I’ve just got back from Tescos, they are selling Epson ink carts at £11.74 per cartridge for the Epson R2400; Each cart holds about 12 milli litres and depending on who you believe, anything from 5% to 25% is left in the cartridge when the chip decides that the cartridge is empty.

How much are you paying per litre for your ink in even CHEAP INKJET CARTRIDGES

£30?, £50?  £100?

how about

£1,032 per litre for Epson ink

how much per litre for the Quill system?

click here

Not Running on Empty

“The complaint cites research by the British magazine Which! Online. Testers there were able to override the Intellidge chip on Epson cartridges and print between 17 and 38 percent more "good-quality pages."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/113112/epson_faces_consumer_suits.html

It is important to understand that Epson's ink cartridges are designed to include a small safety reserve of ink. This safety reserve serves an important engineering function to ensure consistent image quality and prevent damage to the permanent printhead that could be caused by drawing in air bubbles when there is no ink remaining in the cartridge. The printer will automatically stop working when there is no more safely usable ink in the cartridge. Users benefit from all of the ink they have paid for, since Epson promotes and prices the cartridges based on the usable volume of ink reflected in the rated yield, not on the total volume of ink.

The chip included in Epson's cartridges records the amount of ink that has been used from a cartridge, which not only ensures that the printheads are not damaged by ink cartridges running dry, but also enables users to swap out cartridges as needed to handle particular print jobs. Epson is concerned that some of the people making these accusations are doing a disservice to consumers by recommending that they override the ink-replacement signal, which will cause poor-quality prints and can damage the permanent printhead.

--Epson America”

So, the reason is that a print head will be damaged if it operates with no ink running through it?  Don’t know about you, but there are many occasions I can remember when I’ve run out of ink and ruined a print, but I’ve never seen any problems after that... Have you?

learn about the alternative; click here

Here’s another interesting piece from the net...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2007_17_thu.shtml

ink cartridge pricing

Typically, ink cartridges are very expensive. Many people, therefore, use compatible ink cartridges (those made by a company other than the printer manufacturer) that can sometimes match the quality, but with possible savings. Another alternative involves modifications that allow the use of continuous ink systems that use external ink tanks. Some people choose to use aftermarket inks. They can either refill their own ink cartridge, buy aftermarket remanufactured brands, or take them to a local refiller.

Consumers are often surprised at the price of replacing their printer cartridges, especially when compared with that of purchasing a brand new printer. The major printer manufacturers, Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Dell, Canon, Epson and Brother, often break even or lose money selling printers and expect to recoup their losses by selling cartridges over the life span of the printer. Since much of the printer manufacturers' profits are made up of ink and toner cartridge sales, some of these companies have taken various actions against aftermarket cartridges.

In following with Epson in some countries, Kodak is attempting to change this business model with the pending launch of its Kodak EasyShare inkjet printers which provide individual ink cartridges at a low price. Some printing industry analysts have said that along with Epson, Kodak's new strategy and the very low ink pricing in some countries are the first sign of a collapse in ink prices that will spread worldwide

How ink cartridges work

Main article: Inkjet printer

Thermal Inkjets: Most consumer inkjet printers, such as Canon, HP, and Lexmark (but not Epson printers) use a thermal inkjet; inside each partition of the ink reservoir is a heating element with a tiny metal plate or resistor. In response to a signal given by the printer, a tiny current flows through the metal or resistor making it warm up, and the ink immediately surrounding the heated plate is vapourised into a tiny air bubble inside the nozzle. As a consequence, the total volume of the ink exceeds that of the nozzle. An ink droplet is forced out of the cartridge nozzle onto the paper. This process takes a matter of milliseconds.

The printing depends on the smooth flow of ink, which can be hindered if the ink begins to dry at the print head, as can happen when an ink level becomes low; dried ink can be cleaned from a cartridge print head, by gentle rubbing with isopropyl alcohol on a swab or folded paper towel.

The ink also acts as a coolant to protect the metal-plate heating elements: when the ink supply is depleted, and printing is attempted, the heating elements in thermal cartridges often burn out, permanently damaging the print head. When the ink first begins to run thin, the cartridge should be refilled or replaced, to avoid over-heating damage to the print-head; see more at: inkjet printer.

Piezoelectric Inkjets: All Epson printers use a piezoelectric crystal in each nozzle instead of a heating element. When current is applied, the crystal changes shape or size, forcing a droplet of ink from the nozzle. A piezoelectric inkjet allows a wider variety of inks in a much finer quality than thermal inkjets, while more economical in ink usage.

A Continuous Ink System (CIS) also known as Continuous Flow System (CFS), Digital Image Prints System (DIPS) and bulk feed ink system, is a cost-effective replacement for ink-jet printer cartridges. In contrast to conventional cartridges, a CIS/CFS uses very large (about 100ml/color) ink tanks, which are connected with tubes to the printhead nozzles. The tanks can be refilled from an ink bottle - there is no need for a syringe.

The inkjet printer industry has viewed continuous flow systems as a threat to profits from sale of ink cartridges, while high volume users demand lower cost ink.  .

REFILL KITS

Typically, a refill kit comes with a cartridge holder, bottles of ink and needles. The exact tools that come with the kit can vary by manufacturer or by which cartridge the kit is for. Some tools are found in all kits because they are necessary to refill, but others, like the cartridge holder or a needle to withdraw air from the cartridge, are optional.

The most common refill kits come with either: bottles of black ink for black refill kits; or one bottle each of cyan, magenta and yellow for color refill kits; or one bottle each of photo cyan, photo magenta and photo black for photo-color refill kits; or combination of all colors for combo

refill kits. Pros and Cons

The main benefit of using a refill kit is the savings. The average price for these kits is $10-$20 and they usually yield about three refills. Based on that, a person could be getting a new cartridge for about $5, versus the $25-30 they would pay at the store for a new one. There is also the environmental benefit, as you are reusing a cartridge that would have otherwise been thrown away after one use.

The downside to refill is the time associated with it and the unpredictability. Refilling a cartridge can take 10-15 minutes for those unfamiliar with the process, and some may prefer buying a new cartridge to the effort it takes to refill. Also, ink cartridges usually last for 4-5 refills, but there are those that can only be refilled one time before they are worn out.

The biggest perceived downside to refilling is the mess associated with it. Many consumers shy away from refilling either based on past experiences or stories they have heard. Many of the unsuccessful refill kits of the past were so-called "universal" kits, meaning they were designed for use with multiple cartridges. Because all manufacturers use different types of ink, and because different cartridge designs require different refilling processes, these universal kits had a high failure rate. Today these kits are harder to find, as refill kits made for specific cartridges have become more the norm, but perception that all refill kits are messy still remains.

The main reason for the decline in refill kits is the emergance of large chains of ink stores that offer a refill process. This is similar to the evolution of the automobile oil change. Just as cars became too complex for the average driver to change oil, the new cartridges have also become too complex for the average consumer to do it by themselves.

Inkjet refill kits are available in different sizes and with different grades of ink. In the US, popular brands of inkjet refill kits include Uni-Kit, Jettec as well as others.

£1300 per litre 25%

£1003 per litre 5%

PLEASE NOTE!

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It is run by one of their many very happy customers who is extremely greatful for all the help and advice they have given me. 

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The excellent alternative to forever hunting for cheap inkjet cartridges