[Master Ken]

I had this grudge for a long time, but didn’t think to post it since now,
Epson makes dodgy Printers... They electronically cripple their cartridges so that u can’t refill them or even use the entire amounts inside each cartridge. I bought a C63 a while back, with separate cartridges for each colour, "more economical apparently"

Each cart cost 25 dollars AU. 4x25 = 100.
My previous cannon with all in one cart cost 50-60 bucks.

Each cartridge has a chip, that tells the printer its empty, even when sometimes its not, and the printer refuses to print, even when the colour, say magenta is not needed but out, and u want to print B/W but cant - error msg comes outs telling u to buy a refill and wont print. I was pissed that I couldn’t print cause it was for an assignment, and due really soon. So I went and bought Magenta and rushed back home to print in BLACK!


I shook the old Magenta cart, and heard puddly sounds like it’s not empty. So I poked a hole, and it bleed out nearly half. I was like BULLSH*T, this thing is not empty.


I asked the sales guy y I couldn’t buy a refill, he tells me that each cart is chipped, and tells the printer needing a replacement. I told him it’s not empty, and he says that’s because Epson doesn’t want to ruin the printer head and stops printing when it’s nearly empty. I was like, this is not nearly empty!! They just want my money prematurely.

EVEN MORE PISSED OFF AFTER HEARING THAT.
So what I did, I when to TRUSTY China town, went to AN-Chow's refills, and bought a modified ESPON INK CART and refilled it since. If they didn’t chip every cart maybe they wouldn't have to charge such high premiums for ink, and maybe the consumer wouldn't go out of his way to resort to 3rd party carts.

BTW China town is really out of my way, but for 10bucks a cart im hooked.

[SSharon]

I already gave up with epson and bought a b&w laser printer from brother. I remember looking at products like this though. http://www.printpot.com/asp/smart_chip.asp

[rickey939]

http://www.tylermartin.com

[SVass]

http://www.ink4art.com/

[kikkoman]

Just had a similar experience with my Epson printer. It tells me it needs a new black cartridge. I'm like WTF i just put in a new one a few months ago. I don't print a lot either. I take the "empty" cartridge out, shake it. It doesn't sound empty. I use the Epson utility to check the other ink cartridges. They're getting low too. Go to Office depot and buy a pack containing each color. It cost nearly what paid for the printer. Come back home put new cartridges in and try to print. It seems like only red is coming out. Try to clean print head several times. No luck. I give up on Epson my next printer will be Canon.

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

I was smart enough to stop buying Epson 2 years ago and move to Canon. Best choice I made in a while.

[cjrivera]

Another vote for the Canon line. I had a few Epsons and got so fed up with their cartidges going "empty" despite the fact you could hear the tank being about 1/2 full. The Canons also seem to have better print quality.

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

I was just sick of Epson for the always clogged heads and the amount of ink you piss away cleaning them.

My Canon has been cleaned ONCE and over 500 8 x10 photos on it with not one bad one.

[Salty]

haha I stopped buying Epson cartridges when I stopped using my old 740... wasn't that awful of a printer. But I'll probably soon be buying a Cannon all in one and perhaps a laser printer of some sort. I refuse to bend over for the printer industry any longer.

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

Originally Posted by Salty

haha I stopped buying Epson cartridges when I stopped using my old 740... wasn't that awful of a printer. But I'll probably soon be buying a Cannon all in one and perhaps a laser printer of some sort. I refuse to bend over for the printer industry any longer.

Perhaps you need to bend over to learn how to spell Canon.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Scandalous Ion Cannon

Perhaps you need to bend over to learn how to spell Canon.

Hey I don't own anything by them yet, I can get away with it! But this year I might see about getting one of their Camcorders, and a Printer, probably shortly followed by one of their Elph cameras... soooo sexy.

[Railroader]

I recently got hit with a big Epson failure too. An Epson 84C that came "free" with the purchase of my eMac a year and a half ago.

I had just replaced a black cartridge when a few weeks later it blinked that it was empty. I had only printed a few pages so I picked the printer up off the the desk to have a closer look. Well, right there under the printer was all of the black ink. It had leaked out of a hole in the back of the printer. Right onto a solid cherry wood table I made a few years ago. I was PISSED. Completely ruined the table's finish as to make it unrepairable.

Next printer will either be a cheap b&w laser printer or a cheap Canon.

