“The EcoTank M1120 is a single-function mono printer that comes with an ink tank and ditches cartridges

If you are a business owner, or have kids at home who frequently work on school projects, chances are you own a printer. Now, there are several common printer woes which everyone has had to deal with at some point or the other. The hassle of dealing with printer cartridges, complicated menu systems and poor quality of print on affordable printers force a lot of users to visit the nearest print shop despite having a printer at home. However, things are about to change with Epson EcoTank M1120 monochrome printer, which around Rs 13,000 is slightly expensive up front, but promises to be a lot more cost effective in the long run. I received the unit for the purpose of review and here is a detailed low-down of the Epson EcoTank M1120.

Packaging

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The printer comes in a compact cardboard box. You get a bottle of Epson 005 black ink, a USB cable, a power cord, documentation and an installation CD in the box. The installation CD that’s provided with the printer is intended for Microsoft Windows users and it’s all you need to get the printer set up and running. The process is slightly different for Mac and smartphone users, which I will explain further ahead in this review.

Design

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Stormtrooper, that’s what I thought when I saw the Epson EcoTank M1120 for the first time. With a white and black paint job, the M1120 looks straight out a Star Wars movie. The top panel of the printer is a hard plastic flap that can be lifted to access the ink tank. Speaking of the ink tank, this is the selling point of the M1120 printer. Instead of cartridges, there’s the EcoTank which is Epson’s ink-filling technology and the ink inside can be topped up directly from the bottle. All you have to do is to remove the cap of the bottle and insert the nozzle in the slot on top of the tank. Keep the bottle upright and the ink should automatically flow in the tank. If you are worried about the ink overflowing and spilling, don’t… because the nozzle has been designed in a way that it stops the flow once the tank is full. You can check the level of the ink through the transparent window on the front.

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Speaking of the transparent window, it sits in a black strip running along the height of the printer right next to the paper slot, which also has the output tray. You can pull out the output tray, which will then catch the printouts. The blank paper sheets go in the slot just below the output tray, which can hold 150 sheets of A4 sized paper. The sides of the printer are barebones, but you will find two holes on the back with a clicking mechanism. This mechanism allows users to remove the back panel and clear a paper jam if any, which is very convenient. You will also find the ports for USB and power cord on the back itself. 

Apart from the flap on the top, you will see a control centre in the bottom left corner with all the buttons. These buttons are physical and tactile in nature, which means they can last for long. From left to right, you will see the power, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct for pairing, ink refill and print button. There’s nothing else on the top of the printer. The bottom has several rubber pegs, which hold the printer firmly in place on the place on a flat surface.

However, I have a major grouse with the M1120, which is that despite being a slightly pricy offering, the plastic build of the printer doesn’t instil a lot of confidence. The printer measures just 375mm wide, 267mm deep and 161mm high, which means it’s pretty compact and can fit anywhere. 

Features

The Epson EcoTank M1120 is a basic mono printer with just enough features to make it an easy-to-use device. The printer comes with high-speed USB and 802.1.1 b / g / n Wi-Fi. The former can be used to print directly from a laptop. As for Wi-Fi, the printer can connect to your home network as well as use Wi-Fi direct to connect directly to your phone or laptop. The official Epson website has easy to follow instructions to set up Wi-Fi on the M1120. The company also has a free iPrint app that can handle printing from iOS and Android devices when required.

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This printer uses an on-demand inkjet printing method and has a resolution of 1,440 x 720 pixels. There is support for quick FPOT (First Page Out Time) when the printer comes out from sleep. Moreover, the M1120 can print 15 A4 sized sheets per minute, which is an impressive number. Moreover, the Epson 005 ink bottle provided with the printer can last for two years worth of printing, which easily translates into 6,000 pages with a single bottle of ink. To put things into perspective, the laser printers provide an original toner yield of just 2,000 pages per toner. This can help businesses eliminate the frequent changes of toners and thereby help them significantly reduce their carbon footprint. Epson says this helps in keeping an eye on the environment and the UN Sustainable development Goals (SDG’s) in mind.  

The M1120 is specifically designed to lower business printing costs when compared to mono laser printers. The printer boasts of an ultra-low printing cost of 12 paise per print, which makes printing 23 times lower as compared to mono laser printers. The regular printers cost Rs. 2.74 per print with original toners. Over the life of the printer, this translates into very significant savings for any organization. Another significant cost and environmental saving can be achieved by organizations because the Epson Monochrome EcoTank printers consume just 14w of power as compared to 250w consumed by mono laser printers. This translates into over 17 times lesser power consumption.

Performance

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Let’s get down to the crux of the matter now, which is the print performance of the Epson EcoTank M1120. The only job of the printer is to be able to print pages after pages with as much accuracy as possible, clearly indicated by the speed of 15 ppm. I put the claim to test and sure enough, the printer was able to churn out 14-15 pages every minute. However, a word of advice, since this is a monochrome printer, stick to documents and text for this one. You can go ahead and print graphs and pie charts as well. However, stay away from heavy graphics and images as M1120 is not designed for that.

Verdict

Let me keep this short and sweet. If you are in the market for a black and white printer that will last you over one year right out of the box then the Epson EcoTank M1120 is the way to go. Not only is the printer very efficient but also gets rid of all the hassles of cartridges, maintenance and more. Furthermore, the ink bottle is fairly affordable too, as it’s available for less than Rs 1,000 online. However, if you are looking for something that can scan, print and copy, there are other options out there in the market. 

Editor’s rating: 3.5 / 5 

Pros 

  • An easy-to-use printer 
  • Offers Wi-Fi support 
  • Long-lasting ink bottle  

Cons 

  • Steep pricing 
  • The plastic build doesn’t inspire much confidence

Photos by Raj Rout