Printer Inks? Help!

[sushimo]

I have an Epson RX500 printer/scanner, and problems getting cheap but correct inks for it. I bought a bulk batch last time, was guaranteed to be compatible, but everything I print comes out with pink hues, and the machine has declined the use of the black altogether!

So, where is reliable, not a fortune, been proven by you or yours to be good. I seldom do photos (well, I couldn't at the mo), but would like to be able to at some point.

Any advice, apart from 'stop being a skinflint and pay your squillions per cartridge' gratefully received.

[mango]

errrm......
stop being a skinflint and pay squillions per cartridge

I know, I hate it too, it's a total rip off :/
printers / scanners are now cheap as chips....... but the ink cartridges!!! grrrrrr

[feral]

I've got an Epsom DX4250 and buy my cartridges in bulk off ebay .Work out at about €1 each .Every now and then theres an empty one but I dont mind at that price .I did find that you have to cheat with epsom though .Untick all the boxes that notify you when a cartridge is empty and suchlike or else epsom just won't accept non originals or tells you they're empty when they aint .
Theres no point in me giving you the name of the firm I buy off cos its in Germany but I'm sure you'll find an equivalent on UK ebay .Just look for one with loads of feedback saying the cartridges are good lol

[kubik8]

"everything I print comes out with pink hues, and the machine has declined the use of the black altogether!"

If your printer can't/won't use the black cartridge it's not surprising the output isn't looking right, whether it's colour docs or images you're printing.

[feral]

I knew I'd remember the name of it eventually .Click off the status monitor if you have it on ,sushi -it might accept the black cartridges then

[sushimo]

I've tried to find how to 'Off it' Feral, but there seems to be no way, and it just keeps popping up and shouting at me!

Thanks anyway!

[feral]

Oh there is a way to shut it off .You have to go into utilities and then into advanced ( I think that's what its called in english..bottom right hand corner of the pop up on my printer ) then you can tick a box saying you want the status monitor off .
I'll do a screen shot

[feral]

From that screen shot you should be able to work out where it is on yours .I think you'll find with that utility switched off your printer will miraculously then accept non original cartridges .
( It took me bloody ages to sort mine out till it did but i got the bugger in the end )

[sushimo]

I don't believe this! Sods law! I don't have that option off my utilities - well, I do, but it doesn't have that many, only 3, and the monitor off isn't one of them. Must be an older model than yours Feral. I have been on site to try updating the drivers etc. but it makes no difference.

I did go into Monitdoring preferences and unticked all the boxes in there - may nowt will work now!

Thanks so much for trying to help, much appreciated, and I owe you one!

[feral]

well the last possible solution I can offer is to try a new black cartridge .If you aint done that already .And take it out and put it in a couple of times .
I know one thing ..I'll never buy another epsom.They try to force you into using (very expensive ) Epsom original cartridges and also consume a lot of ink .I have my printer set to just print black & white without the option of using the coloureds when the black runs out cos thats all I need -yet the bugger STILL consumes coloured ink and won't work if one is empty.I think it automatically cleans all the heads now and then and drains cartridges I dont bloody use for printing

[kubik8]

That is what it does, Feral. In fact it does a quick wipe every time you switch it on. Epson have always been rather fussy about carts, sometimes if just one goes wrong, the bugger will never print properly again.

If monochrome prints are all you do, you'd be better off with the cheapest laser printer you can find.

[feral]

I print out invoices mostly lol,not pics but every now and then I want to print out something in colour so do want a colour printer .When this one packs in it won't be another epsom though .It took me ages to sort out how to get it to accept generic cartridges and I still get peed off when the cyan runs out for example and the bugger wont print even though I'm only using black .

[kubik8]

Just out of curiosity, how often do you need a new black cart (or how many monochrome pages do you print per week)?

[feral]

ah now theres a question .I've not really taken note of how often I change the cartridge nor of how many invoices I print out .

Just worked it out lol from what I have here from this month .Average of 6 a day and the cartridge was changed last month some time .You cant really go by my invoices though cos for one thing I have the page size reduced to A5 and for another some of my invoices are full to bursting and some only have a line or two on them

[kubik8]

Well it doesn't really matter much you have on the page (not for text anyway).

All cartridges 'bleed' to some extent, which is why the printer takes a little time and makes a bit of noise before starting the print run. It's cleaning the waste so the first page output isn't smudged. If you do only one page at a time there will be more ink used in this process than actually ends up on the page itself.

Print your invoices in a batch (say once a day or two) and you'll prob save about 50% of your ink.

[feral]

Thanks for that tip .I'll try that

[kubik8]

Heh, I was expecting a sarcy comment about it being Sushi asking for advice, not you :-)

[feral]

lmao .Gawd...I'm not THAT bad ,'sides I'm never averse to tips that save me money and even if I didnt ask for them

[feral]

Another thing I'm curious about .Is that you, hammer ?

[kubik8]

Of course it is! Couldn't register as hammer here, so chose 'cryptonomiumo' for some unfathomable reason. But that was a silly name, so I'm this now.