The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a supertank all-in-one printer. It uses refillable ink tanks instead of traditional ink cartridges, which are compatible with Epson 542 Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow ink. The ADF-equipped scanner supports dual-pass duplex scanning, and it also offers fax functionality. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, USB, and Ethernet, and it can also print directly from a USB flash drive. It's compatible with the Epson Smart Panel app, which allows you to perform tasks such as printing and scanning, perform remote maintenance tasks, and order ink and supplies.
There are several variants of this printer, each with different features and performance. See the Differences Between Variants section below for more details.
Our Verdict
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is a good printer for home use, but it's not its intended purpose. It's very big, which makes storing it a hassle. That said, it prints sharp-looking documents and good-looking photos. Its photos aren't particularly color-accurate, but they're fine for casual photo printing. Its feature-rich scanner offers great versatility, from scanning long documents with its ADF to digitizing material from textbooks thanks to adjustable flatbed hinges; however, scan quality is only okay. Scans tend to look oversaturated and lack some fine details. However, on the bright side, this printer supports a wide range of connectivity options, making it convenient and easy for the whole family to use.
Produces sharp documents.
- Superb page yields and cost-per-print.
- Produces good-quality photos.
Numerous connectivity options.
- Mediocre color accuracy.
Scanning image processing culls background elements.
Can clog if it's left unused.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is an excellent printer for small offices. Its refillable ink tanks yield thousands of pages, and it prints sharp-looking documents quickly. The feature-rich scanner boasts an ADF with dual-pass duplex scanning, making it easy to process multi-page and double-sided documents. There are also many wired and wireless connectivity options, making it convenient to use regardless of your office's setup.
Produces sharp documents.
- Superb page yields and cost-per-print.
ADF-equipped scanner with double-pass duplex scanning.
Fast printing speeds.
Numerous connectivity options.
Scanning image processing culls background elements.
The Epson EcoTank ET-5850 is a decent option if you want a printer that requires minimal maintenance and is always ready to print when needed. Like other inkjet models, it can clog if left unused, so regular printing is recommended to keep the printheads clear. Although the printheads are not replaceable, the high flushing volume helps resolve most clogs without requiring an ink refill. Its large ink tanks provide outstanding page yields, making it a very cost-effective choice. It's also quick, especially compared to most other EcoTanks, which tend to be slower performers.
- Superb page yields and cost-per-print.
Fast printing speeds.
Numerous connectivity options.
Can clog if it's left unused.
Printheads aren't user-replaceable.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is good for casual photo printing. While this printer has a fairly wide color gamut, capable of reproducing saturated tones and hues, its color accuracy is only okay and not suitable for use in a professional environment. Despite some graininess, photos look great for at-home use. The cost-per-print is superb thanks to this printer's refillable ink tank system, which yields thousands of prints. Finally, there's wide support for photo paper sizes.
- Superb page yields and cost-per-print.
- Produces good-quality photos.
Wide color gamut results in detailed prints.
- Doesn't support 2" x 3" format paper.
- Mediocre color accuracy.
The Epson EcoTank ET-5850 boasts an exceptional page yield, similar to other supertank printers in this line. It's an ideal choice for those with high printing needs.
- Superb page yields and cost-per-print.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 prints quickly. It can produce 25 black or color pages per minute, and the first page will be ready in nine seconds. Its photo printing speeds are also impressive, as it completes a 4" x 6" print in just over 29 seconds.
Fast printing speeds.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 produces outstanding documents. Text is sharp, and fine elements, like lines on a graph, are clear. There's a bit of banding present.
Produces sharp documents.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 offers a feature-rich scanner. Its ADF is capable of double-pass duplex scanning for processing long, double-sided documents, and the flatbed scanner's hinges are slightly adjustable to accommodate larger items, such as textbooks or magazines. As for the scan quality, it's just okay. Text is clear, and colors are vibrant, but the image processing is too aggressive in trying to remove artifacts; it also removes background and fine elements like lines on a graph or watermarks.
ADF-equipped scanner with double-pass duplex scanning.
Scanning image processing culls background elements.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Dec 16, 2025:
We've updated text throughout the review after converting to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Dec 16, 2025: We've updated the review to Test Bench 1.3, which adds a number of test boxes including Risk of Clogging and Ease of Unclogging. We also updated the Usage and Performance boxes at the top of the review to better integrate the new aspects covered. See the changelog.
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Updated Feb 14, 2025:
We've rewritten the Introduction, verdict boxes, and the 'Compared To Other Printers' box to bring them in line with our current standards for printer reviews.
- Updated Sep 21, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 in white. There are two other variants, the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5800 and the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5880, with different features and performance. See the differences in the table below.
| Name | Advertised Printing Speed | Maximum Advertised Print Resolution | Color | Additional Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5800 | 25 black/12 color ppm | 4800 x 1200 dpi | Black, White | N/A |
| Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 | 25 black/25 color ppm | 4800 x 2400 dpi | Black, White | N/A |
| Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5880 | 25 black/25 color ppm | 4800 x 1200 dpi | Black, White | PostScript and PCL print language support |
See our unit's label.
Popular Printer Comparisons
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is an outstanding all-in-one supertank printer for small or home offices. Its supertank ink system has incredible page yields and a very low cost-per-print. Compared to most other supertank printers we've tested, it prints very quickly, and its photo printing speed is especially impressive. That said, this isn't the best choice for photo printing; while the photos look detailed, they're not color-accurate enough for professional photo printing.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best printers for small businesses, the best office printers, and the best all-in-one printers.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 and the Epson EcoTank ET-3850 are two all-in-one supertank printers, but the ET-5850 performs much better overall. The ET-5850 has faxing abilities, and its ADF can perform duplex scanning. Also, it has significantly faster print speeds, produces higher quality photos, and its colors are much more accurate-looking. On the other hand, the ET-3850 yields significantly more pages for both color and black-only documents.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 and the Epson EcoTank ET-15000 are all-in-one color inkjet printers with supertanks, but the ET-5850 is better for small or home offices. The ET-5850's ADF supports duplex scanning, it has a much larger input tray capacity, and it prints significantly faster. On the other hand, the ET-15000 can print on wide tabloid-format paper for specialty prints, and it has much better page yields and cost-per-print.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4950 and Epson EcoTank ET-5850 have similar capabilities, but the ET-5850 is better suited for larger workloads. While their print capabilities and page yields are similar, the ET-5850 is much quicker, and its input drawers have much larger capacities.
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5180 and the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 are both supertank inkjet printers with similar features. Choosing between these two models depends on what you care about more. The ET-5850 prints faster and has a larger input tray, but the ET-5180 yields significantly more pages, resulting in a lower cost per print. The ET-5850 has automatic duplex scanning, while the ET-5180's is manual, meaning you need to rearrange the pages through software.
Test Results
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