Best Ink Tank Printers in 2026

Quick picks

Epson’s speeds are ISO/IEC 24734 ratings from its spec sheets. Canon’s online manual for the G3270 doesn’t list a print speed or bottle yields. Specs come from Epson’s product pages, spec sheets and user’s guides, and from Canon’s online manual for the G3070 series, which lists the G3270 among the models it covers. All were checked October 9, 2026.

1. Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5150: best for a busy home office

The ET-5150 has the highest color speed rating of the printers here that publish one, and it’s the only pick that pairs automatic 2-sided printing with a document feeder. Epson rates it at 17 ISO ppm in black and 9.5 in color, or 7.5 and 5 ISO ppm when it prints on both sides. Paper loads into a front cassette that holds 250 sheets of plain letter or A4 paper (50 legal), and the 35-sheet feeder (10 legal) handles multi-page copies and scans.

• Ink: Epson DURABrite ET pigment inks in black and color. A replacement set of 542 bottles is rated for up to 7,500 pages black and 6,000 color, and the box includes 2 black bottles plus one each of cyan, magenta and yellow.
• Connections: Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct, wired Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) and Hi-Speed USB.
• Controls: a 2.4-inch color touchscreen, and output comes out face down.
• Workload: Epson recommends up to 1,600 pages a month.
• Warranty: 2 years with registration. Epson’s terms for the second year also require genuine Epson ink bottles, and coverage ends at 80,000 plain-paper sheets if that comes first.

Trade-offs: The ET-5150 prints, copies and scans, but it doesn’t fax. Epson lists fax on the related ET-5170. The rear feed takes 1 sheet at a time, so the cassette is where everyday paper goes.

2. Epson EcoTank ET-2800: best basic home printer

Epson calls the ET-2800 “the ideal basic home printer.” It prints, copies and scans with a flatbed scanner and a 1.44-inch color LCD, and Epson rates it at 10 ISO ppm in black and 5 in color. The rear feeder holds 100 sheets of plain paper or 20 sheets of photo paper.

• Ink: four 522 bottles. A replacement set is rated for up to 4,500 pages black and 7,500 color.
• Connections: Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct and Hi-Speed USB. Epson’s user’s guide lists 2.4 GHz as the only Wi-Fi band, and the spec sheet lists no Ethernet port.
• Size: 14.8 x 13.7 x 7.0 inches when stored, and 8.8 lb.

Trade-offs: 2-sided printing is manual, and Epson’s user’s guide gives a manual double-sided capacity of 30 plain sheets. There’s no document feeder, so multi-page scans and copies go one sheet at a time on the glass. Our Epson EcoTank ET-2800 review covers who it suits. If you’re also looking at HP, our ET-2800 vs HP Smart Tank 5101 comparison covers that matchup.

3. Epson EcoTank ET-4800: best for a home office that still faxes

The ET-4800 uses the same 522 bottles and has the same speed rating as the ET-2800: 10 ISO ppm in black and 5 in color. It adds a 30-sheet document feeder (10 legal), a fax modem and wired Ethernet, so it suits a home office that sends signed forms or multi-page documents.

• Fax: up to 33.6 Kbps, memory for up to 100 pages, up to 100 speed dials, and PC-Fax send and receive, including Fax to Email and Fax to Folder.
• Ink: a replacement 522 set is rated for up to 4,500 pages black and 7,500 color.
• Connections: Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n), wired Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) and Wi-Fi Direct.
• Paper: a 100-sheet rear feed and a 30-sheet output tray.
• Workload: Epson recommends up to 500 pages a month.

Trade-offs: 2-sided printing is manual. Epson rates the feeder’s scan speed at 4.5 images per minute, so it’s for occasional multi-page jobs rather than scanning large batches.

4. Epson EcoTank ET-M2170: best for black-and-white printing

The ET-M2170 is a monochrome all-in-one for text-heavy printing. Epson rates it at 20 ISO ppm, the highest rating among the printers here that list one, and 9 ISO ppm for automatic 2-sided printing. Its first page comes out in 6 seconds, according to Epson. Paper loads into a 250-sheet cassette, with a rear feed for single sheets of specialty media.

• Ink: one 532 black bottle (120 mL). Epson rates a replacement bottle for up to 6,000 pages.
• Connections: Hi-Speed USB, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct and Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 Mbps).
• Scanning and copying: a color flatbed scanner, with flatbed copying rated at 17 ipm.
• Warranty: 2 years with registration. Epson’s terms for the second year also require genuine Epson ink bottles, and coverage ends at 50,000 plain-paper sheets if that comes first.

Trade-offs: It prints in black only, and there’s no document feeder. For 2-sided copies, Epson notes that you flip the original on the glass yourself. If black text is all you print, our best laser printers for a home office covers the toner alternative.

