Printer Ink

[Deschodt]

Printer ink is the worst ripoff. What really gets me though is what I experienced recently.. There were 2x black cartridges, one for text one for pics - no substitution. It absolutely refused to let me print anything if one was low, regardless of the usage, same with pictures. It basically holds your printer hostage... There could be times where you don't care and want something printed even if imperfect..

Also they put chips on cartridges now to prevent aftermarket, or refills, or what have you. It's worse than a mafia or drug dealers ("psst, here, cheap printer, first ink is free!!") ...

I use the best Brother laser (unkillable, cheap AF) and I send pics to be done on a service...

[stevej37]

Printer ran out of black ink...switched all four to the Sheengo cartridges from Amazon. As soon as I clicked finished...it gave me the message 'Printer does not recognize ink cartridges'

Pulled them out and repackaged them. Amazon sent a label and I'll return them later today....glad I didn't pitch the wrappers and box.

Will pickup a new Epson 2403 Eco Tank today.

[vash]

I pretend to be dumb when our office printers go dry. hah..

I won't even mess with it at home.. and my wife is issued a work one that gets all the supplies, and I still dont print at home. no real needs.

but I do agree, total ripoff. they may as well give you the printer free.

[stevej37]

Just finished setting up my Epson Eco Tank 2803
Surprised how much ink was in the intro bottles...filled each tank and more left over.

Easy to set-up...cell phone, desk-top, and a couple tablets all print when finished.

[SpyderMike]

Ecotank is the way to go IMO. I have had two for a few years with no issues. They are used sparingly too. The old Epson with individual cartridges would seem to dry up.

[stevej37]

^^^ I'm really liking it so far....it's quieter, faster, and ink should be a fraction of the price of my old one.
It replaced an Epson 2850 w/4 cartridges...which is going to Goodwill tomorrow.

[rwest]

I had a Epson Ecotank as my last printer and was the best one I ever had, but still ended up with clogged nozzles. I tried cleaning them, but no love.

I’ve heard that you should print something at least once a week to keep the nozzles clear. I knew this, but never remembered to do it.

[stevej37]

^^^ I can do that...once a week print a test sheet or something with colors.

I'll see if I can fit it in on my list of Monday's chores....it's a rough life.

.

[cjh]

Has anyone tried a factory refurbished Epson ET printer? I was thinking of getting one of the ET-4850 printers for my office.

[berettafan]

my desk printer at the office is a kyocera fs2100dn. Not sure what i paid but it is a workhorse.

Have another Kyocera, i think 2040, for the office at home. Both are cheap to feed and reliable.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by rwest

I had a Epson Ecotank as my last printer and was the best one I ever had, but still ended up with clogged nozzles. I tried cleaning them, but no love.
I’ve heard that you should print something at least once a week to keep the nozzles clear. I knew this, but never remembered to do it.

Looking at the screen on the printer, I see a 'nozzle check' choice. It prints out a page with all the colors tested. That should do it.

.

[BillYates]

Ditching expensive cartridges for the Eco Tank was a smart move. For label printing projects, I rely on labelbasic.ca/software/seagull-scientific/bartender-basic-software/ — it handles layouts and speeds up printing nicely. That free trial is worth checking out if you need to print labels.

[A930Rocket]

^^^ Another bot?

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I just bought two 4 color packs of ink for our HP printer, from Walmart. They turned out to be refills. Looking online, it doesn’t say anything about them being refills. But the price was definitely a lot cheaper. We’ll see how they go…

I replaced my ink in my printer with the knock offs an a couple of days ago, and the printer would not recognize them.

I ordered HP ink cartridges and it works now.

[gchappel]

My main hobby is photography. I print a lot.
I have 5 printers running- up to a 44" canon pro4100. Presently printing a 36x88" print as we speak.
I just had to order a 2nd full inkset for the epson 8550 ecotank printer. About $120
A full set of inks for my 44' printer is about $4000.
I have printed 3162 images on the little 8550 since 12/23. The thing just prints and prints and prints.
Do the images look as good as the big 12 ink pigment printers. Nope
But they are close- closer than they have any right to be.
Most people- including my wife- would never notice the difference.
My wife has a 3850- same experience.
The ecotank printers just print and print. Ink prices are fair- cheap.
I will say we still run a brothers laser printer for text.
Print more
gary

[CurtEgerer]

For years I bought the cheapest, most basic HP inkjet printer at Walmart. Around $30 with cartridges. They were fantastic. When the ink ran out, I'd throw the printer out and buy a new one. That was about the same $$ as buying a refill. Then they quit offering them. Now they've got the 2800 series which is about the same printer but comes with a small capacity cartridge and are $60+ I hate printers.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by gchappel

My main hobby is photography. I print a lot.
I have 5 printers running- up to a 44" canon pro4100. Presently printing a 36x88" print as we speak.
I just had to order a 2nd full inkset for the epson 8550 ecotank printer. About $120
A full set of inks for my 44' printer is about $4000.
I have printed 3162 images on the little 8550 since 12/23. The thing just prints and prints and prints.
Do the images look as good as the big 12 ink pigment printers. Nope
But they are close- closer than they have any right to be.
Most people- including my wife- would never notice the difference.
My wife has a 3850- same experience.
The ecotank printers just print and print. Ink prices are fair- cheap.
I will say we still run a brothers laser printer for text.
Print more
gary

You must be selling prints I assume to do that sort of volume??

[gchappel]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

You must be selling prints I assume to do that sort of volume??

I sell a few prints. The local community center gave me a large gallery for a year- so a couple dozen large prints go there every other month.

Most of these are 7x10" notecards- with a 5x7" print and some text.
I choose a group of 10 images each year and make a set of cards.
Started out as a gift for family. The card sets have grown in popularity over the years- we now give away about 100 sets each Christmas- 1000 prints. Number keeps growing. The little 8550 chugs most of september printing them- printing as we speak.
gary

[stevej37]

[QUOTE=A930Rocket;12696961]^^^ Another bot?


Yep


My EcoTank is 9 months old now....I'm still on the small ink bottles that came with it.

.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by gchappel

I sell a few prints. The local community center gave me a large gallery for a year- so a couple dozen large prints go there every other month.

Most of these are 7x10" notecards- with a 5x7" print and some text.
I choose a group of 10 images each year and make a set of cards.
Started out as a gift for family. The card sets have grown in popularity over the years- we now give away about 100 sets each Christmas- 1000 prints. Number keeps growing. The little 8550 chugs most of september printing them- printing as we speak.
gary

That's great! Sounds like an awesome setup you've got.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^^^ I can do that...once a week print a test sheet or something with colors.

I'll see if I can fit it in on my list of Monday's chores....it's a rough life.

.

Thanks for the reminder. I got talked into one of these, a 2988. Ink levels seem to never drop but I'm not doing much color so I did a nothing color print today just to wake up the jets. All is well.

At lease we read the instructions.