[m a d r a]

here's the really funny thing - take one of those epson cartridges and remove the chip. notice anything?... it's not even "wired in" to the cartridge in any way at all. in other words the chip just guesses how much ink it thinks is left in the cartridge based on how much printing you've been doing - and when it decides you've run out, that's it! no more printing. this is about as sensible as a pub where the barman decides when to collect your 'empty' pint off you, not by looking at the glass, but by watching how fast your adam's apple bobs up and down when you drink.

i gave epson [and their shitty cartridges] a good pasting a while back, on the review centre website. i suggest other folk do likewise and hopefully some other poor sods will be warned off buying one of these awful money-sucking contraptions!

[Master Ken]

OMG... I expected this is your entire fault, for not researching...
Or you cant spell so don’t post....
Or even you are a povo... and don’t use 3rd party cheapo's because every time Epson sells a printer
They loose money, and I should pay them all back for their stupid marketing....

BUT NO... WHAT A SHOCK! I ONLY Bought EPSON because they seems to be close ties with Apple, with bundles and stuff. Why would apple tarnish their name with such an crap company.

[smacintush]

Another for Canon and a heart-felt for Epson.

[effgee]

I suggest y'all hurry up to buy your Canon printers - it looks as if they're joining the herd now and introduce "smart" cartridges for their new products as well (news article, german only, Canon press release).

Originally Posted by Canon USA

"... New Ink Status System Lights the Way - On new PIXMA photo printers equipped with clear individual smart LED ink tanks, available on the new iP5200, iP5200R and iP6600 models, the Canon ink status detection system is used to alert customers to low ink levels and to help ensure that the ink tanks are installed and working correctly. Under the system, if the Canon ink tank is accidentally placed in the incorrect slot on the print head, a light on the individual tank will begin to flash. These smart LED individual ink tanks are the latest improvement on the Canon individual ink tank system that was first introduced in 1993.

If the customer does not fully seat the Canon ink tank in its slot, the light will not illuminate, indicating that it has not been correctly installed. If the Canon ink tank is running low, the light on the ink tank will begin to flash. When the ink runs out completely, it will flash at a higher rate. ..."

[Hash]

But it will still print.. flashing.. good, Canon

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by m a d r a

i gave epson [and their shitty cartridges] a good pasting a while back, on the review centre website. i suggest other folk do likewise and hopefully some other poor sods will be warned off buying one of these awful money-sucking contraptions!

I took your advice and wrote a review on amazon.com. I was not nice.

[ReggieX]

Originally Posted by m a d r a

this is about as sensible as a pub where the barman decides when to collect your 'empty' pint off you, not by looking at the glass, but by watching how fast your adam's apple bobs up and down when you drink.

a metaphor I can stand behind!

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Scandalous Ion Cannon

I was smart enough to stop buying Epson 2 years ago and move to Canon. Best choice I made in a while.

HA! HA! Canon is switching to chipped cartridges as well!!!!!111!!1oneoneeleven

-t

[turtle777]

Oh, btw, DON'T buy those chip resetters for Epson ink cartridges. Tried it, doesn't work.

Well, the Printer will actually recognize the ink cartridge as full, but somehow, things still get screwed up. Refilling the cartridges just doesn't work. I tried about 10 times. No success, except that then, my Epson printer was completely damaged. All LEDs were flashing, meaning that it had to be repaired by an authorized Epson dealer. WTF ? Epson somehow must have built in something that recognices tampered cartridges, and then, shuts the printer completely down. A$$holes.

The printer was outside waranty, so I bought a new printer of the same kind and returned the farked up one as damaged, and got my money back.

I will NEVER EVER buy Epson again. Got a cheap laser from Samsung for $ 60 after rebate. I'm happy with that.

-t

[budster101]

Canon is the best. Hell, they invented all the good stuff everyone else is using.

[Sarc]

I have an Epson 740i (the one that came with my 350 iMac and has the translucent blue plastic with a sort of apple logo on it), on duty since 2000.
I mostly print B&W documents and there are retail 3rd party cart.s that are way cheaper. So I can't really complain here, though I do feel sorry for Epson and their money making scheme, but 5 years on a printer has to be some kind on record. Not even my vintage StyleWriter lasted that long.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by budster101

Canon WAS the best. Hell, they invented all the good stuff everyone else is using.

