You can easily access the ink tanks by lifting the printer's top and the tank's cover the printer doesn't need to be on for the refill. You don't need to refill the ink tank often because a full tank yields thousands of pages. You can also perform a paper guide cleaning and check on the remaining capacity of the maintenance box, which stores surplus ink collected during printing or printhead cleaning. There are maintenance functions built-in to resolve any clogging issue, like printhead nozzle check, printhead cleaning, and power clean. The Epson ET-8550 only requires a little bit of maintenance, as like most inkjet printers, the printheads can clog if left unused for an extended period. The output tray retracts, but it doesn't do it automatically, and you can only retract it by clicking on the 'Output Tray' icon on the display. The input trays have spring-loaded covers that can sometimes be in the way when you load paper as they bounce back on their own, closing the trays. However, there isn't much space from the front and under the scanner, so it may be hard to grab jammed sheets. You can access paper jams through the back panel, the front (by removing the input trays), or by lifting the scanner. The scanner lid has a thick foam backing to smooth out uneven sheets, extendable hinges to accommodate thicker items like textbooks, and a separation down the middle so that you can hold the document in place while lowering the lid.

The power cord is removable, making it easy to replace in case of damage.

Unlike most supertank printers, the ink tank's tubing mechanism is in a protected area so that it's out of the user's way when removing paper jams. The Epson ET-8550 feels very well built and sturdy, even though it's entirely plastic.

Epson test print image