Printers and cartridges

[Sylvie Pacey]

I recently purchased an Epson printer SX200 which I get on with fairly well BUT the ink cartridges don't carry much ink and they are expensive to replace. I understand that Epson fitted special chips in to models from 2008 which a.) tell you they are empty when they are'nt and b.) won't let you print if you refill the cartridges. (Rather naughty I think) Has anyone experience of using a chip resetter for this model - and does it work? I used to refill my HP cartridges without much trouble.Sylvie

[Buchpteclare]

I don't have that model printer - but that method is used by other printers. I have an HP that has the same sort of device. Check on the web - there are ways to bypass that problem. One way is to remove a small battery that keeps the internal memory running. Usually it's hidden away where it's nearly impossible to find or remove. At least with the HP certain key codes will allow one to 'cheat' when putting a refilled cart back in.

ATB!

[dll927]

Ink cartridges are the real reason companies make printers. They claim to sell the printers themselves at a small profit, but hold onto your hat when you need cartridges -- which you soon will. My printer has six of them, and there are others with more than that.

This method of marketing is nothing new. Gilette has done it for decades - you pay little for the razor but comparatively a lot for the replacement blades. Then there was Polaroid -- their film always had the distinction of being the most expensive way there was to get prints. But they are history now with digital cameras around.

Companies are not dumb -- they know how to get you coming and going.

[Mat]

A quick search in google on Epson SX200 cartridge refill and I came across this article:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/60/1

Hope this helps.

[Sylvie Pacey]

Thanks for the info, I had already seen the site mentioned and the free software cannot work on Vista .Stymied all around so far but there must be a way. Finding the miniscule battery in the chip might be the answer - but how?
As you say, manufacturers are pretty canny. How about the "Full cream milk is bad for you" scam. They skim off the top of the milk and then sell it at an inflated price as cream (Is that bad for you too?), yoghurt etc. Pet foods are another big rip off as my cat will tell you. Watch out now for the Green industries waiting to make mega bucks out of us. I suppose its what makes the world go round. Sylvie.

[Buchpteclare]

The battery in the HP looks like those used in watches. Tiny - about a quarter inch in diameter - and very hard to get at. Yours may not be the same but it's worth a look. I tried to find the site that helped me last year - but so far no luck. No software was involved - only punching in a code on the printers fax keypad. (It's one of these multifunction jobs).

It's become almost less expensive to buy a new printer when the ink runs out on the old one.

[Krummhorn]

You got that right about the ink expense. Tell me about it ... For my Lexmark X125 it's over $65 for the pair (color and black), and that was at Costco, which now doesn't carry those anymore.

For print quality and the huge savings of ink consumption, I have set my print quality to "draft" ... the pages are quite legible, and the printing speed is much faster.

[Mat]

Bummers the free software doesn't work on Vista. Another reason to go back to XP?

If you're looking for a cheap solution get yourself a HP F735. The quality of printouts is very good. There are two cartridges inside: color and black. You can get the black one for 10 bucks and it will give you up to 600 pages. The software that comes with the printer is not the best, but one can get used to it. This machine suits my needs almost perfectly.

For my Lexmark X125 it's over $65 for the pair (color and black)...

What a rip-off!! I can buy a pair for less than $25 and it takes a lot of time before I run out of ink...

[Dorsetmike]

I used to repair printers for a living, Epson provided about 75% of all the work, built down to a price, often failed a week or two outside of warranty.

I use an OKI colour laser, in terms of cost per page/copy it has inkjets beaten out of sight like about 1/10 th. OK a toner cartridge costs more than some ink cartridges, but I get thousands of pages per toner cartridge against a few hundred pages per ink cartridge.

If you do buy an ink jet make sure it has separate cartridges for each colour, with a single cartridge containing cyan, magenta and yellow you will find one colour runs out and you have to throw out a load of ink.

Ink jet ink is probably the most expensive liquid available on earth, far more than most expensive perfumes, even more than petrol in UK

[Sylvie Pacey]

SH!!! Don't tell a soul. Epson printer would not print black, thought it might be faulty cartridge. Took a chance with old empty Epson cartridge, figured out where it was filled originally and squirted some black ink into hole. BINGO it worked, so the cartridges can be refilled despite what Epson tells us. HOORAY. Sylvie.

[marval]

Well done to you Sylvie.

We have an Epson too, but I won't tell them your secret.

Happy printing


Margaret

[mathetes1963]

Epson are unmatched for home photo print quality, but they are ink hogs. I've gotten OEM Epson inks at a substantial discount (in the USA at least) from these guys: http://www.atlex.com/

[marval]

We have the Ecoprint2 programme, it is supposed to save on ink.


Margaret

[dll927]

For quite a while, everything about printers in Popular Photography was Epson, Epson, Epson. I was beginning to wonder if Pop owned a wad of Epson. But that seems to have backed off some lately. In fact, they haven't been saying too much about printers lately. But they were bought out by some company, and now have different editors who are still finding out where the restrooms are.

On the other hand, Consumer Reports seems to like H-P printers. But in over 40 years of subscribing, I've never quite learned to regard Consumer Reports as gospel. They are a bit too left-wing for me.

[clara]

Our HP printer isn't very good, I think we need to spend a little more next time.