Printers Guzzle Ink, Tell Lies
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 06.19.07
It's no secret that ink printer manufacturers try and make most of their money off the consumables associated with printing. Unlike laser printers, they essentially give away the printer, but then charge a lot of money for the the inkjet cartridges and, to a lesser extent, the paper. Fine, but apparently there is a bit more to the story, as a new study found that more than half of the ink from inkjet cartridges is wasted when users toss them in the garbage. This is because most users huck them when their printers tells them they're out of ink. Turns out the infernal gadget is lying - they may still be over half full!
The findings come from a study, conducted by TÜV Rheinland and commissioned by Epson, that studied the efficiency of both single and multi-ink cartridges from various vendors. Surprise, surprise - Epson's own R360 posted the best numbers, with only 9 percent of the ink wasted. Kodak's, with its EasyShare 5300 came in as the straggler, wasting over 64 percent of its ink in tests. According to the study, some printers have hundreds of pages worth of ink left when they beep that they are 'dry'. And there's another wrinkle as well.
Readers that have followed the printing world for a while know that some printers use multi-ink cartridges (3 to 5 colors all in the same cartridge) and some use separate cartridges (one cartridge, one color.) Obviously, the multi-ink cartridge fare worse in these types of tests because they can be 'emptied' as soon as a single color runs low (like when printing out a Powerpoint presentation.) This unravels the story a little bit more, as Epson (who backed the study) uses primarily single-ink cartridges in their printers; this is almost guaranteed to be more efficient because there's only one color per cartridge, and thus only one cartridge to replace when that color runs out. These still waste ink - up to 20 percent - but generally were better than the multi-ink cartridge models.
The final wrinkle is that the study also did not calculate the total cost per page, which arguably is more important than efficiency. Epson refused to comment on this which suggests, well, you know. Lots of solutions to the problem; First, don't listen to your printer and use your cartridges until they run dry. Second, try an online service like Photobox, or use a continuous flow system. And third, if you are buying a printer, check out cost per page as well. :: arsTechnica
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Are Laser Printers As Dangerous as Smoking or as Making Toast?
- Print Less: Make Just One Copy Do the Job
- UPS Going Labeless with Super Cool Paper-Free Printer
- Green Glossary: Green Ink
Now a great article would be one that tells us HOW to use our cartridges til they run dry... my printer freezes up completely until I change the cartridge, so I really have no choice!
[mine has this annoying box that pops up on the screen continuously!!! mjo]
I've also noticed that many ink cartridge recyclers want nothing to do with Epson cartridges. It would be nice if there were something to do with them other than toss them in the trash. So which is worse, a recyclable cartridge that wastes 40% of the ink or a single-use cartridge that only wastes 10%?
They are also too small to tell if they are really empty or not without an accurate scale...
It's ironic that Epson backed the study. I have an Epson RX600 and it's easily the worst printer I've ever used. It calculates the usage of the print cartridge and tells you to replace it when it's not even close to out. That, in tandem with the printer making me clean the cartridges all the time, makes the printer completely useless. I'll never buy an Epson again or have faith that they'll produce quality products at all.
Nathan
This was a wonderful article! I at least now know that I should buy single cartridges, rather than multi-ink cartridges. Wonderful post!
whoa! this is so true! but i ALWAYS refill my ink cartridges..
My printer refuses to print when it says the cartridge is empty as well. I've got a Canon i550, and if I just take out the cartridge and then put it back in it runs just fine for another huge wack of pages.
I only discovered this recently though and now I'm kicking myself for not figuring it out sooner.
I love my c41ux epson printer, funnily i refill it with a refill for lexmark printer (the refills come in lare volumes), i accidently used ink from my old printer and it worked way better than the inks intended for it.
http://www.inknow.co.nz/products.aspx?tpl=grid&ss=10N0026
Thats what i use on it, i also have a little flasher that resets the little chip on board to tell it that its a new cartridge. It comes with a calidad trio, here is the link to the flasher thing.
http://www.calidad.com.au/WhatsNew.asp?sec=3
I havent used the ink that comes with that kit but the flasher alone is well worth while. I have also noticed that my printer no longer estimates ink use nor allows me to replace the cartridges from software, the options are just greyed out, but the button on the printer works fine.
