Epson EcoTank L5390 all-in-one printer, colour inkjet, A4, Wi-Fi, fax

Many public bodies, notaries, clinics and suppliers still send documents by fax. The L5390 is the EcoTank model with a fax function on top of printing and scanning, so there is no need for a separate fax machine on the desk. The L3361 in the same series has no fax, and according to the supplier data the fax is the main difference between the two models.

EcoTank is the Epson inkjet series in which the ink is held in tanks built onto the printer and refilled from bottles. There is no small cartridge to replace every so often, and the ink level is visible on the side of the tank. The supplier data does not give the code of the matching ink bottles; it is listed in the printer manual and on the packaging.

Besides printing and faxing, the L5390 has a colour scanner. A signed contract, an invoice or a copy of an ID card can be scanned and forwarded by email, with coloured stamps and notes preserved. Three functions in one device mean less equipment on the desk, one power cable and one place where all the paperwork comes together.

Over Wi-Fi the printer joins the office or home network, and every computer on that network can print to it. It can be placed wherever it is least in the way, since there is no cable to run to each desk. The supplier data does not name an app for printing from a smartphone, so none is promised here.

The printer prints in colour up to A4, which covers everyday office documents, invoices and presentations. This model has no automatic two-sided printing: for a double-sided document one side is printed first and the paper is then turned over by hand. At low volumes that is easy, but for large double-sided runs it is worth allowing extra time.

Small offices, accounting firms, medical or dental practices and home offices that need to send the occasional fax but also want colour printing and scanning in a single device. It also suits anyone who prefers ink tanks to small cartridges and wants a printer that can be used over Wi-Fi.