Generic Cartridges vs Epson

[Hundalr]

I just purchased some generic color and black ink cartridges for my Epson 780
to save some money. They were about 30% of the cost of the Epson. The black
ink seemed fine, no problem. I installed the color cartridge today. I first
noticed that there is a color shift, and the print looks less like the colors
on the screen. However, more serious is the micro-banding that is showing up.
The nozzle check is OK, and several cleaning cycles does not seem to improve
the print. Does anybody else have problems with these third-party ink
supplies?

 

[Don Davis]

Hundalr,
Generic ink should never be used in a printer. Generic ink is a "One
fits all" type of ink. It very well might work fine in some printers, but
could ruin others. It is not worth ruining your printer to save 30%.
Compatible ink from a reputable supplier that is designed for your
particular printer or OEM should only be used. Look in some previous posts
to find a good ink source.MIS ink is one of many. @ www.inksupply.com
Good luck.
Don D
It might be better to trash what you have and replace it with other ink.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I have been relatively pleased with 3rd party inks and cartridges, but
some may require color management to adjust for slight color
differences. Further depending upon the paper you use, it is possible
the banding problem may worsen with some ink formulations.

The ink formulas aren't all that complex, but they do vary between
printer brands and even models, and the paper types they respond well to.

What paper type do you typically use?

Art

 

[tomcas]

I agree with you 100%. However he said he bought generic cartridges, not
generic ink. I been buying generic cartridges from Voltexx for Epsons
for almost 3 years now without any problems. The cost savings are as
high as 10 to 1 with the generic cartridges costing between $3 to $5
each compared to $30 for Epson OEMs. I could have replace the Epson
printers several times now considering the money I have saved. I also
refill my own HP cartridges exclusively with MIS ink. I'm currently
averaging 4 to 8 refills per cartridge depending on cartridge capacity.
generic ink fails because each printer requires a different formulation
but generic cartridges filled with OEM quality inks are fine.
Tom