We've been using an Epson Stylus R2400 for about a year now, and I love the single-color tanks. The printer will warn you (repeatedly) when they're nearing the end, but will let you print until they run totally dry. I've also heard through the grapevine that they'll have some sort of recycling program starting in the coming months. Sure hope so, because we have about three gallon-sized bags full to the brim with empty cartridges.
I use an Epson printer, with separate cartridges. The printer will decide that one cartridge is low and refuse to print at all. This is frustrating when only printing B&W text and the light cyan cartridge is low, for instance.
Removing and reinstalling the cartridge doesn't reset the printer - I guess they figured that out and made the cartridge/software too smart for that trick.
I'm too worried about print head life to refill the cartridges myself. So it would be wonderful to find a way to recycle/reuse the spent cartridges...
I'm definitely going to check out Alumunun's links!
I love Epson, I really do. No other home printer compairs in quality when it comes to printing photo's, but the problem with the ink is crazy. I've stopped printing at home completely and out source all of my photo work through on line companies. Much better quality, and I dont have to feel bad about getting rid of an ink cartridge at the end. There really needs to be some more thought and design into recycling the "empty" cratridge.
another option available to bypass the cartridge empty problem is to not install the software just the drivers. www.windowsupdate.com had a lot of printer drivers for a lot of models without the lame clutter your system software.
I have been using inkjets for art prints for about 9 years. It's quite true, the inkjet market is a scam.
In general Epson printers are preferred. Most Canon, HP, and Lexmark have the printhead in the cartridge. If the ink dries in the printheads you just get a new cartridge and you are back in business - but at a price.
Epson has seperate heads and, since there is now a large range of compatible cartridges available, ink works out cheaper. The downside is that Epson requires vigilance to stop the ink drying in the printheads. this means printing a little test picture every few days (you can set the computer up to do this automatically). there are some cleaning cartridges available but generally it means new printer if you neglect it.
In the old days printers were 4 colour. Then 6,7, and even 8 colour printers were introduced (to make it easier to print caucasian skin tones !). Quite unnecessary - the 4 colour printer still does a fine job for most purposes. And seperate tanks are obviously the way to go.
Originally we refilled cartridges . messy but do-able. Then third-party vendors introduced 'continuous flow systems' - where bottles of ink are connected by plastic tubes to the cartridge. for many though compatible cartridges may be more convenient.
It is also possible to buy water and lightproof ink for use on archival paper. i have tested these in raw sunlight over weeks and they are pretty good. by the way, it is also possible to replace colours with shades of grey and produce really stunning black and white prints
when manufacturers noticed that people were refilling they resorted to various tricks, such as putting little ledges inside the cartridge to stop a syringe going in, or putting electronic chips inside ('to count the drops' to avoid the horrors of a dry head - greatly exaggerated). This is why most ink gets wasted - the counter says it's empty when it's not. fortunately third parties came up with various chip-resetters and the like, and anyway many compatibles hold more ink than originals.
another ploy is to keep pumping out new models- all very confusing (and more junk for the tip). pretty soon new printers will appear on the market which have an array of sensors as wide as the page, so no moving printheads and much faster prints.
the internet is awash with sites selling cheap compatibles. For ink, continuous flow systems, and a discussion of Epson printers I have found this firm to be reliable - http://www.inksupply.com (I am not connected with them in any way).
Hope this helps
I have been using inkjets for art prints for about 9 years. It's quite true, the inkjet market is a scam.
In general Epson printers are preferred. Most Canon, HP, and Lexmark have the printhead in the cartridge. If the ink dries in the printheads you just get a new cartridge and you are back in business - but at a price.
