Epson Faces Consumer Suits

[AnitaPeterson]

The "right thing" is to stop while there's more than a third of the ink left in the cartridge?
Do you also throw away the last portions of your food, so that they don't get the chance to become too old and poison you?
Would you buy a car in which the Empty indicator would turn on and stop the car, forcing you to buy a new gas tank (hey, it's dangerous to run out of gas, right?)

Wasteful...

 

[acemcmac]

My best printers were all rebuilt HP 550C's dug out of the trash and refurbished. Those things are tanks and are about 3x more ink economical.

Lasers own inkjets anyway.

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
I used to be a loyal Epson inkjet customer but I think I'll be switching to Canon.

HP/ Lexmark user here.....ill be going to Canon next myself also.

Ink Guzzlers!!!!

 

[ReiAyanami]

says an Epson ink jet cartridge that runs completely dry could damage the hardware's printing mechanism.

wow, then that means they make pretty crappy printers. if the print heads can be damaged by printing no ink, wow...

 

[alphatarget1]

screw Epson! really crappy reliability in my experience. my neighbor last year had one and it kinda broke... i didn't know how i fixed it. it was abnormal for sure

then my uncle's 440 doesn't work well at times and our stylus pro doesn't work anymore. yep, it was like 400 bucks back in the day 🙁 give me a HP printer over any epson crap any day of the week. HPs never break (at least in my experience). my 5550 rocks!

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
I fail to see a valid lawsuit here.

The printer does what it's supposed to do, consumers knew they'd have to buy replacement ink when they bought the printer, the replacement ink works, no one ever guaranteed that the printer would run the ink cartridge dry.

Cry me a river.

you're buying ink and the printer is setting an artificial cutoff point, telling you the cartridge is out when it really isn't, and you don't see a problem with that?

Considering that the print heads can be completely ruined if the ink runs dry, I think it's doing the right thing.

ZV

This is a stupid lawsuit. If the cartridge was advertised to print 300 pages and it prints 300 pages with some (or even a lot) of ink leftover, you did NOT get ripped off by the company. Are you now going to sue Intel for locking the clock multiplier so you can't easily push the CPU to it's full potential?

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
alkemyst,

Which Canon printer do you think is the best bang for your buck?

I can't decide between the i560, i850 and i950. I might go with whichever our local CostCo B&M has or wait for another supernova hot deal.

I have the Canon S600 & my parents have the Canon i550........... we both love them 🙂 especially the ease of re-inking 😀

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: freesia39
does anyone have an 820 and use aftermarket cartridges? i've been scared to death of that stupid "chip" on there not reading the after market cartridge "correctly" since it won't print if it doesn't think it has ink. i've spent over 100 freaking bucks on ink this year and i SERIOUSLY want to go laser instead... i just miss color printing. sigh.

Do you have a costco membership? If so they sell an ink refill system for $24 Cdn ($17 US) that can work on most printers. Good for a lot of refills (not sure how much...... I can't remember)

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
alkemyst,

Which Canon printer do you think is the best bang for your buck?

I can't decide between the i560, i850 and i950. I might go with whichever our local CostCo B&M has or wait for another supernova hot deal.

I've been using a Canon i550 for a year now. I just replaced the ink cartridges (all 4) about 1.5 months back. This printer has been great compared to the Epsons that I've owned in the past -- too many clogged print heads. 🙁

For Canon refills, I've purchased the Staples-branded tanks for $26.00 and then a friend picked me up another "kit" of 4 refill tanks at a computer show for $15.00. Personally, I don't like the Staples tanks. They don't clip into the housing very easily. Plus, they tend to shift a bit when the printer is printing and this shifting makes extra noise. 🙁 Personally, I'd avoid the Staples-branded ink tanks for the Canon printers. I haven't tried those from the computer show yet. But, I do hope they are better and clipping and securing than the Staples tanks.

For black and white printing, I still have my trusty Brother 1440 laser printer. With the Canon, I don't print photos because I don't care for inkjet-printed photographs.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
I fail to see a valid lawsuit here.

The printer does what it's supposed to do, consumers knew they'd have to buy replacement ink when they bought the printer, the replacement ink works, no one ever guaranteed that the printer would run the ink cartridge dry.

Cry me a river.

lamest post today , if what is said in the article is true, Epson is ripping people off, definitly making sure they DON'T get their money's worth, and you say cry a river over that?

Epson has every right to determine how their products function. They never guaranteed anyone that the printers would use all the ink in the cartridges.

That's what the free market is for: when Epson starts playing games like this with their customers, customers are free to purchase from other vendors.

As for "getting their money's worth," who determines the value of the customer's money? As far as I see things, customers are paying for a system of delivering ink to paper, and that's what they're getting.

I agree, if the accusations are true, it's a lowlife scam to make more money, but I still don't see a single thing illegal about it.

