As an experienced technology analyst and avid printer user myself, I know first-hand how confusing and stressful printer shopping can be. Dozens of models boast an alphabet soup of features or try to lock you into expensive ink.
So when one of my readers recently asked for my take comparing two of Epson‘s most popular cartridge-free EcoTank printers – the Epson ET-2720 and Epson ET-2760 – I jumped at the chance to demystify the differences.
Over the years testing printers and digging into specs, I‘ve found Epson delivers top-notch build quality and reliability. Even better, their EcoTank line slashes ridiculous ink costs by using refillable tanks instead of disposable cartridges.
The 2720 and 2760 sit toward the entry-level end of Epson‘s EcoTank catalog in terms of price. But don‘t let that fool you – both pack tremendous functionality combining printing, scanning and copying into compact packages.
After closely comparing everything both models have to offer across several key areas, one emerged the clear winner for most home and small office buyers. Read on for the head-to-head breakdown or skip straight to my recommendation if you‘re in a hurry!
An Overview of Epson EcoTank Printers
Let‘s first talk about what sets Epson EcoTank printers apart from traditional models. Rather than using cartridges containing limited amounts of ink, EcoTanks instead have high-capacity refillable ink tanks:
These tanks can hold enough ink to print thousands before needing a refill. To put that into perspective, here‘s how many pages you would get from one black ink refill:
- EcoTank printers: 6,000 pages
- Cartridge printers: About 250-300 pages
Since the bottles also cost much less than replacement cartridges, this adds up to an absolutely staggering 90% reduction in ink costs over the life of the printer. We‘re talking pennies per print rather than dollars.
Beyond slashing your ink expenses by up to 90%, Epson EcoTanks deliver excellent print quality and versatility too. They can handle everything from crisp documents to vivid photos. Plus scan, copy and even fax depending on the model.
So with this context of what makes EcoTanks special, let‘s see how two of Epson‘s best – the 2720 and 2760 – compare head-to-head!
Print Speed Comparison
First up, let‘s look at how fast these printers can crank out prints. No one wants to be stuck waiting around for pages, especially when working against deadlines in a busy office context.
Here‘s how Epson rates both models for print speed on standard 8.5" x 11" sized pages:
| Print Speed | Epson ET-2720 | Epson ET-2760 |
|---|---|---|
| Black (ppm) | 10 | 10 |
| Color (ppm) | 5 | 6 |
Real-World Color Print Time Savings – When printing a 50 page color report, the 2760 would finish over 2 minutes faster (8:20 minutes vs. 10:30 on the 2720). Over just one month of average use, that 2 minutes per document adds up to over 1 hour saved!
Reviewers like the tech experts at PC Mag did thorough hands-on testing across both monochrome and color printing performance. In their trials, they found the 2760 (rated 4/5) delivered on Epson‘s claims, churning out top-notch prints right in line with its rated specs.
So while both Epson models print at brisk speeds up to 10ppm in black and white, the ET-2760 pulls ahead when working in color. Those faster engine speeds can save you quite a bit of wait time for just a small bump in price.
Automatic Duplex Printing
I don‘t know about you, but manually feeding pages to print both sides feels like a total time suck whenever I print long documents. Yet so many low-priced printers still lack auto duplexing, which spits out double-sided pages without any effort on your part.
Thankfully, the Epson ET-2760 fixes this by including a built-in automatic duplexer for printing two-sided pages unassisted. Documents that once took double the time and effort now print in one smooth process.
By contrast, the ET-2720 gives you only manual duplexing. Get ready to stand by the printer feeding each sheet one-by-one if you print a lot of double-sided documents or brochures.
Let‘s crunch the numbers to reveal just how drastically auto duplexing saves you from doing this tedious manual work.
- Typical double-sided document length: 15-20 pages
- Manual feed time per page: 10-15 seconds
- Total manual duplexing time per document: 5-10 minutes
Over just one week, that‘s 30-60 minutes saved – time I‘d rather spend doing anything else!
