Review: Epson Kills the Printer Ink Cartridge (plus Video at link)

Wall Street Journal Total Return ^ | Aug. 4, 2015 6:27 a.m. ET | By WILSON ROTHMAN

[crusty old prospector]

Sweet. Ink is such a ripoff.

[cuban leaf]

As I type this I’m waiting for my “off brand refills” from Amazon for my Epson 837. I’d not touch Epson but they are the only printers I can find at a reasonable price that will print directly on to printable CD’s and DVD’s. I was printing up 60 when I ran out of ink. And when it runs out, your done until you get more ink.

[Swordmaker]

Review of the new Epson EcoTank printers which have eliminated the ink cartridges. . . This is a cool idea. . . and economical. Total Cost of Ownership is lower than cartridge Ink Jets over the life of regular ink jet printers. I'd get this even over a color laser printer! You don't wind up throwing a lot of cartridges away or taking time running to the store for expensive ink cartridges either. I can live with that! It should be interesting to see what the other printer manufacturers come up with to compete with Epson in similar cartridgeless printers. — PING!

CARTRIDGELESS INK JET PRINTERS are coming! BIG improvement
Ping!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[JimSEA]

I’ve learned to keep extra cartridges on hand at all times but it’s really expensive. This looks interesting.

[Paladin2]

I've been filling my own cartridges for at least a decade in spite of the printer companies attempts to intervene.

Sometimes though I've bought a new printer on sale instead of going through the fill hassle. I own a LOT of printers.

[Swordmaker]

This will be of interest to your lists. . .

[Swordmaker]

Sweet. Ink is such a ripoff.

I won't buy ink jet printers because it irks me to pay exorbitant prices for a quarter ounce of ink. . . I've been buying color laser printers for years. This may change that.

[dennisw]

LASER PRINTER is the way to go!!!
You can usually find black and white laser printers on sale for $50 by a reputable brand such as Samsung, HP, Brother. I have one by HP and it works great. A refill toner cartridge was $14 incl shipping from ebay.

I have an inkjet that is used only for color printing a few times a year. Put scotch tape over the cartridge to preserve the ink from drying up. Over the area the ink jets out of

[Moonman62]

WSJ’s Wilson Rothman explains why paying more will make your ink-cartridge hassles disappear.

...

No it won’t. The heads will still clog if they aren’t used often enough. I switched to laser when they became affordable and won’t go back.

[Proud2BeRight]

“I’ve been filling my own cartridges for at least a decade in spite of the printer companies attempts to intervene.”

How do you get past the printer needing a new cartridge ID registered to kill the “low ink” message?

[TomGuy]

I never had much luck with inkjets. After a while, they would quit recognizing even new cartridges. They would clog. When that happened, it seemed to signal their demise.

About 2004 I found a home laser printer for $200. It lasted until I went Win7 and drivers were not available.

About 7 years ago I found a color laser Xerox for $150 on a CyberMonday sale. It still works great. Since I do not print very most at home, it does not dry out, etc. It is still using the original cartridges.

Go laser. Inkjets are not worth the hassle. Laser printers can be found for around $50 for b/w and under $200 for color.

[Swordmaker]

Sometimes though I've bought a new printer on sale instead of going through the fill hassle. I own a LOT of printers.

It has always amazed me that sometimes a NEW printer was cheaper than buying the ink for an older model! Ridiculous. I know of some home users who have a dozen older ink jet printers in their garage, dead, because the ink jet makers turn out junk printers for the purpose of selling ink cartridges. They use the old Kodak camera approach. Sell the camera/printer cheap, lock the customer into their products, and make money on the film/ink for lots more than it costs to make.

[Swordmaker]

No it won’t. The heads will still clog if they aren’t used often enough. I switched to laser when they became affordable and won’t go back.

So did I. . . but this almost makes me think about switching back.

[smokingfrog]

What took them so long?

[Fungi]

The only way a printer manufacturer can make money is charging for ink, apart from the initial printer purchase. Epson was sued a while back for their practices. They paid and I received a check for $25. There has to be a catch here. You can buy generic ink and fill up cartridges. The only way I see Epson making money here is if they force you to buy their ink, or make a killing on the printer. I would not trust this move until I know more.

[W.]

Worked in manufacturing, this place had a Brother 3/1. EVERY time you turned it on, it printed a ‘test’ page that burned through the color inks, and the cartridges were tiny. And, like the article, it stops immediately upon detecting an empty ink cartridge. That was 15 years back, and I STILL get pissed thinking how that miserable POS would quit when I needed it to be quick at kicking out BOL’s, etc., for my shipping paperwork. RRRRRRR... ;)

[Wingy]

I buy and maintain four computer setups in the Philippines for family members. They have had this setup for printers for YEARS! It's simply too expensive for your average Filipino home user to buy tiny carts of ink. This has been researched and found to be true.

But, and it's a big but, try to find this in the States. I've done some searches but have not found one yet.

[Swordmaker]

The only way I see Epson making money here is if they force you to buy their ink, or make a killing on the printer. I would not trust this move until I know more.

The printers are $400 to $500. . . not the $99 junk that fails quickly.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

You know what’s also a rip-off? Cell phone batteries. I KNOW technology exists that can create a dual-core or quad-core cell phone battery that can last for 30 days. Sick of this re-charging crap every 2 hrs.