We might as well sue toothpaste manufacturers since the tubes are designed so that we can't possibly extract the last bit of toothpaste from the tube. I'm not getting my money's worth!

I just don't see any legal merit to the complaint. Sure, it might be underhanded, but it's legal.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink

I fail to see a valid lawsuit here.

The printer does what it's supposed to do, consumers knew they'd have to buy replacement ink when they bought the printer, the replacement ink works, no one ever guaranteed that the printer would run the ink cartridge dry.

Cry me a river.

You do realize that you created this whole wanting to have a lawsuit thing?

Geno, never said sue....you simply replied in kneeJERK fashion to something you read into the discussion yourself.

Also it's very easily verified that on almost any Epson cartridge when the Status monitor says it's empty and the printer doesn't printer, you can cut it open and see how much of a mess that makes. I don't know why I can't be allowed to print with that....but you are right, there is no requirement to let you use all the ink....however then they should not make how many ounces of ink you get (or mL).

Think about it.....with anything you buy:

You can only:

4 oz of your 8oz steak is actually plastic

2 oz of your 6oz tuna can is clay.

your 36 oz ketchup bottle only lets you squeeze out 24oz.

etc

You could defend something like that in the same way, just jump on the bandwagon.

I take it you must be a Epson advocate or work for them. I have only owned Epson printers going back years and years and year (other than Apple I don't think I owned any other since 1983), but it's coming time to jump ship due to not only the ink issue, but the print quality for the money seems to have taken a dive. I understand why, they only have so much R&D money and are spending more on trying to make generic ink not work on their printers.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
I take it you must be a Epson advocate or work for them. I have only owned Epson printers going back years and years and year (other than Apple I don't think I owned any other since 1983), but it's coming time to jump ship due to not only the ink issue, but the print quality for the money seems to have taken a dive. I understand why, they only have so much R&D money and are spending more on trying to make generic ink not work on their printers.

I take it that you like to make ad hom's or groundless assumptions about those who prefer Epson printers. Again, I've never had any reliability issues with my Stylus Color 880, and it prints almost-photo quality (although slowly) despite not being a photo printer, and being about 4 years old. Oh, please leave the print quality out of this, unless you're prepared to show me a Canon inkjet that has the archival capabilities and print quality of the Epson 2200, for the money.

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
alkemyst,

Which Canon printer do you think is the best bang for your buck?

I can't decide between the i560, i850 and i950. I might go with whichever our local CostCo B&M has or wait for another supernova hot deal.

If you're near a Fry's, the one in Anaheim has refurb'd i950's for $80.

I'm sticking with Epson printers. The reason is that their inks have proven to me over and over that they're the most durable out there.

Sucks too, because I hate paying $30 a cartridge (color one for my old 780 and 875). In fact, on Friday I bought the commodore 64 printer... (Heh... The C64.) $60, highly durable inks, great print quality, etc. I was tempted by the i950 but decided to stick with the DuraBright2 inks.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: jliechty
I take it that you like to make ad hom's or groundless assumptions about those who prefer Epson printers. Again, I've never had any reliability issues with my Stylus Color 880, and it prints almost-photo quality (although slowly) despite not being a photo printer, and being about 4 years old. Oh, please leave the print quality out of this, unless you're prepared to show me a Canon inkjet that has the archival capabilities and print quality of the Epson 2200, for the money.

? I have an Epson, I have always used Epsons....the fact is the consumables are becoming the driving force so I am switching.

You are bringing up printers that are specialized in nature....however the S9000 has been compared to the Epson 2200 many many times and is less than half the price of that $600 monster (I looked at both already...I prefer sub $100 for what I do/need)

 

[Ryan]

I when my parents Epson is running low, and refuses to print, I just remove the cartridge, then put it back in. Then I can print normally for many more pages 😉

Anyhow, I just bought a 99 dollar Canon i560s and I'm very pleased with it. Print quality is awesome 🙂

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
I when my parents Epson is running low, and refuses to print, I just remove the cartridge, then put it back in. Then I can print normally for many more pages 😉

Anyhow, I just bought a 99 dollar Canon i560s and I'm very pleased with it. Print quality is awesome 🙂

But, somehow, I don't think that removing a cartridge and putting it back in should be a necessary step in order to get the printer to print -- when the ink is running low.

 

[bernse]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
alkemyst,

Which Canon printer do you think is the best bang for your buck?

I can't decide between the i560, i850 and i950. I might go with whichever our local CostCo B&M has or wait for another supernova hot deal.

My next printer will be an i960. Cheaper than a 950 but supposedly better. I can't wait until they're available here.

Interestingly enough, the i860 is cheaper where I live than the 850!

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: freesia39
does anyone have an 820 and use aftermarket cartridges? i've been scared to death of that stupid "chip" on there not reading the after market cartridge "correctly" since it won't print if it doesn't think it has ink. i've spent over 100 freaking bucks on ink this year and i SERIOUSLY want to go laser instead... i just miss color printing. sigh.