Fixinated due to recent product strategy changes:

Originally Posted by turtle777

HA! HA! Canon is switching to chipped cartridges as well!!!!!111!!1oneoneeleven

-t

[ghporter]

Epson let the cat out of the bag: the whole inkjet industry is following the "Gillette" model of marketing. Mr. Gillette found out during WWI that he could make a bundle by giving away razors, but selling the blades for a "reasonable price." Printer makers sell printers dirt cheap, but make their profit from selling ink cartridges. With the notable exception of a few the inkjet makers ALL expect to profit greatly from their ink sales. Epson is just a bit more honest about it. Dell, for example, recently brought out a line of very reasonably priced inkjet printers and printer-combinations. Their cartridges also have chips, and the ONLY place to get them is from Dell. Fortunately, these printers are rebadged Lexmarks, and Lexmark cartridges work fine in them-with a minor modification. It's a racket, pure and simple.

The only way to get around this is to buy something like an HP or a Canon and use GOOD ink when you refill the cartridges. I'm not sure about Canon, but HP cartridges include the printhead, so even if you get a bad batch of ink your printer isn't FUBAR.

Most of my printing goes to my inexpensive Samsung laser nowadays (at less than $200 new it was a steal!), but I still keep my HP Deskjet 832C handy for when color is needed.

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

Originally Posted by ghporter

I'm not sure about Canon, but HP cartridges include the printhead, so even if you get a bad batch of ink your printer isn't FUBAR.

Canon's heads are separate and user replaceable. The reason HP ink costs so damn much is because they make you buy a new head each time if you need it or not. They said in the future they are moving to Canon's model.

Epsons heads are not serviceable or replaceable.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Scandalous Ion Cannon

Epsons heads are not serviceable or replaceable.

And that is the reason I got rid of my last Epson. You know that you should use an inkjet every now and then to keep the heads from clogging? I didn't. Damn Epson printheads.

I'm glad to hear about Canon's model (and that HP is moving to it). If I could just find a good Canon model for my needs (and of course the cash to buy it), I think I'd be set.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by ghporter

I'm glad to hear about Canon's model

Ok, in case my hints up there were not clear enough.

The good old Canon Refill days are TEH OVER

Canon will start to introduce cartridges with chips.

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/62980 (only in German)



-t

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

Originally Posted by turtle777

Ok, in case my hints up there were not clear enough.

The good old Canon Refill days are TEH OVER

Canon will start to introduce cartridges with chips.

-t

Makes no difference to me. I never refill any of my carts because I have found the ink quality to be poor. I don't mind paying for ink if it is reasonably priced as the Canon ink is. More importantly it shouldn't clog constantly like Epsons.

[Mastrap]

Ditched Epson years ago for Canon. Never had any printing problems since.

[budster101]

Those Canon ink carts are only $11.95 each....

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

Originally Posted by budster101

Those Canon ink carts are only $11.95 each....

They are. New, from Canon.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by Scandalous Ion Cannon

The reason HP ink costs so damn much is because they make you buy a new head each time if you need it or not.

That's incorrect, mostly. I read somewhere that HP's cost to make a print cartridge (with printhead!) is only around 50¢. They're expensive because they can.

It is likely true that a more advanced head is too costly to put in the cartridge, but at the same time, HP's disposable heads still have proven to have good quality (especially in plain-paper B&W).

tooki

[Scandalous Ion Cannon]

Originally Posted by tooki

That's incorrect, mostly. I read somewhere that HP's cost to make a print cartridge (with printhead!) is only around 50¢. They're expensive because they can.tooki

Fine, but that is the excuse they use.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

Pay more than $2 maybe $3 for a print cart?

Never again.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by Scandalous Ion Cannon

Fine, but that is the excuse they use.

No doubt a headless tank is cheaper, but it's very cheap either way. They are making astounding profits either way.

tooki

[Master Ken]

Originally Posted by ghporter

snip-
Epson is just a bit more honest about it.
snip-

Honest?... No where on the box did they tell me, their software would disable the printer if one ink cart were out?

No where on the box did they tell me that the printer head is not serviceable.

And I did pull out the chip on my old cart, and yes it was glued on, this means that it was guessing how much ink was left. I was rob from using the remaining ink.

(back then)
What makes it worst was I started getting streaks in the images, so I had to aligned and clean the head, which showed ink levels drop dramatically, which is bullsh*tp once again, because those prints on page, could not have used that much ink.

I thought they had a sensor monitoring the ink, but no! They were just guessing how much I had left.

[tooki]

The only halfway-justifiable reason for preventing the user from completely finishing the cartridge is that Epson's heads are already super-prone to clogging, and that running a printhead dry (e.g. when the cartridge has gone empty) can cause severe damage or permanent clogging. It does make sense to make sure that the tank never, ever runs out completely, to make sure that the head is never, ever run dry. But Epson's ink prices make it hard to swallow...

