Epson & Canon Ink Tank Printers are they locked to the makers own bulk ink

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Paul-H

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Hi all

A quick question I hope

With the current crop of Ink Tank printers from Epson & Canon are you locked into using their inks, is there some form of detection system in use, or can any quality ink be used.

My current Epson is getting close to its end of life and I use a CIS on it and have loads of ink in stock to use, so it would be nice if I could still use it on a new printer

If they are locked to the makers ink like they tried with the chipped cartridge versions, how is it implemented on the ink tank models.

Thanks for any input on this

Paul
 
No. I have used compatible inks for years. Much cheaper and IMO just as good as original. The manufacturer re chips the cartridge to work with printer. Only negative is that if your printer packs in under warranty it won't be covered. Once the warranty runs out, no problem!
 
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I don't know the answer, but I think the Epson Ecotank printers use dye except for a pigment black, so I guess you'd have to at least check you were using the same.
 
As per @wontolla 's reply... you aren't locked in although Epson do have a couple of printers that required a specific code that would "unlock" the ink levels (which were guesstimated by the driver anyway). You can override the latter by using the WICReset tool to reset ink levels on the relevant printers so that's not a huge impediment.

From direct testing, I've used pigment, compatible dye and even had a customer who was putting in variations of the Paul Roarke monochromatic ink set into an L series 805 (if memory serves). That said, compatible alternatives are being priced (to resellers) at a high premium which is a bit odd as the OEM inks are not equivalent to Claria original inks and actually seem to be aimed squarely at the quality level as bog-standard compatible dyes.

Oh and one key tip... Any of the ET series that use the Pigment black ink (ET-4550 was one IIRC) have a tendency to clog up after the first ink bottle is used up and the tank refilled. Strongly suspect that is because the ink isn't a particularly great quality and the usual issues of CIS + pigments apply. Epson are getting a lot of out of warranty angst because of their pigment black usage clogging up printers so worth a little preemptive maintenance if you're looking to use one with pigment of any sort (including OEM).

One quick question though @Paul-H ... What makes you think your existing CIS equipped printer is EOL?
 
Didnt they make it illegal to lock printers to own cartridge
 
KingJohn said:
Didnt they make it illegal to lock printers to own cartridge
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That's what I was thinking, my Epson warns that I am using a 3rd party cartridge but gives me the option to 'Continue'.
 
Remember if you use compatible ink it will clog your up print head :D
 
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