreign objects, such as coins, paper clips, staple wire etc. from entering the Rear Paper Feeder, a Feeder Guard is in place to serve as a protective cover.
Located at the front is the Output Tray Cover that helps protect the tray from dust and other unwanted intrusions which something I learned and experience the hard way, in another printer at my second work, when a cockroach unexpectedly crawled out after I printed a document.
Inside you’ll see the Output Tray which slides out to hold the printed documents once they exit and a small extension at the end to prevent your print outs from falling off the tray.
Just above the Output Tray Cover is another cover panel that you can manually pull down to remove any jammed paper or foreign objects stuck inside the feeder. Be cautious not to touch any internal parts of the printer, as this may cause damage. If there’s a problem, it’s best to bring the printer to a nearest Epson Service Center.
One of the printer’s main highlights is prominently located at the front-right side, the brand’s revolutionary ink tank system, the Epson EcoTank. This integrated system features a protective ink tank cover that helps prevent dust from entering, along with clearly visible ink tanks for each color, allowing users to easily monitor ink levels and refill them when needed.
The Epson EcoTank also incorporates its proprietary technologies, such as the PrecisionCore Printhead, which delivers faster printing speeds, and Heat-Free Technology, which eliminates the need for heat during the ink ejection process. This results in lower power consumption and promotes more sustainable printing by minimizing energy use and reducing environmental impact.
Refilling each color of the EcoTank is quick and hassle-free, thanks to its uniquely designed, spill-free, and error-free bottle nozzles. You can easily purchase Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow ink bottles with the ink code 003 from computer shops, office supply stores, or authorized Epson resellers.
Situated at the top portion of the printer, the Control Panel features several buttons and LED indicators that allow the user to operate the printer and monitor its status. This model does not include an LED display. The available buttons include Power, Wi-Fi Setup, Paper Size, Monochrome Copy, Color Copy, and Print Head Cleaning.
Same as other all-in-one printer, the scanner unit is found at the top section of the printer which can be lifted to place documents on the scanner glass for copying or scanning.
On the back end of the printer, the Epson EcoTank L3550 features a replaceable maintenance box at the left side that collects and stores excess ink generated during print head cleaning and borderless printing tasks. Having this helps you avoid trips to a service center, reduces repair downtime, and improves overall efficiency for the user.
While the right side houses the USB Port to connect between the printer and a computer. Then the AC port where you can plug the power cord to supply electricity to the printer.
Fast and Cost-Effective Printing
We all know that the Epson EcoTank L3550 primarily functions as a printer, but it’s also part of an all-in-one device with additional capabilities. So, let’s check how it manages our printing requirements.
The EcoTank L3550 supports bi-directional printing (printhead movement—left to right and right to left) and offers a print margin of 0 mm on all sides via custom settings in the printer driver. Print quality delivers a maximum resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi thanks to Variable-Sized Droplet Technology and a minimum droplet size of 3.3 pl.
Print speeds of the printer can achieve up to 15.0 ipm in black and 8.0 ipm in colour for the ISO 24734 A4 simplex. For draft printing, the speeds go up to 33.0 ppm in black and white and 20.0 ppm in colour. The first page out time from ready mode is approximately 10 seconds for black and 16 seconds for colour.
The printer supports borderless photo printing up to 4R or 4×6 inches (10×15 cm), with print times ranging from approximately 69 to 90 seconds.
You can stack and print up to 100 sheets of regular plain paper, such as coupon bond, in the rear paper tray. The output tray can hold up to 30 sheets of plain paper, while 20 sheets when using premium glossy photo paper.
Here’s how long it took to print each file, along with the type of media used:
- Sales Invoice – Letter size, Black and White: 15 seconds
- Newsletter with Text and Single Image – Letter size, Color, Best Quality: 32 seconds
- Print Ad for Proofing – Photo Glossy Paper, A4, Best Quality: 3 minutes 28 seconds
“Here’s a close-up to show the print quality—there’s no visible banding, the colors are accurate, and the text is sharp.”
