Epson R265

[Denis Scadeng]

A few weeks ago someone asked for opinions on Epson R265 but my reply
got delayed.

The R265 gives excellent results but consumes a lot of ink. That said,
the original (Epson) cartridges seemed to go down very quickly - perhaps
they use a lot of ink to fill the plumbing? The compatible cartridges I
am now using seem better but that is just an impression.

In a spirit of scientific enquiry, I opened the dead Epson cartridges to
see how much ink was left. I estimate that at least 10 percent of
capacity remained and in one case a hell of a lot more. I think that
this was because I had to replace two cartridges and it wouldn't let me
run a clean cycle without replacing another - typical sneaky Epson
design.

The design of the cartridge was interesting. When (with a lot of
brutality!) you remove the side of the cartridge you can see the
chambers sealed with a plastic film - so you can see the ink. There are
lots of chambers interconnected in a complex way. I think the object is
to make them difficult to refill. I drilled a hole and injected water
which filled two chambers but not the main one. Also, about half the
capacity of the cartridge had chambers which never had ink in them - is
this to allow for a "high capacity" version?. Overall the amount of ink
is very small - it seems less than 2 cc.

When the compatible cartridges empty, I will open them to see if they
are the same. I would have no hesitation in refilling if I could find
suitable cartridges and if there was some way of resetting the chip.
Epson may at long last found a way of stopping chip resetting. If they
have - I have bought my last Epson printer.

The report recently posted makes interesting reading about the good
quality of third party inks.

 

[measekite]

A few weeks ago someone asked for opinions on Epson R265 but my reply
got delayed.

The R265 gives excellent results but consumes a lot of ink. That said,
the original (Epson) cartridges seemed to go down very quickly -
perhaps they use a lot of ink to fill the plumbing?

Thats correct

The compatible cartridges I am now using seem better but that is just
an impression.

Thats false. And you are risking the print heads to a possible
permanent clogging, lower quality results and more rapid fading.

In a spirit of scientific enquiry, I opened the dead Epson cartridges
to see how much ink was left. I estimate that at least 10 percent of
capacity remained and in one case a hell of a lot more.

Epson claims they do that to protect the printhead from drying out so
the put extra unadvertised ink in the cart.

I think that this was because I had to replace two cartridges and it
wouldn't let me run a clean cycle without replacing another - typical
sneaky Epson design.

The design of the cartridge was interesting. When (with a lot of
brutality!) you remove the side of the cartridge you can see the
chambers sealed with a plastic film - so you can see the ink. There
are lots of chambers interconnected in a complex way. I think the
object is to make them difficult to refill.

Thats good protection

I drilled a hole and injected water which filled two chambers but not
the main one. Also, about half the capacity of the cartridge had
chambers which never had ink in them - is this to allow for a "high
capacity" version?. Overall the amount of ink is very small - it seems
less than 2 cc.

When the compatible cartridges empty, I will open them to see if they
are the same. I would have no hesitation in refilling if I could find
suitable cartridges and if there was some way of resetting the chip.
Epson may at long last found a way of stopping chip resetting. If they
have - I have bought my last Epson printer.

Thats good. You should not buy an HP or a Canon either.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I haven't studied the 265 cartridges, but I have studied many others and
taking measurements. The more recent chipped cartridges which are
spongeless and have individual cartridges for each color usually carry
about 12-16 ml (or cc) and leave behind between 1 and 3 ml (or cc) when
"empty". Some chambers are empty because they contain the air exchange
mechanisms which allows a vacuum to be avoided while minimizing the
direct contact the ink has with air flow (which can oxidize or dry the
ink out in the cartridge).

I don't disagree, however, that some of the design is based upon making
refilling very difficult.

Art

 

[Denis Scadeng]

Some chambers are empty because they contain the air exchange
mechanisms which allows a vacuum to be avoided while minimizing the
direct contact the ink has with air flow (which can oxidize or dry the
ink out in the cartridge).

Thank you, Art, for a concise and erudite explanation

 

[measekite]

I haven't studied the 265 cartridges, but I have studied many others
and taking measurements. The more recent chipped cartridges which are
spongeless and have individual cartridges for each color usually carry
about 12-16 ml (or cc) and leave behind between 1 and 3 ml (or cc)
when "empty". Some chambers are empty because they contain the air
exchange mechanisms which allows a vacuum to be avoided while
minimizing the direct contact the ink has with air flow (which can
oxidize or dry the ink out in the cartridge).

I don't disagree, however, that some of the design is based upon
making refilling very difficult.

But that is good since Epson values their customers and want to protect
their investment and provide them with the best photo results they can.

 

[Denis Scadeng]

As a follow-up, I have now dismembered a compatible cartridge (Think+
TP-801 Black). It was a lot tougher than the Epson version and required
even more brutality - I had to use a hacksaw. It has an air chamber (for
the reason Art has explained) but this occupies half the volume of the
cartridge, which seems excessive. I reckon a much smaller one would do
the job, especially if it had a few drops of solvent to saturate the
atmosphere to stop drying out.

The other half had a sponge, which retained very little ink so it looks
as if they got the calculation to measure usage right. It would be very
easy to refill if the chip problem could be resolved. On the other hand
they are relatively cheap (as compared to Epson) and the chips work. The
quality of ink is very good and possibly not worth the mess of refilling
anyway.