5. Canon MegaTank PIXMA G3270: best Canon alternative with dual-band Wi-Fi

Canon Canada describes the G3270 as designed for home and home offices. It’s a print, copy and scan MegaTank model, and Canon’s online manual for the G3070 series lists the G3270 among the models it covers. Its standout spec here is Wi-Fi: the manual lists 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac on both 2.4 and 5 GHz, while the ET-2800 lists 2.4 GHz only.

• Connections: Wi-Fi and Hi-Speed USB, and Canon says USB and the network can be used at the same time. Canon notes that the usable Wi-Fi bands vary by country or region.
• Paper: the rear tray holds about 100 sheets of plain paper (10 sheets of legal).
• 2-sided printing: manual. You choose “2-sided Printing (Manual)” in the Windows driver, then reload the paper after the first side prints.
• Scanning: originals go on the platen. Optical resolution is 600 x 1200 dpi, up to 8.5 x 11.7 inches.
• Size: about 16.4 x 13.3 x 7 inches with the trays retracted, and about 13.2 lb.

Trade-offs: Canon’s manual lists Wi-Fi and USB but no Ethernet, and it has no document feeder. Because the manual doesn’t list print speeds or bottle yields, check those on Canon’s own listing before comparing running costs with the Epson models.

How to choose an ink tank printer

1. Decide whether you need color. If nearly everything you print is black text, the ET-M2170 uses a single black bottle rated for up to 6,000 pages and carries the highest published speed rating here, at 20 ISO ppm.
2. Count your 2-sided pages. Only the ET-5150 and ET-M2170 print on both sides automatically. With the ET-2800, ET-4800 and G3270, you reload the paper after the first side prints.
3. Look at how you scan. The ET-5150 (35 sheets) and ET-4800 (30 sheets) have document feeders for multi-page originals. The ET-2800, ET-M2170 and G3270 scan from the glass only.
4. Match the connection to the room. The ET-4800, ET-5150 and ET-M2170 have Ethernet for a shared wired network. The ET-2800 and G3270 connect by Wi-Fi or USB. The G3270 lists 5 GHz Wi-Fi, but the ET-2800 lists 2.4 GHz only.
5. Size the paper supply to your volume. The ET-5150 and ET-M2170 load 250 sheets into a cassette. The other three use rear feeders of about 100 sheets. Epson recommends up to 500 pages a month for the ET-4800 and up to 1,600 for the ET-5150.
6. Read the yields as a guide, not a promise. Epson rates bottle yields for its color printers with the ISO/IEC 24712 pattern and for the ET-M2170 with ISO/IEC 19752. It says actual yields vary considerably with the images printed, print settings, temperature and humidity, and that part of the ink in the included bottles is used for setup.

If you print only now and then and would rather use cartridges, our best inkjet printers for home use covers that route.

FAQ

Do ink tank printers need to be used regularly?

Epson says yields may be lower when you print infrequently or mostly with one ink color, and that all colors are used for printing and printer maintenance, so every color must be available for the printer to print.

Can I use third-party ink in an EcoTank printer?

Epson strongly recommends genuine ink and says non-genuine ink could cause damage that the printer’s limited warranty does not cover. For the ET-5150 and ET-M2170, Epson’s second warranty year also requires product registration and genuine Epson ink bottles.

Which of these printers print on both sides automatically?

The EcoTank Pro ET-5150 and EcoTank ET-M2170. Epson rates 2-sided printing at 7.5 ISO ppm black and 5 ISO ppm color for the ET-5150, and 9 ISO ppm for the black-only ET-M2170. The ET-2800, ET-4800 and Canon G3270 print 2-sided pages manually, so you reload the paper after the first side.

Sources

• Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5150 product page
• Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5150 specification sheet (PDF)
• Epson ET-5150/ET-5170/ET-5180 User’s Guide (PDF)
• Epson EcoTank ET-2800 product page
• Epson EcoTank ET-2800 specification sheet (PDF)
• Epson ET-2800/ET-2803 User’s Guide (PDF)
• Epson EcoTank ET-4800 product page
• Epson EcoTank ET-4800 specification sheet (PDF)
• Epson EcoTank ET-M2170 product page
• Epson EcoTank ET-M2170 specification sheet (PDF)
• Canon Canada: MegaTank PIXMA G3270
• Canon online manual, G3070 series: models covered
• Canon online manual, G3070 series: specifications
• Canon online manual, G3070 series: paper load limit
• Canon online manual, G3070 series: loading originals on the platen
• Canon online manual, G3070 series: duplex printing

Sources checked October 9, 2026.