Does the EcoTank L8160 print double-sided automatically, and on all papers?
Yes, but only on A4 plain paper; outside that, the paper has to be turned over by hand. Speed then drops to 6 A4 pages/min in black and 5 in colour to ISO standard, compared with 16 and 12 single-sided.
Is the USB cable supplied with the printer?
No, it has to be purchased separately. The box contains the main unit, the maintenance box, the power cable, the setup guide, the software CD and the warranty document. You can also connect it via Ethernet or Wi-Fi and do without a USB cable entirely.
Can you load a stack of documents to copy them in one go?
No: there is no automatic document feeder. Copying and scanning are done one sheet at a time on the glass, with a CIS sensor that handles an A4 page in 6 seconds in black and 11 seconds in colour at 200 dpi. For scanning batches of documents every day, a scanner with a feeder is a better fit.
Will the printhead ever need replacing?
No, it is fixed: the Epson Micro Piezo head stays in the machine and you only buy ink bottles. It has 360 black nozzles and 180 nozzles per colour for 1.9 pl droplets, with Heat-Free technology that greatly reduces energy consumption.
How many pages or photos do the 115 EcoTank ink bottles give?
The 115 EcoTank replacement bottles are rated for 6,200 pages or 2,300 photos in 10 × 15 cm format. The six colours are sold individually, each with its own part number: pigment black, photo black, cyan, magenta, yellow and grey. So you only replace the colour that has run out.
Why six inks when most printers have four?
The pigment black is reserved for text on plain paper, where it gives sharp, long-lasting characters; the photo black and grey, dye-based, are used for photo prints and above all for finely graded black-and-white. Cyan, magenta and yellow complete the Claria ET Premium set for borderless images up to A4.
What should you do when the maintenance box is full?
It is replaceable: it is a consumable, supplied as standard in the box and referenced C12C934591, shared by the WF-78xx, ET-58xx, ET-166xx, L65xx and L151xx series. Plan for it just like the ink bottles.
Can you print directly onto CDs and DVDs?
Yes. The L8160 prints directly onto printable CDs and DVDs, with the Epson Print CD software supplied. It handles media through 5 paper paths: two front trays, A4 and photo, and two rear feeds for thicker media.
Can it print on thick paper, card or a banner?
Yes. The rear tray accepts special media, drawing paper and card, and the A4 direct paper feed takes media up to 1.3 mm thick and 2 m long, enough to print a banner. Supported paper weights range from 64 to 300 g/m².
Can you print without switching on a computer?
Yes. The 10.9 cm colour touchscreen lets you print from an SD card or a USB flash drive plugged into the host port, with red-eye removal and photo enhancement. Wireless PictBridge and printing from a mobile device over Wi-Fi Direct are also supported.
Can it be connected to the company network rather than via Wi-Fi?
Yes, it has an Ethernet port in addition to Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, with IPv4 and IPv6 support and WPA PSK (TKIP/AES) wireless security. For mobile devices, it supports Apple AirPrint, Mopria and Epson Connect, the latter adding email printing and scanning to the cloud.
How much power does it use, and is it noisy?
Very little: 17 W when copying, 7.5 W in ready mode, 0.9 W in sleep mode and 0.2 W when off, i.e. 0.16 kWh per week. The noise level is 5 B(A) according to ISO 7779 in photo mode. You can leave it plugged in permanently with no noticeable effect on your electricity bill.
Which paper sizes and envelopes does it accept besides A4?
A5, A6, B5, Legal, Letter and 16:9, as well as the photo sizes 9 × 13, 10 × 15 and 13 × 18 cm and C6, DL and No. 10 envelopes. Stated capacity is 100 sheets of standard paper, 20 sheets of photo paper and 50 envelopes, with 50 sheets in the output tray.
Is the Epson EcoTank L8160 printer new and under warranty?
Yes: a
new machine, sealed in its original packaging, supplied with its invoice, which serves as the warranty document for
1 year, on a carry-in basis. Full specifications are in the
manufacturer's datasheet (PDF).