[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Study: Over Half of Inkjet Printer Ink is Thrown Away here

[rhondabrwn]

I modified my Epson R300 printer with a drain tube to carry away the waste ink that gets dumped when the heads are cleaned (or when the printer is restarted). The amount of ink being wasted is unbelievable once you can see it happening!. I would be surprised if half the ink in a cartridge isn't wasted when you factor in the recharges and head cleaning. Instead of cheap printers and expensive ink, I would gladly pay $300 for a high quality, long lasting printer with refillable ink tanks and a replaceable drain tank (instead of foam pads inside the printer).Epson... Canon...Lexmark.... ARE YOU LISTENING?Personally, I went with a CIS (Continuous Ink System) with large tanks of generic ink so my days of buying cartridges are gone forever!

[wiz2525]

I never believe my printer when it tells me I am low on ink. I am low on ink right now. But until the page I'm printing shows ill effects, I recognize it for what it is... another attempt to suck money out of my pocket. I am still very reluctant to purchase refill kits, however, because so much of what I print is photographic, and I just don't have confidence in the refill kits having the exact colors or densities for the jets.

[Cubby]

I just recently purchased a double refill black inkjet cartiage from a leading office supply store (June 13) and already after printing mybe a half dozen pages it shows only 3/4 full. Anybody had the same problem? BRK.

[Doug]

Assuming nothing is broken, replace them only when the printer fails to print (because of no ink) or when print quality drops below your personal standard.Listening to the maker as to when to replace is like throwing out a perfectly good, working, water heater, stove, or etc. because it's exceeded it's published life.Why would anybody actually listen to someone (something?) who has a vested interest in maximizing the amount of money they take out of your pocket?

[freejazz]

It's really very simple. Just keep printing until you notice deterioration of the quality. Why put more money into the greedy manufacturer's pockets?

[bpcan]

I totally agree - because the ink is reported as low does not mean you have to replace the cartridge immediately. Wait for the the print quality to fall.One other change I would like to see is the ink capacity indicated on the cartridges. Not all brands display that information. It should be a requirement so the consumer can see how much ink he/she is buying and can also see which printer is more efficient.

[talk]

http://www.epsonsett...om/Faq.htmEpson still denies any claims of wrongdoing even though they lost this class action lawsuit.

[talk]

[quote name='freejazz']It's really very simple. Just keep printing until you notice deterioration of the quality. Why put more money into the greedy manufacturer's pockets?Epson printers won't allow you print if THEY have determined that the cartridge is out of ink -- you have no choice -- the driver simply won't allow you to print. It's funny that the company that was successfully sued for wasting ink is now claiming that an "independent lab" shows that they are more efficient than other companies. At least with the other companies, you can print until the cartridge is drained -- but not Epson.

[theonlybuster]

Epson hardware is like that in general. Lexmark printers will print regardless of ink being there or not, I've even printed without a cartridge even physically being installed. They're just drones. SOME HP printers will also print regardless of the amount of ink. I have 1 that prints all the time and another more updated that stops when it reaches anything below the 5% mark.

[Metalmorphasis]

I just got through paying almost $100 bucks for a whole 3 inkjet cartridges for my two printers!Just like gas, I think were all getting pumped, or should I say sucked when it comes to re-fueling!Well,at least they last almost longer than a tank full of gas.

[yrrallezr2]

Would be really nice if you would have given info on the specific printers that were tested and if there's an available site to test mine.

[Bellcon]

No mention was made on the inkjet efficiency of the Canon, Lexmark or the Brother printers. How did they fare?I own a Lexmark all in one printer and when it shows the level of ink is low I continue using it until if no longer prints.

[rmaruniak]

At work when one of our printers appeared to be low on ink, my secretary would shake the big cartridge. I've tried it at home when I get a low ink message and it works! I can print for quite a while longer. Sometimes I do it again and it extends the printing even longer. Just remove the cartridge and shake it hard, mostly down toward the jets a few times. The ink that is still up inside the cartridge foam will be put in a useful postiion.

[dlauber]

[quote name='rhondabrwn']Instead of cheap printers and expensive ink, I would gladly pay $300 for a high quality, long lasting printer with refillable ink tanks and a replaceable drain tank (instead of foam pads inside the printer).> > Epson... Canon...Lexmark.... ARE YOU LISTENING?> > It's been done. It's called a color laser printer. If you don't need to print glossy photographs, they are a lot more economical to use -- and a lot faster -- than any inkjet. Of course, some of the manufacturers are applying the inkjet model to lasers and charging ridiculous prices for toner cartridges -- HP being the most guilty. Ricoh's color ink cartridges are actually darned inexpensive by comparison, but Ricoh doesn't make any really inexpensive color lasers.Actually, the concept of charging a lot for toner originated years and years ago with HP where an executive publicly admitted the real profit was in the consumables -- the profit margin on laser toner (and inkjet ink) is huge and inexcusable in a just society -- but then ripping off the public is just one of the joys of our economic system, isn't it? Profits and high executive salaries come first -- that's why so many of our jobs have been shipped overseas. The public interest? There is none when excess profit can be made.

[BowlerBabe]

:D I did the same thing that Rhondabrwn did with her Epson R300. I really love this printer, however when the printer stopped printing, (through a lot of research and no help from Epson) I pulled the excess ink tube out of the back, ran it into a small bottle and was also shocked at the amount of ink that went into the bottle. I downloaded the SSC Service Utility so that I could reset the counters on the Epson R300 and it now just keeps printing away. With a step further, I purchased a continuous ink supply system. ( These are specific to a certain printer, so make sure you find one for the make of your printer.) I did not find them expensive considering what you are paying for ink cartridges. I now purchase bulk ink and refil the reseviours for pennies on the dollar. It is so cheap to go this way I can't image using ink any other way.

[awhumphrey]

My printer has been lying to me for months................Except for photo printing, I'll run the cartridge untill it wont show a color at at all. My cheap Canon MP 160 does a great job of printing, next time I'll buy a printer with separate color cartridges. The cartridges that came with the printer printed approx. 475 pages. The Staples brand remanufactured cart. about 325 pages..

[LHart]

I have a Lexmark Z730 inkjet printer, 'disposable' printer no doubt, and by that I mean that it's generally cheaper to throw the printer away and buy a new one, than it is to buy the new ink cartriges. About 2 months ago, it began telling me that the 'color ink supply' was running low.I went to Walmart to buy another printer, and found that the ink cartridge for it is just a little cheaper than the printer(Be still my beating heart!) So, I decided to buy the cartidge and save a few cents. However, instead of immediately replacing the cartridge, I decided to use the existing one until it ran completely out. Lo and Behold, it's still printing just fine, despite the constant warnings the the ink supply is running low. What rip-offs these companies are! I even wonder if it's not actually FRAUD to do this to their customers! Does anybody out there know?

[voyagerfan5761]

I knew those multi-ink cartridges were bad. I was waiting for some confirmation of the feeling; well, here it is.

[Spart]

I guess i should have kept my lexmark cartridges. They are $30 a Pop. Mine takes 1 black and 1 color. I threw them away because according to the printer I was just about out. O_O