With the EcoTank ink system, the brand claims that it has a high page yield for the black color at 4,300 pages while the Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow color can print up to a maximum of 7,300 pages. This is a cost-effective printer capable of high-volume printing, especially for work, but actual page yield may vary depending on how the device is used.
The printer does not support automatic 2-sided printing, so pages must be flipped manually.
Efficient Scanning and Copying Made Easy
Besides printing, you can use the Epson EcoTank L3550 to scan or make copies of documents, photos, IDs, receipts etc.
As a copier, it can produce a maximum of 30 copies without needing a computer connection. It supports image resolutions up to 600 x 600 dpi and can replicate large documents up to A4 and Letter sizes.
Left: Printed copy of the scanned document; Right: Original document
Left: Printed copy of the scanned document; Right: Original document
Based on the output from the copied original document, the image quality is quite good, especially the text, which appears sharp and clear. However, the colors are slightly muted, with less vibrancy in the contrast and black tones.
If ever you need a digital softcopy of a particular document or photo, the flatbed scanner of the EcoTank L3550 can do the job easily.
It can scan an area of 216 x 297 mm, approximately the size of an A4 sheet and an optical resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi. It uses a Contact Image Sensor (CIS), which consumes less power compared to traditional scanners.
“The glass area can accommodate up to an A4 size document to scan.”
The scanner can capture color data at a high depth of 48-bit input and a standard 24-bit output. It also supports a16-bit input and 8-bit output in grayscale and 16-bit input and 1-bit output in black and white images or text to reduce file size.
When scanning at 200 dpi, expect a black-and-white documents to finish in around 11 seconds, while color scans may take up to 28 seconds which is still pretty good.
We tried scanning one of our printouts and after doing a preview at 200 dpi, it took 19.72 seconds to complete the scan and save it to our document folder. At 300 dpi, the scan finished in just 28.88 seconds. You can set the resolution up to a maximum of 1200 dpi.
“This is the quality of the scanned document at 200dpi with dimensions at 1654 x 2338 pixels and a file size of 651kb.”
Other Features
If you need to print directly from your other devices like smartphones or tablet, the printer has wireless connectivity feature supporting Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n and Wi-Fi Direct. With this option you can download Epson’s proprietary apps for extra convenience like the Epson Print, Epson Smart Panel App, etc.
If the printer is a standalone device in your office or in a co-working space and needs to be accessible without the need to connect it to a PC or laptop, you can install the Epson Smart Panel App. The app will able you to control and manage the printer directly from your smartphone or tablet. The app allows you to remotely power On/Off, print, scan, and copy documents or photos. You can also access printer settings, check ink levels, and monitor the printer’s status in real-time. Firmware updates can also be done through the app.
In terms of product warranty, Epson provides a local manufacturer warranty coverage of up to 2 years or 50,000 prints (whichever comes first) including the printhead. We would also advise users to register the product and join MyEpson membership program which offers faster customer support and exclusive warranty perks, just visit https://my.epson.com.ph/s/login/?language=en_US
OS and Connectivity
The printer is compatible with various operating systems including Windows XP SP3 to 11, Windows Server versions 2003 to 2022 and Mac OS X 10.9.x or later. The wide OS compatibility lets users easily connect the printer to both old and new systems without needing major upgrades.
For connectivity, the printer primarily uses a USB 2.0 Type-B port to connect to the printer and a USB 2.0 Type-A port to connect to a device such as a PC or laptop. It also supports wireless network connections via Wi-Fi. It also supports various network protocols including TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6, as well as network management protocols like SNMP, HTTP, and DHCP.
Price and Availability
The Epson EcoTank L3550 Ink Tank Printer is price at PHP11,580.00 now available nationwide in all Epson authorized partners and resellers. If you don’t have time to go out and prefer to order the printer online, you can purchase it through Epson’s official e-commerce partners on Lazada and Shopee.
What We Like
- Compact and Lightweight
- Sustainable Build Materials
- Innovative EcoTank System
- User Friendly Paper Handling
- Print Speeds and Quality
- High Page Yield
- Scan and Copy Feature
- Replaceable Maintenance Box
What We Want
- Auto 2-Sided Printing
- LCD Display
- Faster Color Scan Speed
Conclusion
At PHP11,580, the Epson EcoTank L3550 is a reliable and compact all-in-one printer that’s ideal for everyday use at home or in the office. Its sleek design, low power consumption, and eco-friendly materials make it both practical and sustainable which is something especially important today.