Auto duplexing alone makes the Epson ET-2760 the obvious productivity choice for office use, student printing, composing reports and more. It turns a mundane task into a frictionless process handled completely in the background for you.
Connectivity and Printing from Devices
In an increasingly connected world, we expect our gadgets and appliances to play nicely with smartphones, tablets, laptops and more. Both EcoTank models deliver flexibility and options for sending print jobs wirelessly from all your devices.
They come WiFi and WiFi Direct enabled out of the box for hooking into wireless networks or directly linking to your device peer-to-peer.
On the software side, Epson packs in purpose-built apps like Epson iPrint to open up device printing:
Rounding things out are printing protocols like Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service (on the 2760 only) that enable native printing from Windows, Mac, iOS and Android without any extra apps required.
Between the assorted wireless connectivity standards and software support, you‘re covered to fling print jobs from all your gadgets. But if you own an Android phone or tablet, the built-in Mopria support gives the Epson 2760 yet another advantage for playing nicely with your existing device ecosystem right away.
Ink Costs and Savings
As hinted at already, ditching cartridges for refillable EcoTank ink tanks results in massively lower ink costs over time. Let‘s explore exact numbers.
Both printers include enough ink to print thousands of pages right in the box before running dry. But when the time eventually comes to refill, ink bottle prices clock in at just $13 per color.
To understand how big of a money saver this is, first look at what it costs to buy replacement cartridges from a standard cartridge-based inkjet printer:
- Black cartridge price: $35-45
- Color cartridge price: $40-50
- Pages yielded per cartridge: 250-300
- Cost per page: $0.15+
Now compare that to EcoTank ink costs:
- Black ink bottle price: $13
- Color ink bottle price: $13
- Pages yielded per bottle: 6,000 black/6,500 color
- Cost per page: $0.002
That translates into savings of approximately 90% on ink over the course of a printer‘s lifetime. Or put another way:
- Cartridge printer cost per year (750 pages monthly): $270 ink per year
- EcoTank printer coast per year (750 pages monthly): $27 ink per year
Just look at the difference over three years of average use! No wonder EcoTank printers exploded in popularity after more people caught onto these astronomical savings.
Voice Activated Printing
Smart speakers like Amazon Alexa have opened up all sorts of clever ways to control devices and appliances with our voice. Now Epson brings hands-free voice activated printing into the mix with select EcoTank models like the 2760.
After linking your Epson account to Alexa or Google Assistant, you can simply issue voice commands to print:
- "Alexa, tell Epson to print my photos."
- "OK Google, ask Epson to print emails from Mom."
- "Alexa, order Epson to make 10 color copies."
Voice control gives you quick printing access without directly using the printer interface or even getting up from your seat!
Unfortunately voice activation is not included on the entry-level Epson ET-2720 model. Likely due to cost constraints at its lower price point. But upgrading to the 2760 opens up this nifty functionality for the modern smart home or office.
Final Verdict: Which EcoTank is Best for You?
Hopefully this thorough guide gave you clarity about how the affordable Epson ET-2720 and ET-2760 stack up relative to each other.
Both deliver phenomenal performance and long-term ink cost savings that blow traditional cartridge printers out of the water. However, a few extra goodies make the ET-2760 the better fit for most small office or medium volume home use cases.
I suggest choosing based on this priority order of recommendations for each context:
Home/Light Use
- Epson EcoTank ET-2720 – Best home printer overall
- Epson EcoTank ET-2760 – Overkill for most but best long term investment
Office/Business Use
- Epson EcoTank ET-2760 – Faster and higher volume features
- Epson EcoTank ET-2720 – Reliable option if on strict budget
At the end of the day, you can‘t go wrong picking Epson over pricier inkjet brands using wasteful cartridges. Just decide if those extra perks on the 2760 like auto duplexing and voice activation matter for an extra $50 or so.
Have any other questions about these workhorse EcoTank printers? Ask away in a comment below!
