Printer - Ink empty but not

[axel132132]

Hi,

I have an Epson Stylus 125 printer and it pretty much prints like 20 pages and the inks done.

When i take out the cartridge and shake it it feels and sounds half full.. Is there any software out there that tricks it into printing instead of asking to swap the ink

Kind Regards
Dave

 

[Dngrsone]

Inkjet printers are a scam.

Sounds harsh, huh? Here's the deal-- the printer manufacturers ahve figured out that the bulk of their money is best gotten from consumables (that is, printer ink), so they will sell inkjet printers at very low prices (and build quality reflects that price). They engineer the printers and their management software to maximize ink usage. The following tactics are commonly used:

• When turning the printer on, the printer will go through a cleaning cycle
• A cleaning cycle pumps ink though each printing head, which is an array of electronicc jets (hence the name inkjet). This is to clear dried ink, dust and any other debris from the head for good print-quality.
• New printers come with 'trial' cartridges, these contain less ink than a standard replacement cartridge (sometimes only 20-30 pages worth).
• Many cheaper inkjets will use a single multi-color cartridge-- if you run out of one color, the other two go to waste.
• When printing in color, the printer will create the color black by using the three colored inks instead of using the black ink, which is reserved for black-only/grayscale printing.
• The printer will tell you that you are out of ink, even if there is still ink in the reservoir. The reasoning goes that the last printing should be as 'high-quality' as the first printing of the cartridge, and so the manufacturer errs on the side of waste so your last printing on the cartridge doesn't look like you ran out of ink halfway through.
• If you run out of one color, the printer will not let you print, even if you only want to print black.
• Some cartridges are set to count pages and expire after so many pages are printed, regardless of how much ink is used per-page.
• Other cartridges have a shelf-life, and will expire when they have been in the machine for a certain amount of time.
• Ink is solvent-based and will evaporate over time.
• Inkjet cartridges are 'smart' now, in an attempt to prevent the user from using cheaper refill solutions rather than buy the more expensive name-brand inks.

You can try removing then reinstalling your ink cartridge(s); sometimes that will fool the printer into giving up a few more pages.

I have seen instances where it is actually cheaper to buy a whole new inkjet printer than to buy the replacement ink cartridges.

 

[axel132132]

Cheers mate, thanks for taking the time to explain that so im basically guessing theres no way of tricking these god darn printers lol!

Cheers

 

[Dngrsone]

Depending on the printer, there are some things you might be able to do-- use your favorite search engine to find your printer model and terms such as trick cartridge...

If you use your printer often, then inkjet is fine, just shop around and do a cost-analysis that includes consumables (ie price per page).

 

[MMM]

I use to use Epson printers but stop using them about 6 years ago, too many problems & associated high cost of cartridges......
I swapped over to canon and find that they are better printers & cheaper on cost.
Also with the canon, most have the function of ignoring the cartridge low print warning in which you can squeeze extra printing out of them.
Another thing I like about canon printers is the ease of changing print heads if need to be done as where most Epsons did not have that option thus the printer had to be replaced.

 

[Dngrsone]

Ooh, I forgot about that feature of Epsons-- whereas Canon and others had the print-heads incorporated into the ink cartridge, Epsons were part of the printer itself, huh? Bad design, indeed...

 

[OhSnapWord]

This is why I like laser printers.

 

[Dngrsone]

Unfortunately, Lasers don't do card stock... or larger formats, generally.