I'm trying to be positive... I really am. But this culture makes it REALLY hard to be positive sometimes. Case in point:

My mom sent me a nice little Epson printer for Christmas a couple of years ago, an R220 that prints CD labels and covers, as well as photos and just plain old text.

Pretty quickly I used up its colored ink supply, and discovered that the cartridges are unbelievaably expensive, and the companies that made cheaper inks compatible with Epson products have been sued by Epson, so they can't sell them any more.

So I decided at least I'll get an Epson black ink cartridge so I can still print text. I bought it for a little under $20 yesterday at RadioShack and I was happy about that. Went home, set up my computer, brought up a text I've been wanting to print, and went into 'preferences' and asked for 'print with black ink only' like I was supposed to. Fine.

Only it didn't work. Epson has somehow made it so I have to buy all the colored cartridges or the @*#*#% thing won't work, even if I want to print only black text! Not only that, but it's really hard to get the big pop-up off my desktop that says I'm out of ink, and I should go here---> to buy more Epson products. It's agressive and offensive, and I have to use control/alt/delete to get it to go away.

I just threw out my HP 'work horse' printer last month because it finally broke, so this is kind of a blow.

My complaint-- and I feel it's a valid one-- is that this country no longer regulates corporate corruption and doesn't discourage sleazy practices in the least; in fact it seems to encourage them. It creates a great deal of stress.

I still can't use my printer, and now I have to take the cartridge back to Radio Shack and see if they'll give me my money back.

Arrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!

<Climbs down off of soapbox.>

Sharrhan:


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I once worked at Tektronix Colored Printer Division. Because of the group I was in I got into the companies top secret financial meetings. At one meeting it was stated that they just about give printers away for what they sell but millions of dollars was made on the inks. That was the well thought out financial plan (scheme, fraud) they were into. Lots of ink was wasted evey time they started up cleaning the jets. I now use a cheap around $100 black only Samsung laser printer. Cars are the same way. All the money is made on financing, gas, parts, and repairs. I found a vacumm that doesn't use bags or filters.

elnatural

i hear ya Kwan .. its absolute insanity

for some reason up here if you have a printer that costs about 50-75$ the cost of the printer cartridges (as you say you need both or cant print) cost round as much as just getting a whole new printer ..

my dad throws his printers away and just get a new one ! arrrrg dad !!! but this is what its become .. a throw away world

my boss even threw away a perfectly fine 5000$ laser printer that needed a new $300 image burny thingy .. thats it ! .. it woulda lasted something like 20000 pages .. instead he went and got a cheapo to use ..*sigh*

insanity drives me insane !

* climbs down from soapbox too* lol !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

you know, they sell refill kits. it's messy but you can just put more ink into a lot of cartridges instead of replacing them. that's what i do.

I've had them refilled at the little kiosks in malls but you often have to come back another day to get them and I rarely go to malls now.

Didn't know they had do-it-yerself kits.

it's just the ink and a syringe. it is very messy but kinda fun too!

hehe yea ive done the inkrefillathome thing .. but i wear gloves as im not so sure i want whatever its made of to get on me or anything else for that matter lol

i told my dad about those but hes too staunchy about certain things *sighs an rolls eyes*

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I did some checking on the Epson R220 thinking there had to be a workaround. Nope. Furthermore I found out that even if you have all of the cartridges in, but think you are just using the black cartridge, it's actually using some of the ink from the color. Epson is getting horrible reviews all over the internet for this.

inspirit - aka coolkarma

Walgreens is advertising they fill ink cartridges now. Don't know if it will help everyone though.

Thanks, guys, for being so nice and helpful. I was SO frustrated this afternoon, I just had to share. I'm okay now. I just have to let it go and maybe get a new printer sometime soon.

I think I checked into the refill idea already and it doesn't work for my type of cartriges, but I'll check again though.

inspirit--
Wow, thanks for the info. Bad news, but I'd rather know and get over it.

I've already long since stopped printing my color CD labels on the Epson-- I get them done at a copy place and the price is okay. I was going to print up some signs about an artists' support group this weekend, but that can wait.

You guys are the BEST!!

Sharrhan:


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geez
sounds like monsanto
but with jet ink instead of self aborting seeds

I used to be that the customer was king. Now the shareholders are king and the customer is a necessary evil.

inspirit - aka coolkarma

It is hard to put these feeling behind you because it's wrong, it shouldn't be this way yet there seems to be nothing to do to really change it. Business is too huge for consumers to control anymore.

kwan,

Are you using Windows or Mac? Because if you have a PC, you could run a free OS on it, like Ubuntu, and the printing software wouldn't require that you use color. I think that the drivers for your software are written by Epson to make more money rather than give you the features you want.

Hi Packd4fun,
Yep, you're so right about that. I feel we're being dragged kicking and screaming from one paradigm (customer is always right) to the emerging one (customer? ha!, screw the customer; just make sure you get their money), and I'm not going there without a fight. I sent two rather surly e-mails to Epson yesterday, unloading my ire on them.

Hi Bryan,
Thank you! Yes, I use Windows XP. I'll check it out. Not sure I follow all that, but I'll ask my stepson, Jonathan Jr., who manages all the comptuers at Logan Airport; he'll know exactly what you're talking about. ;-p

Sharrhan:


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