Here's to hoping that Canon's chips really are just for ink level monitoring and nothing else.

tooki

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by tooki

The only halfway-justifiable reason for preventing the user from completely finishing the cartridge is that Epson's heads are already super-prone to clogging, and that running a printhead dry (e.g. when the cartridge has gone empty) can cause severe damage or permanent clogging. It does make sense to make sure that the tank never, ever runs out completely, to make sure that the head is never, ever run dry. But Epson's ink prices make it hard to swallow...

Here's to hoping that Canon's chips really are just for ink level monitoring and nothing else.

tooki

They are made to prevent their ink tanks from being copied. But as long as they as cheap as they are, I don't have a big problem with that. In my experience, non-Canon inks don't measure up to the original's print quality (especially black text on yellow background or so).

[production_coordinator]

I still have fond memories of my Apple Stylewriter 1200. I made it through college one one cartridge and two $7 ink tanks. I sent reams of paper through that printer. It was amazing! Granted, the photo quality wasn't anything worth mentioning, but it printed papers amazingly well.

[Scifience]

Originally Posted by Master Ken

So what I did, I when to TRUSTY China town, went to AN-Chow's refills, and bought a modified ESPON INK CART and refilled it since. If they didn’t chip every cart maybe they wouldn't have to charge such high premiums for ink, and maybe the consumer wouldn't go out of his way to resort to 3rd party carts.

BTW China town is really out of my way, but for 10bucks a cart im hooked.

Good ol' Chinatown always comes through in a pinch.

</spends way too much money on, err, shady goods there>

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Master Ken

Honest?...

The honesty is in the fact that they don't try to hide that their cartridges are effectively not refillable, while other companies do a song and dance about "getting you the very best quality ink" and a lot of other horse crap. There is little honesty in the Gillette market model, Epson just doesn't try as hard to cover up.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

They are made to prevent their ink tanks from being copied. But as long as they as cheap as they are, I don't have a big problem with that. In my experience, non-Canon inks don't measure up to the original's print quality (especially black text on yellow background or so).

You mean the Canon? Yeah, I've never had a problem with paying for Canon ink -- I feel I'm getting my money's worth, which I never did with my last Epson. Real Canon ink, to me, seems cheap enough to not warrant looking for low-quality alternatives.

tooki

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by tooki

Here's to hoping that Canon's chips really are just for ink level monitoring and nothing else.

Yeah, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny will guarantee that...

-t

[DeathToWindows]

I've posted this several times before: I swear by the HP business inkjet printers... separate heads/cartridges - all user replacable. They have a few models that are built like this... they start around $150 or so and go over $1000. They have a large-format (13x19) model for $500 (cp1700... model number might have changed).

Excellent for photo work... perfect B&W photo prints (unlike epsons, which to my eyes always have some evil tint)

[the_glassman]

Originally Posted by Sarc

I have an Epson 740i (the one that came with my 350 iMac and has the translucent blue plastic with a sort of apple logo on it), on duty since 2000.
I mostly print B&W documents and there are retail 3rd party cart.s that are way cheaper. So I can't really complain here, though I do feel sorry for Epson and their money making scheme, but 5 years on a printer has to be some kind on record. Not even my vintage StyleWriter lasted that long.

I'm still using my 740i that I purchased with my 333MHz iMac. It's gone through three iMacs, a Powermac and three iBooks and I haven't had a single problem with it. I've used the ink4art ink for years and it's never let me down. Still prints awesome photos and laser sharp text. I wish it could print wider format prints, so I will be upgrading to a Epson 1280 or Canon i9900 soon.

[::maroma::]

I will never buy Epson again. I have an Epson Photo 1200 printer and a Perfection 610u scanner. They worked great in OS 9 (yes they're that old), but when OS X came out they became paperweights. Epson refused to support them in OS X, and still refuses to this day. Thank god for GIMP and Apple. GIMP now supports my printer and Image Capture now supports my scanner. So they are both given new life as of late.

Epson basically told me to F-off. Epson is just another one of those companies that doesn't give a crap about its customers. They used to make quality equipment but now their equipment is half-ass and their support is just nonexistent.

Canon will get my money next time.

[olePigeon]

Here's a tip:

The reason you get a free printer with your computer is the same reason Microsoft is losing $150 on every XBox. They plan to make the money up on the $50 ink cartridges (and Microsoft with the $50 XBox games.)

[Eriamjh]

Doesn't the internet sell an epson chip resetter for people who prefer to refill? (Too lazy to search. I have a Canon. )

[tooki]

Zombie thread lives again!

tooki