A:Answer Yes. This printer comes with a larger black tank which is reserved for documents and a "photo black" for photos and high quality prints.
So, technically it's not a 5 color printer in the sense that it doesn't come with 5 separate colors, but rather it has a separate and larger black tank for document printing.
Because of this, the printer shouldn't stop printing B&W documents because one of the colors is out.
That said, the Epson 512 series ink bottles are $20 for the document Black and $14 for each color including photo black and that's a TON of ink. With the transparent ink tank windows and with how large the tanks are, there's really no reason to run out.
Lastly, I've never beta tested any Epson product, I'm not paid by Epson or granted any special information. I'm just in the same crappy boat as everyone else where I would like to be able to affordably print in my own home and lament that products aren't made with any longevity these days (could I sound older?)
