Printer Ink
 

My Epson showed low ink levels in all 4 cartridges. I don't use the printer often and it's been a good one..so far. It's about 3 years old.

I ordered a combo pack from Amazon and when they showed up they are branded Sheengo (not Epson) with the correct numbers on them. (Maybe why they were about a third less in price.)

I haven't opened the seal, so thinking of returning because of fear my printer will reject them.

Has anyone else tried off-brand and it worked or didn't?

I've done the same for my Canon and it was fine.

If you did Amazon then try it and return em if it rejects em. Amazon DGAF

^^^ None of the 4 have run empty yet...but it's giving me the warning.
I think I'll wait until one color does run out and try one.
I'll check to see what the max day limit is with Amazon for returns.


edit: just checked and is eligible thru 1/31/26...plenty of time.

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Non oem inks are always a gamble.
The 3rd party inks usually fade faster than oem inks. So you may have some fading in a couple years where oem dye inks might last longer.
The aftermarket inks are usually safe to use. I use them a lot in epson and canon printers. No other issues yet.
gary

Man,

Home printers are a headache. After my last one died, I just figured that I could print everything I needed, which is hardly anything at the FedEx just two miles from my house. I put it on a thumb drive and stop in and print it out.

I figure I can print an awful lot of things before I come close to the cost of a printer and also would be fairly confident that their commercial copy machines are of much better print and ink quality.

I wish that when I bought this one that the Eco-Tank Epsons were available. (I missed it by 1 year)
It looks like they are much better on ink...it comes in bottles.

https://mediaserver.goepson.com/ImCo...-hub_masonry-6

Eco-Tank Epsons are terrific!!
I run an 8550. I printed over 1000 photo note cards in the last month- still have ink left.
If you are only printing black text- I would give up on the inkjet printers. They are expensive to run, ink heads clog- PIA.
Get a b/w laser printer and print away.
gary

^^^ How many diff color bottles does one take for the initial fill?
The pic above shows six...my old Epson takes 4 cartridges.

I had two Canon MX330 printers bricked after a windoz update.
Couldn't find previous drivers anywhere.
(~error mssg: "This product has reached the end of it's expected service life")

HP is rumored to be the worst:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23736811/hp-plus-printer-ink-drm-firmware-update-cant-cancel

Got one and agree. A bottle will do 2-3 fill ups I think.
The fill procedure can be a little sloppy if you're not careful but otherwise no complaints.

I have a low end laser printer. It is pretty awesome even if I curse it regularly. Does 98% of what I need. Wife has a nice Canon photo printer for the good stuff. Printers sort of suck.

We do very little printing however, the Epson ET-2800 has been flawless for the past 3 plus years. The ink tanks are so convenient.

^^^ How many ink tanks do you need to fill on that printer?

I've been recommending the Brother MFC line of ink tank printers (printer,scanner,fax) for years. We are on our 2nd over about a 15 year period. I get refills off the big "A" that are generic but give me 2x of each color and 4x of black for about $12 - and that will last us a year or more.

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…

Four chambers. Black, cyan, magenta and yellow. Super reliable and very easy to load. I bought it because of recommendations of the BBS brain trust. I bought ink one time in 3 years. Ink seems to last forever.

^^^ Thanks....when the ink I just purchased runs out....I'm going with one of those.
It seems like every month I'm buying either the three color cartridges or the black.

i went laser for all my black and white stuff. So much nicer and apparently cheaper to live with.

I did buy a photo printer this past year though and am now reminded of how miserable it is to deal with ink tanks.

I broke down and bought a color laser about 6 months ago and couldn't be happier so far. I print quite a bit and the ink was just getting too costly. I think I'll come out ahead in the long run...

I stopped at Walmart this am because I knew they carry the Epson printers.
Only 4 diff models have the Eco-Tank feature.
I was reading the side of the box of the 2403 model on sale for $159. It said that it comes with intro bottles of ink (smaller than normal). I was surprised to see that it will print 4k sheets with the intro bottle in black & white and 7k sheets with the normal bottle of ink.
Color sheets were the same ratio but less pages.

The 2803 was $199 and I didn't see any difference that would affect what I use a printer for.

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...

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.

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.

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.:)

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.

^^^ 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.

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.

^^^ 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. :D

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

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.

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.

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