Epson has seperate heads and, since there is now a large range of compatible cartridges available, ink works out cheaper. The downside is that Epson requires vigilance to stop the ink drying in the printheads. this means printing a little test picture every few days (you can set the computer up to do this automatically). there are some cleaning cartridges available but generally it means new printer if you neglect it.
In the old days printers were 4 colour. Then 6,7, and even 8 colour printers were introduced (to make it easier to print caucasian skin tones !). Quite unnecessary - the 4 colour printer still does a fine job for most purposes. And seperate tanks are obviously the way to go.
Originally we refilled cartridges . messy but do-able. Then third-party vendors introduced 'continuous flow systems' - where bottles of ink are connected by plastic tubes to the cartridge. for many though compatible cartridges may be more convenient.
It is also possible to buy water and lightproof ink for use on archival paper. i have tested these in raw sunlight over weeks and they are pretty good. by the way, it is also possible to replace colours with shades of grey and produce really stunning black and white prints
when manufacturers noticed that people were refilling they resorted to various tricks, such as putting little ledges inside the cartridge to stop a syringe going in, or putting electronic chips inside ('to count the drops' to avoid the horrors of a dry head - greatly exaggerated). This is why most ink gets wasted - the counter says it's empty when it's not. fortunately third parties came up with various chip-resetters and the like, and anyway many compatibles hold more ink than originals.
another ploy is to keep pumping out new models- all very confusing (and more junk for the tip). pretty soon new printers will appear on the market which have an array of sensors as wide as the page, so no moving printheads and much faster prints.
the internet is awash with sites selling cheap compatibles. For ink, continuous flow systems, and a discussion of Epson printers I have found this firm to be reliable - http://www.inksupply.com (I am not connected with them in any way).
Hope this helps
Dear me. About a year ago I bought a Brother printer-scanner-copier, the price was nicely low and I thought it would be a good deal. But like all other printers, there's a catch: not only the printer tells me the cartridge is empty way before it really is (I can still SEE some ink in there!), but putting it back in won't work, printer still tells me it's empty.
But the real problem is this:the "empty cartridge" warning is not really a warning. The printer just won't let me print until I put a new cartridge in...
Damn it. It would be cool to find an article on the greenest printers, clue there maybe?
keep up the good work lads ;)
The people at Cartridge World (where they will refill your cartridges for you instead of selling you new ones) told me that if you ignore these messages too long, you could burn out the head of the ink cartridge, making it unable to be refilled.... I worry that this takes away the point of recycling the ink cartridge as well.
I now bought my own ink refill kit and add more ink every time it says the ink is low.
The reason so many of the printers are no good is because the print heads clog, and they do not provide new ones with the ink cartridge as the other printer companies do, but even this may not have helped because they came up with the Dura Brite Ink which is suppose to last many many years (in an example of Dura Brite ink excellence they kept a picture printed with Dura Brite Inks in a jar of water for 3 years with the picture being in perfect condition after all that time...this is why the heads are clogged) Dura Brite is in answer to the FUJI prints that have an amazing lasting ability..I think it's something like 100 years.
Epson replaced my clogged printer with a newer model one after one year....very reluctantly. I was very happy but I had to ask them if they were going to stand behind this kind of product before they agreed to replace it. But while the new one is nice and the heads have yet to clog...(I think they made Duyra Brite Ink less water resistant) However I now have a new issue, now after I print just 10 pages the ink is gone! I go from half full after 3 pages to totally empty without warning. It is really frustrating to try and print something off for work in the early AM and not being able to because the blue and only the blue is empty...and I want to print something only in B&W. I called EPSON..and after so much talking where you provide them everything except a blood sample, they basically said "Too Bad So Sad" that if one ink is emty, you must buy a new one before you can continue prining.
I know that the "Quick Ink" has been an issue with many customers, some of them have takn action and gotten together for a class action lawsuit over the ink issue.
All in all I have never been more frustrated and spent so much money as when I owned an EPSON Printer...I am switching back to HP...I want peace in printing