Printer Guides and Tips from LD Products

How to Refill your Expression ET-2700 EcoTank Printer with Epson 502 Ink Bottles

Learn how to refill Epson 502 ink in five simple steps!

Epson 502 ink bottles might seem a bit intimidating to install at first glance, but the process is really quite easy!  In this quick guide, we will walk you through the process of refilling your Epson EcoTank® step-by-step and offer some simple printer care tips too!  EcoTank printers are a great option for home users and small businesses with high volume inkjet printing needs.

Instead of installing ink cartridges, these printers have a built-in ink tank to supply the printhead with ink.  The tank manually needs to be refilled  with an ink bottle when your machine is running low, delivering the ink via an airtight tube to the printhead.  Ink bottles can be far more cost effective than most ink cartridges, printing thousands of pages for pennies on the dollar.

The Epson® 502 ink bottle series work in many EcoTank series printers, including the Ecotank ET-2750, Expression ET-3700, Expression ET-2700, WorkForce ET-3750, WorkForce ET-3760, WorkForce ET-4750, WorkForce ET-4752.  Epson Workforce WF-2860 All-in-One and the Epson Expression XP-5100 Small-in-One.  Here, we demonstrate the ink refilling process for the ET-2700, but the process is similar with the other EcoTank printer models.  Let’s get started!

Check out our refill video below, or keep reading to learn more about the ink and we will walk you through the installation!


Epson 502 Ink Bottle Specs and Prep Tips

The Epson Expression ET-2700 EcoTank uses four 502 ink bottles, available in black, cyan, magenta and yellow.  The black ink bottle contains enough ink to print approximately 7,500 pages and the color ink bottles print around 6,000 pages.  Accidentally spilling ink in or around your printer is a valid concern for first time users but luckily, Epson considered this when they designed their newer generation EcoTanks, like the the ET-2700.  We didn’t experience any spills when we refilled our EcoTank for the first time thanks to the unique design of the bottles.  Each bottle is specially designed so it won’t spill when you flip it upside down and the ink only dispenses when you line the bottle up with the slot in the tank.  Check out our demonstration at the 51 second mark in the video above!!  Of course, since you are dealing with a liquid, they aren’t 100% spill-proof , but if you are concerned about possibly getting ink on your hands, we recommend wearing a pair of latex gloves during installation.

Epson 502 Black Ink Bottle (T502120-S)

Page yield: approx. 7,500 pages

OEM ink type:  pigment-based

Epson 502 Cyan Ink Bottle (T502220-S)

Page yield: approx. 6,500 pages

OEM ink type:  dye-based

Epson 502 Magenta Ink Bottle (T502320-S)

Page yield: approx. 6,500 pages

OEM ink type:  dye-based

Epson 502 Yellow Ink Bottle (T502420-S)

Page yield: approx. 6,500 pages

OEM ink type:  dye-based


How to Check the Ink Levels

Checking the ink levels on an EcoTank is pretty straightforward.  All you need to do is check out the levels on the tank display located on front the printer.  You don’t have to keep all four ink tank levels completely full at all times, but you don’t want the levels to get too low before refilling.  If the ink level starts to get down to the lowest line on the tank display, it’s time for a refill.


How to Refill the Tanks with Epson 502 Ink Bottles

  1. Lift up the entire scanner unit and you’ll find that the ink tank cover is on the right side of the printer.

2. To fill up the tank, lift up the lid of the tank and then open up the cap of the color you’d like to refill. For this example, we will be refilling the cyan ink tank.  Now if you take a look at the top of the ink bottle you’ll see that the nozzle is uniquely designed to fit in the slot of the cyan ink tank.  Each bottle has a slightly different nozzle shape so you won’t accidentally fill the tank with the wrong color!

3. Line the nozzle up along the slot and insert the bottle into the tank. Wait for the ink to fill the top line of the tank. The ink will automatically stop flowing once it reaches the top, and then you can flip the bottle over and replace the bottle cap.

4. Close up the ink tank cover, lower the scanner unit and you’re all set, your cyan ink tank is full and you are ready to print!


Save More with LD Brand Compatible Ink Bottles

Get quality prints for a fraction of the price with our aftermarket Epson 502 ink bottles by LD Products!  They offer the same amount of ink as an original Epson bottle and the installation process is identical too!  Pick up our LD compatible 502 black ink bottle for just $9.99 and our color ink bottles for $9.99 each.


We hope you’ve found this installation guide informative!  If you have any questions about the process or about your Epson 502 ink bottles, leave us a note in the comments below, we’d be happy to help!

*Savings based on price comparison between remanufactured/compatible cartridge prices and printer brand (OEM) cartridge prices effective as of May 24, 2023 on www.LDProducts.com.  OEM names are registered trademarks of their respective owners and are not affiliated with, and do not endorse LD Products.


Cartridge Series
Thank you for reading this post! This article is written by a team of ink experts at LD Products - a Long Beach, California-based company that specializes in compatible ink and toner.  With over 20 years of printing expertise, we’re committed to helping you save money on printer ink without sacrificing quality.  If you found this content helpful, we’d be grateful if you supported us by visiting LDProducts.com for all of your ink and toner needs.  We appreciate your support!