For goodness sake please do not buy an Epson Printer!

imacfan

Hi,

A few months ago, I bought an Epson 680 printer. I thought that it was a good buy, since it was only 70 UKpounds, fairly quick and looks good. However, now I have seen the price of the refills! A black cart costs 25 pounds - so in less than a year I will spend about twice the price of the printer on ink (colour included). The carts even include this new Epson chip that gauges the ink level, and prevents third-party options. I am so pissed off that I think I will go and buy an HP printer. Or does anyone know a way round this which does not involve squirting ink round my room with a hypodermic needle!?!?!?



Thanks,



Dave

ricrocket

I've encountered the same problem with regard to the ink cartridges. Although, I must admit that I'm blown away by the 2880 x 1440 dpi on my photos - can HP equal this phenomenal quality? and do they use significantly less ink?



rr.

jesperas

There are a number of on-line vendors that sell third-part cartridges compatible with Epson printers at a fraction of the Epson-branded cartride cost that can bypass the ink sensor on the current Epson printers. Here's one:



<a href="http://www.inkjetmall.com/"; target="_blank">injetmall</a>



But you should be able to find others through a web search. A lot of these vendors also offer archival grade inks and paper, for the artistically inclined.



Another option would be to use a Continuous Inking System, which draws ink from external, bulk ink tanks. I've got one on my Epson 880 that also bypasses the ink sensor:



<a href="http://www.nomorecarts.com/"; target="_blank">No more carts</a>



Unfortunatly, it doesn't look like the No More Carts system supports the Epson 680, but there may be another system that does. The CIS would be more cost effective than the Epson-compatible cartridges in the long run, but it really comes down how much printing you do. I purchased mine during a time when I was going through a complete set of cartridges every 2 months, but have since dramatically reduced my print volume. If I had to choose now with the volume of work currently going through my printer, I'd go with the Epson-compatible cartridges, rather than a CIS.



[ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: jesperas ]</p>

airsluf

eman

That's why I get my Epson ink at places like Costco or BJ's Wholesale Club.

xool

Keep in mind that the really cheap printers (read: sub $100) are designed to use smaller ink cartridges, forcing the user to buy them more frequently...



Why is this you ask? 'Cuz the printer manufacturers want to recoup the money they lost selling the printer so cheaply!



Moral of the story: You get what you pay for.

steve666

If you buy an HP printer, make sure you buy models that use the 45A black cartridge and not the 15. They look the same but the 45A costs the same and has almost twice the ink!



HP printers used to be hands down the cheapest to operate but they have been in ripoff mode the past 2 years. The Epson C80 is cheaper to run and supposedly some of the Cannon for the first time are also cheaper, however Canon printers generally suck.



The best HP's to get are the 960, 990, Photosmart 1115. 1215, or 1315. All their other models use the 15 cartridge. By the way you can buy a Dataproducts brand version of the 15 cartridge that costs $5 less than HP's and has twice the ink!



I know all this crap because I sell printers. HP has really been bothering me by hurting their image and product rankings by getting greedy. I still think their products are the best all around. I plan on buying one myself......................

bradbower

I get the ink for my Epson 740 printer really cheap at computer bargain sales, conventions, etc, by buying cartridges for old 880s (I think that's the number, I haven't done this for a couple of months), they are cheaper but the exact same thing and work perfectly.



But I agree, Epson sucks like that. Also, if you get a fairly good ink refilling kit, it isn't always a huge mess.

swankdog

[quote]Originally posted by iMacfan:

<strong>Hi,

A few months ago, I bought an Epson 680 printer. I thought that it was a good buy, since it was only 70 UKpounds, fairly quick and looks good. However, now I have seen the price of the refills! A black cart costs 25 pounds - so in less than a year I will spend about twice the price of the printer on ink (colour included). The carts even include this new Epson chip that gauges the ink level, and prevents third-party options. I am so pissed off that I think I will go and buy an HP printer. Or does anyone know a way round this which does not involve squirting ink round my room with a hypodermic needle!?!?!?