The innovative EcoTank system lowers printing costs, is easy to refill and maintain, and can print thousands of pages. The simple control panel also makes it user-friendly.
It prints, scans, and copies well, offering good speed and quality for both documents and photos. While it lacks a few features we would’ve liked, its low printing cost and refillable ink system make it a smart and budget-friendly choice.
Full Specifications – Epson EcoTank L3550
- Price: PHP11,580
- Print Type: Print, Scan and Copy
Printing
- Printing Technology: PrecisionCore Printhead
- Nozzle Configuration: 400 x 1 nozzles Black, 128 x 1 nozzles per Colour (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow)
- Print Direction: Bi-directional printing
- Maximum Resolution: 4800 x 1200 dpi (with Variable-Sized Droplet Technology)
- Maximum Ink Droplet Volume:3 pl
- Print Speed: Up to 33 ppm / 20 ppm (Draft Text A4, Black/Colour); Simplex: Up to 15 ipm / 8 ipm (ISO 24734 A4, Black/Colour); Approx. 10 sec / 16 sec (First Page Out Time, Black/Colour); Approx. 69 sec / 90 sec (Photo Default 10x15cm / 4×6 inches, Border/Borderless)
- Printer Language: ESC/P-R No
Copying
- Copy Speed: (ISO 29183 Black/Colour) Simplex: Up to 10.8 ipm / 5.5 ipm
- Copy Quality: Standard
- Maximum Copies from Standalone: 30 copies
- Maximum Copy Resolution: 600 x 600 dpi
- Maximum Copy Size: A4, LTR
Scanning
- Scanner Type: Flatbed colour image scanner
- Sensor Type: CIS
- Optical Resolution:1200 x 2400 dpi
- Maximum Scan Area: 216 x 297 mm (8.5 x 11.7″)
- Scanner Bit Depth: Colour 48-bit input, 24-bit output; Grayscale 16-bit input, 8-bit output; Black & White 16-bit input, 1-bit output
- Scan Speed: Monochrome 200dpi 11 sec; Colour 200dpi 28 sec
Paper Handling
- Paper Feed Method: Friction feed
- Number of Paper Tray: 1
- Paper Hold Capacity: (Input Capacity) 100 sheets of Plain Paper (80 g/m2 ), 20 sheets of Premium Glossy Photo Paper; (Output Capacity) 30 sheets of Plain Paper (80 g/m2 ), 20 sheets of Premium Glossy Photo Paper
- Paper Sizes: A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Letter, Legal, Indian-Legal, 100 x 148 mm, 3.5 x 5″, 4 x 6″, 5 x 7″, 5 x 8″, 8 x 10″, 8.5 x 13″, 16:9 Wide, 16K, Envelopes: #10, DL, C6
- Maximum Paper Size:9 x 1200 mm (8.5 x 47.24″)
- Supported paper Weight: (Plain Paper) 64 – 90 g/m2; (Premium Glossy Photo) 102 – 300 g/m2
- Print Margin: 0 mm top, left, right, bottom via custom settings in printer driver
- USB: USB 2.0
- Network: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
- Network Protocol: TCP/IPv4, TCP/IPv6
- Network Printing Protocols: LPD, IPP (L5590 Only), PORT9100, WSD
- Network Management Protocols: SNMP, HTTP, DHCP, BOOTP (L5590 Only), APIPA, PING, DDNS, mDNS, SLP, WSD, LLTD
- Mobile/Software: Epson iPrint, Epson Email Print, Remote Print Driver
- Other Mobile/Software: Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, Epson Smart Panel
- Epson Consumable: 4,300 pages (Black); 7,300 pages (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow)
- OS: Windows XP SP3 to 11, Windows Server 2003 to 2022, Max OS X 11 or later, Chrome OS ver. 89 or later
- Rated Voltage: AC 220-240 V
- Power Consumption: 12W Operating, 7.1W Standby
