Printer Ink

stevej37 · 12-22-2025, 09:36 AM

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?

Gogar · 12-22-2025, 10:02 AM

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

stevej37 · 10:12 AM

^^^ 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.

.

gchappel · 12-22-2025, 11:16 AM

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

rwest · rwest's Garage

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.

stevej37 · 12-22-2025, 11:30 AM

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.

gchappel · 12-22-2025, 11:35 AM

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

stevej37 · 12-22-2025, 11:39 AM

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

john70t · 12-22-2025, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

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

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

john70t · 12-22-2025, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gchappel

Eco-Tank Epsons are terrific!!

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.

LWJ · 12-22-2025, 12:18 PM

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.

NY65912 · 12-22-2025, 03:43 PM

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.

stevej37 · 12-22-2025, 03:47 PM

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

MBAtarga · 12-22-2025, 07:50 PM

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.

A930Rocket · 12-22-2025, 08:05 PM

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…

NY65912 · 12-23-2025, 03:22 AM

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.

stevej37 · 12-23-2025, 03:54 AM

^^^ 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.

berettafan · 12-23-2025, 07:25 AM

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.

Paul T · 12-23-2025, 07:28 AM

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...

stevej37 · 09:00 AM

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.