Your experience with generic Epson ink jet cartridges

[jrichrds]

Have any of you used the following "brands" of generic Epson ink jet cartridges?

Nectron "blue box"
Rainbow brand (made by Nectron in a different plant)
"USA Inkjets" - Made in USA

Any opinions appreciated on specific brands (rather than blanket statements of generics overall).

 

[Macro2]

Epsons printheads clog regardless of what cartridge they take.
This is one reason we have Canons...

 

[Mark R]

I noticed no difference between generics and genuine epson. If anything, the heads clogged less often with the generic carts - but, even if they didn't they made repeated head cleaning cycles almost affordable.

 

[Dantzig]

I've used the Rainbow carts for a while now and other than the ink smelling odd when wet, I can't tell a difference between them and the Epson brand carts. However, my print heads get clogged so often with any brand carts that I want to throw this damn printer out the window.

 

[Mem]

I always use Jet Tec compatible ink carts with my Epson printer,good prices and excellent quality.



Jet Tec USA homepage .

 

[Slogun]

I haven't had any more problems whatsoever with print heads clogging............since I threw my Epson in the garbage.

Now have Samsung Lasers and Canon Photo printers.


...sad but true...

 

[jrichrds]

Originally posted by: Dantzig
I've used the Rainbow carts for a while now and other than the ink smelling odd when wet

I just started using the Rainbow carts, and noticed the odd smell too when the pages initially come out of the printer.

 

[Macro2]

I haven't had any more problems whatsoever with print heads clogging............since I threw my Epson in the garbage.


Good one! LOL

 

[fast_eddie]

I have an Epson 880 since Aug 2002 - have used 225+ Premium Imaging Products brand cartridges with no problems, purchased cartridges from inkjetsaver.com .

 

[hungrygoose]

i repair printers, copiers, and fax machines for a living and i can tell u that generic brand cartridges are a bad thing....they degrade quality of print in some cases, while in other don't last nearly as long as they should.....they can cause clogging as well......this goes for inkjet as well as toner (especially toner)....spend the extra $3 and get the brand that makes the printer's cartridges.....chances are, if ink costs are that big of an issues, u should upgrade to a laser product anyways for economic reasons

 

[Macro2]

RE:"while in other don't last nearly as long as they should"

What do you mean by this?

As for Canon generics that are ISO certified. Seem to have good luck with them although I main refill or use continuous feed. I've rfilled the same canon generic cart over 100 times and it still works.

As for commercially refilled HP carts. For the most part they are
terrible and do clog.

As for 3 dollars more for a genuine cart vs a generic...try like >$10 more.

Mac

 

[Mike99Pgh]

No problem here running Brother injeck generics from www.discoverink.com. $5.99 vs. $19.99 for OEM thank you very much.

 

[hungrygoose]

u may not notice a difference due to low volume on the machine.....try running that thing hardcore or really expecting the best quality out of your prints and you will see a difference.......ISO certified is irrelevant.....believe me......these cartridges are made by companies that cut corners in the manufacturing process....that's y they are so cheap.....u get what u pay for in this case.......most of the time u will see (if u monitor output) that reman. cartridges/generic brand carts. don't last as long as oem

 

[Macro2]

Hungry,

I don't think that anyone said that generics were as good as original ink. I refill with the best ink you can buy and it's still not as good as original. Pretty darn good when you max out the settings though.
Canon for instance has a patent on their magenta.

If someone is evry picky about printing photos I recommend they pop in a set of genuine carts.

I'm talking about Canon here as we converted to them a couple of years ago after experimenting for years with other brands and having out wallets lightened.

 

[hungrygoose]

Originally posted by: Macro2
Hungry,

I don't think that anyone said that generics were as good as original ink. I refill with the best ink you can buy and it's still not as good as original. Pretty darn good when you max out the settings though.
Canon for instance has a patent on their magenta.

If someone is evry picky about printing photos I recommend they pop in a set of genuine carts.

I'm talking about Canon here as we converted to them a couple of years ago after experimenting for years with other brands and having out wallets lightened.

true......i guess it really comes down to how much ur quality of ink and longevity of carts. matters to u

 

[MrRobercik]

I used to run my old Epson without the color ink in it (I cared about black prints anyway) Eventually the damn thing refused to print black too, so I got HP... HP will not print without BOTH inks . The old Epson would clog as much on OEM as on generic, except one time generic clogged it so bad that no cleaning would make it work...