Do you have a costco membership? If so they sell an ink refill system for $24 Cdn ($17 US) that can work on most printers. Good for a lot of refills (not sure how much...... I can't remember)

Cheers,
Aquaman

i'm lazy.

😀

costco sells ink for my printer, but in packs of 2 color and 1 black! i'm like grrr i use more black ink than color. i had like three color cartridges sitting around for a while!

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: freesia39

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: freesia39
does anyone have an 820 and use aftermarket cartridges? i've been scared to death of that stupid "chip" on there not reading the after market cartridge "correctly" since it won't print if it doesn't think it has ink. i've spent over 100 freaking bucks on ink this year and i SERIOUSLY want to go laser instead... i just miss color printing. sigh.

Do you have a costco membership? If so they sell an ink refill system for $24 Cdn ($17 US) that can work on most printers. Good for a lot of refills (not sure how much...... I can't remember)

Cheers,
Aquaman

i'm lazy.

😀

costco sells ink for my printer, but in packs of 2 color and 1 black! i'm like grrr i use more black ink than color. i had like three color cartridges sitting around for a while!

But it's so easy........... I refill mine while I am in front of the TV and doing "thighmaster" 😉

Cheers,
Aquaman <<<<<<<< multi-tasker 😀

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
The "right thing" is to stop while there's more than a third of the ink left in the cartridge?
Do you also throw away the last portions of your food, so that they don't get the chance to become too old and poison you?
Would you buy a car in which the Empty indicator would turn on and stop the car, forcing you to buy a new gas tank (hey, it's dangerous to run out of gas, right?)

Wasteful...

Running a car dry doesn't destroy the fuel injectors. Running an Epson without ink will clog the print heads because the residual ink in the heads will not remain liquid. This can sometimes clog the print heads to the extent that they cannot be cleaned by the printer's normal cleaning cycle and it would necessitate sending the printer to Epson for cleaning.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
says an Epson ink jet cartridge that runs completely dry could damage the hardware's printing mechanism.

wow, then that means they make pretty crappy printers. if the print heads can be damaged by printing no ink, wow...

Any print head will be damaged or clogged from running dry. The difference is that in Epson printers the print heads are part of the printer and not part of the ink cartridge. With other printers that have the print heads in the ink cartridges, they can destroy the print heads by running out of ink each time because the print heads get thrown out with the cartridge.

ZV

 

[waggy]

this is one of the reasons i bought a laser printer.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
I when my parents Epson is running low, and refuses to print, I just remove the cartridge, then put it back in. Then I can print normally for many more pages 😉

I tried that trick in my Epson once. Clogged the print heads. Had to run the cleaning utility 4 times to get it right again which used up something in the neighborhood of 1/3 of the ink in the new cartridge.

ZV

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
The "right thing" is to stop while there's more than a third of the ink left in the cartridge?
Do you also throw away the last portions of your food, so that they don't get the chance to become too old and poison you?
Would you buy a car in which the Empty indicator would turn on and stop the car, forcing you to buy a new gas tank (hey, it's dangerous to run out of gas, right?)

Wasteful...

Running a car dry doesn't destroy the fuel injectors. Running an Epson without ink will clog the print heads because the residual ink in the heads will not remain liquid. This can sometimes clog the print heads to the extent that they cannot be cleaned by the printer's normal cleaning cycle and it would necessitate sending the printer to Epson for cleaning.

ZV

While it is true running a car out of gas will not ruin the injectors, it's still not a wise habit to do such a thing. Before the tank will run dry, you'll pull a lot of sediment out of the gas tank and run the risk of plugging your filter. Not a practice that I'd recommend.

With Epson indicating that a cartridge needs replacement with 40% ink still in the container seems like a waste. One would think that they could invoke the "out of ink" message when there was 10% of the ink left - and give the consumer a bit more use with their cartridges.

 

[bernse]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
The "right thing" is to stop while there's more than a third of the ink left in the cartridge?
Do you also throw away the last portions of your food, so that they don't get the chance to become too old and poison you?
Would you buy a car in which the Empty indicator would turn on and stop the car, forcing you to buy a new gas tank (hey, it's dangerous to run out of gas, right?)

Wasteful...

Running a car dry doesn't destroy the fuel injectors. Running an Epson without ink will clog the print heads because the residual ink in the heads will not remain liquid. This can sometimes clog the print heads to the extent that they cannot be cleaned by the printer's normal cleaning cycle and it would necessitate sending the printer to Epson for cleaning.

ZV

Not defending the anaolgy... but... (and kinda OT).....

Running a mechanically injected vehicle (old gas or diesel) out of fuel will make for an expensive repair bill. You do not just fill it up and go.