Important trade-off
ET-8550 offers about 32% more maximum borderless area than ET-15000.
- Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
- 13 by 19 inches
- Epson EcoTank ET-15000
- 11 by 17 inches
- Comparable models
- 2 of 22
Best for this need
Best ink-tank printers for a home office that shares craft projects
Our pick
Canon MAXIFY GX4020
Start with Canon GX4020 when ordinary office work shares the printer with compatible Letter-size paperboard projects. Choose Epson ET-8550 for larger borderless artwork, Epson ET-15000 for wide office output and a document feeder, or Canon G6020 when ordinary photo paper and school PDFs are enough. Check the exact material before choosing a craft route.
GX4020 keeps plain paper in its cassette while a rear tray or one-sheet flat route handles another supported medium. The flat route accepts compatible A4, B5 or Letter paperboard from 0.1 to 0.7 mm. It does not print 13-inch-wide artwork, and its document feeder scans one side only.
Why it fits this need
- Keep plain work paper ready while a supported project uses another path
- Check thickness, size, coating and source together
- Main trade-off
- The flat route accepts one sheet at a time and tops out at 0.7 mm.
- Choose Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 instead when
- The finished project needs 13 by 19 inch borderless output or a compatible straight-fed sheet up to 1.3 mm. There is no document feeder, and the listed printing depth is 29.8 inches before extra access clearance.
More reasons behind this pick
- Leave the next user a usable paper and driver setup
Find a tank printer that handles weekday documents and family projects. Compare separate paper paths, thick-media limits, borderless size and reset work.
What the facts say
What the comparison shows
Useful conclusions from the current ink-tank printers comparison, followed by the checked facts used to reach them.
See the checked facts and calculation notes
Calculation note13 times 19 equals 247 square inches. 11 times 17 equals 187. The relative difference is 32.1%, rounded to 32%. Aspect ratio, borderless expansion and a frame opening can reduce usable image content.
| Product | Needs matched | Checked facts | Source records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canon MAXIFY GX4020 | No positive match recorded for these needs |
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| Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 | No positive match recorded for these needs |
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| Epson EcoTank ET-15000 | No positive match recorded for these needs |
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| Canon PIXMA G6020 | No positive match recorded for these needs |
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What matters in practice
How to choose for this need
Choose for the project and the ordinary job that comes immediately after it.
A separate paper route can reduce the next morning’s reset
A single cassette shared by work paper and a project needs unloading and reloading. GX4020 and G6020 let suitable second media use another source while plain paper remains loaded. That can matter when a parent works from the same printer a child uses later. The driver still needs the right paper size, type and source. Before finishing the project, restore the intended defaults and collect the output so the next person does not discover the change through a spoiled document.
Paper weight does not establish paper thickness
GX4020 gives a 0.1–0.7 mm flat-path range for compatible A4, B5 or Letter paperboard. ET-8550 gives a straight-path limit up to 1.3 mm for supported media. A grams-per-square-meter label describes mass per area, not an exact thickness. Coating, stiffness and size also matter. Buy a small amount of the intended inkjet-compatible stock and follow the model’s loading instructions before planning a large batch.
A wide sheet and a borderless sheet are different purchases
ET-15000 and ET-8550 both print 13 by 19 inches. ET-15000’s borderless limit is 11 by 17, while ET-8550 supports borderless output at 13 by 19. A frame, invitation layout or edge-to-edge image can therefore change the choice. Preview cropping and keep important content away from the edge. Neither printer’s Legal-size glass captures an entire 11 by 17 inch drawing in a single placement.
The project printer still has to do the weekday paperwork
GX4020 and ET-15000 have single-sided document feeders for suitable loose originals. ET-8550 and G6020 require individual flatbed placement. If work forms arrive every day and large artwork happens occasionally, the original-handling routine deserves weight in the decision. A printer that accepts many blank sheets is not necessarily a printer that accepts a stack of originals. Treat those as separate paths through the machine.
Make room for the path that justified the purchase
A rear flat route needs rear access, and wide Epson models list close to 30 inches of operating depth. A printer pushed against a wall may fit when closed yet make the useful project path awkward or unavailable. Measure with supports open and allow cable, refill and scanner-lid access. A one-sheet straight path also means attending each sheet. It can expand the supported materials without turning a home craft project into an automatic production run.
