Jim Alfredson Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I've been printing up press kits for gigs, going through ink like it was going out of style. Has anyone ever used non-(insert major printer manufacturer here) in their printers? I've used Staple brand for my old Epson 777, but now I have an Epson R200 (fantastic printer) and it uses 6 ink cartridges that cost up to $17 a piece. It costs as much to replace all the ink as it does to buy a new printer!!! I was looking at the ol' eBay and saw this: cheap inky on ebay That's two full replacement sets for $9.99 (plus $16 shipping, which is still less than a quarter what it would cost to buy those from say Office Max) but they are non-name brand. I mean, they offer a 36 count set (ie, I could replace my cartridges 6 times!) for $80 and free shipping. That is about what it costs just to replace the ink once with Epson cartridges. So, anyone have any experience with these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I have a printer close to the model that you have Jim (Epson R800) and boy have I been tempted to get the cheaper inks! One of my concerns is/was that it'll void the warranty if something goes wrong with clogging or some weird malfunction because of these cheapies, BUT lately, I've been wondering how long before something like that would happen and would it be so long from now that I would've been better off buying the cheaper stuff and giving the printer to the Salvation Army after something did go wrong. I'm beginning to consider this option nowadays. I've heard that the ink mixes are sometimes not as good (read: accurate), so a suggestion (that I may try soon) is to get a sample package and just see if you're happy with the quality. I remember a thread somewhere about printer ink... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeCity Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I've never tried any of the cheap ebay ink, but it looks quite tempting. My S.O. has a Brother all-in-one that goes through ink like crazy. The cartridges dry out even when she doesn't use the thing at all! The companies set such a low price on these machines, they must be making thier money on the ink. I finally gave up recently and got an inexpensive laser printer. It's just black white, but it's fast and will print thousands of pages on one toner cartridge. I'm sure you need color for some of your stuff. Not to hijack your thread, but does anyone have any experience with entry-level color laser printers? I think you can get into one for about $400, and if that toner lasts comparably to the black, it could be a good deal in the long haul... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I seem to remember color laser cartridges being much more expensive than inkjet ink, so I don't know how much money one would save. I think I'm going to try these off-brand cartridges. What do I have to lose? Every time I buy ink for this printer I could buy a new printer! If I could cut that cost into sixths, that would be very much worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I recall reading when Carly Fiorina was fired as CEO that Hewlett Packard broke even on its printers and made its profit on the ink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 did anyone actually ever have or hear about bad experiences? If this stuff were as bad ad the printer manufacturers keep telling the consumer, the internets should be flooded by reports on that. The only issue would be warranty and the thing will not break down before one day after that has expired anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 The seller has a 100% feedback rating, which gives me a lot of confidence in the product. I think it's worth a shot. I am going to be a printin' fool this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gslade Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 I have been using the Staples brand for my Canon i950, about $5 cheaper per ink cartridge they seem to work as well as the OEM on Photo's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmessenger Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 I have ordered some cartridges from this site in summer, and their cartridges work just fine. Even when my Epson printer stopped printing, Epson fixed it for no charge even though the warranty has expired. They did this because they might know about faulty assembly in ceratin printer models including mine. So, I am not sure if they do that for every printer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted November 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 That's a decent price (about $7 a piece for R200 cartridges) but the ones on eBay can be as cheap as $2 a piece. One seller is selling 36 cartridges (6 of each color) for $80! That's cheap. I ordered 12 cartridges (2 sets) for $30. I'll let y'all know how they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Dang, that was fast shipping! They got here today, and not a moment too soon as I'm out of magenta! I'll be trying them out later tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 So, I've been using the non-OEM ink from eBay for a few weeks now with absolutely no ill effects. I've used my printer at least once a day, sometimes for hours at a time and the ink has performed flawlessly and looks as good as the more expensive Epson ink. I'm a happy camper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 Hey Jim, Are you still having good luck with your non-OEM ink? I'm thinking of making the switch for my Epson R800. Still using the eBay source? Thanks, Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Yes, it works great! I will say that black and white prints tend to have a bit of a blue tint to them, but otherwise the ink works great and last forever. I ordered the 36 catridges for $80 months ago (has to be a least seven months ago) and I still have plenty of it left. I print a lot of crap, too. It's well worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Thanks! Good to hear that you've had no breakdowns or clogging. OK, great! I've got to have a Cyan right away, but I'll order the others online. thanks again, Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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