Thanks,



Dave</strong><hr></blockquote>



Are you you crazy Epson printers are the best inkjet priners on Earth. 2880 dpi Thats crazy their prints are the brightest and their black text looks like lazer quality. I have had three EPSON's and they are very reliable I have never had any problems with them. Some of their printers have individual color cartriges. Fries and Costco has good deals. Oh damn! I just saw a commercial for epson cartiges for dirt cheap. I didn't get the name of the company but I did get the phone number: 1-800-531-7996.

imacfan

Hi,



I've calmed down now. All I was trying to say is that, when it comes to the carts, Epson are more rip-off merchants than most of the other players. However, I found a black compatible cart from <a href="http://www.tonix.co.uk,"; target="_blank">www.tonix.co.uk,</a> for under 10 pounds - now that's how much the real ones should cost! (P.S. They even do free shipping in the UK!)



Dave

garrykz

Hi

I have used the Epson printer few months ago but I was not satisfied the performance of that printer and the problem which is regarding about ink cartage and I suggest you to not buy that printer.

================================================== ====

Garry

zinfella

Quote:

Originally Posted by garrykz


Hi

I have used the Epson printer few months ago but I was not satisfied the performance of that printer and the problem which is regarding about ink cartage and I suggest you to not buy that printer.

================================================== ====

Garry

I suppose that it's a complete waste of time to point out that Epson OWNS the professional photographer market with regard to printers. There's a lot of bad info in this thread, so far. Before you start whining like a two year old over Epson ink costs, perhaps it would be helpful to compare the final product, and ink coverage from their inks and papers, compared to third party UN-PROFILED inks and papers.



If all you want to do is print text, then buy a text printer, and use whatever ink trips your trigger. However, if you care fig about image quality, and have any knowledge of color management, you will buy Epson inks, and papers, for your printer. One can use other papers, but, they must obtain a profile for EACH combination of Epson ink and non-Epson paper, or print pure crap.



The very first step, before anything is printed, aside from text, is to calibrate your display with an external colorimeter. Then use the proper profile for each ink/paper combo, if you ever expect to match prints with what you see on the display.



Thank you for your attention.

messiah

Okay, so I bought an Epson colour laser printer for £240.



It requires four toner cartridges at £60 each, and an imaging drum at £75.



So that's £315 for the consumables, or £240 for a brand new printer. Guess what I bought.



The last few times I've gone out to buy new cartridges, I've always ended up buying a new printer instead.



You don't have to play the game by the manufacturers rules!

splinemodel

Quote:

Originally Posted by Messiah


The last few times I've gone out to buy new cartridges, I've always ended up buying a new printer instead.



You don't have to play the game by the manufacturers rules!

The cartridges that come with the printer have much less toner in them than do the replacement cartridges. Also, anyone who's getting a personal color laser should consider the Ricoh models: cheap consumables, relatively cheap units, excellent quality. I used to have one (predecessor to CL3500), and I'm thinking about buying another. It has the highest quality of any color laser I've ever used, matching the top-end Xerox units and very nearly matching their solid ink units. It is so far above and beyond anything from HP, Epson, or any of the major OEMs.



Here's a great site for getting info on printers.

http://www.printershowcase.com/

robm

I'm with Messiah - on my third Epson R series printer - anyone want to buy a slightly used R210 and a R230 ?

I really dislike the whole ink jet consummable thing - but what do you do ? Not worth it me to do anything else for the odd times I need an ink jet ...



One thing about Epson is the cartridges they supply with the printer ARE the full size - Canon and others give you half size.

outsider

After 4 inkjet printers, I finally moved to a low cost but good quality color laser for the home. At the time it cost me $450 US but came with color+BW toner that has yet to go out. We've maybe printed 1000 pages and each color is at 50%.



They don't make the Phaser 6120 any longer but Xerox does produce the Phaser 6180 that includes network connectivity for $399. Each color toner cartridge costs $65 but lasts many times longer than ink cartridges. (duty cycle for a toner cart is 1,500 pages. Ink carts are in the 200-400 page range for 5% coverage.)

ireland

I have a HP color laser jet, they are nifty.