What this comparison cannot tell you
- No universal craft-material compatibility or waterproof-print claim.
- No paper-weight-to-thickness conversion.
- No sublimation or third-party ink conversion instructions.
- No measured photo-quality or print-longevity ranking.
4 options
Our pick and alternatives
Canon, 5779C002
Canon MAXIFY GX4020
An office-and-craft compromise with a plain-paper cassette, a rear tray and a one-sheet flat route for compatible thicker media. That extra route can keep a school project from displacing the next work document. It remains a Letter-width printer, and the feeder is single-sided. Do not mistake its flexible paper input for automatic scanning of both sides.
Winner whenGX4020 keeps plain paper in its cassette while a rear tray or one-sheet flat route handles another supported medium. The flat route accepts compatible A4, B5 or Letter paperboard from 0.1 to 0.7 mm. It does not print 13-inch-wide artwork, and its document feeder scans one side only.
Decisive facts
- 18 black and 13 color ISO ipm.
- 250-sheet cassette, 100-sheet rear tray and one-sheet flat feed.
Trade-off
The flat route accepts one sheet at a time and tops out at 0.7 mm.
Epson, ET-8550
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
A photo-oriented tank printer for large borderless work and supported thicker craft sheets. Its separate small-photo and plain-paper trays help a family alternate snapshots and documents. The straight path accepts one compatible sheet up to 1.3 mm thick at a time. Paperwork is the compromise: the Legal-size glass has no feeder, so each original needs handling.
Choose instead whenThe finished project needs 13 by 19 inch borderless output or a compatible straight-fed sheet up to 1.3 mm. There is no document feeder, and the listed printing depth is 29.8 inches before extra access clearance.
Decisive facts
- 16 black and 12 color ISO ppm, six 552 inks.
- 13 by 19 inch borderless printing, 8.5 by 14 inch flatbed.
Trade-off
No document feeder, and no full A3 or tabloid scan in one placement.
Epson, ET-15000
Epson EcoTank ET-15000
A wide-output printer for a home office that also needs to scan ordinary packets. It prints up to 13 by 19 inches through the rear feed, but borderless output stops at 11 by 17. The Legal-size glass helps long fragile originals, while the feeder handles suitable loose pages. Neither scanning route accepts a full 11 by 17 inch original in one placement.
Choose instead whenWide work documents and ordinary one-sided scan packets matter together. It prints 13 by 19 but borderless output stops at 11 by 17. Its Legal-size glass does not scan a whole tabloid original in one placement.
Decisive facts
- 17 black and 9 color ISO ppm.
- 250-sheet cassette plus 20-sheet rear feed, 35-sheet single-sided feeder.
Trade-off
13 by 19 inch printing is not borderless. The scanner is Legal-size, not A3 or tabloid.
Canon, 3113C002
Canon PIXMA G6020
A useful shared-home option when plain documents and photo paper take turns. Its cassette and rear tray let plain paper stay loaded while a supported second paper uses the other route. Automatic duplex helps school PDFs, and Ethernet suits a wired printer location. Scanning remains a flatbed job, even though the print side can handle larger batches.
Choose instead whenSupported photo paper and ordinary duplex handouts are the main mix. Separate cassette and rear sources help keep those papers apart, while scanning remains flatbed-only. Do not borrow GX4020’s thick flat-path claim.
Decisive facts
- 13 black and 6.8 color ISO ipm.
- 250-sheet cassette plus 100-sheet rear tray, automatic duplex.
Trade-off
No document feeder for physical packets.
Ready to choose?
Check the price. Read the owner reviews.
Our pick for this need
Canon MAXIFY GX4020
GX4020 keeps plain paper in its cassette while a rear tray or one-sheet flat route handles another supported medium. The flat route accepts compatible A4, B5 or Letter paperboard from 0.1 to 0.7 mm. It does not print 13-inch-wide artwork, and its document feeder scans one side only.
See price & reviews on AmazonChoose instead when
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
The finished project needs 13 by 19 inch borderless output or a compatible straight-fed sheet up to 1.3 mm. There is no document feeder, and the listed printing depth is 29.8 inches before extra access clearance.
See price & reviews on Amazon