Epson ecotank obsolescence

Felixthehousecat · February 2, 2022

I'm in the market for a new printer.

The cartridges cost more than a new printer.

I don't want to use alternative brands as previously they have been incompatable and I've had to throw them away.

A tank printer like Epson ecotank seems a cost efffective option. You fill up the ink yourself. However on deeper investigation it looks like there is built in software obsolescence....

now you can hack in and reset the internal counter using " ssc service utility", but I'm concerned I'll get viruses on my computer and wandered if anyone legitimate had done it ?

Needfuldoer · February 2, 2022

How often do you print?

How often do you print in color?

Is a small color laser printer within your budget? They tend to last a lot longer than inkjets, and (as far as I know) the manufacturers haven't started kneecapping them just to sell more consumables like they do with inkjets.

jaslion · February 2, 2022

Honestly skip over this one. I recommend you splurge a little and get a good laser printer. It will for sure save you money in the long run.

For example parents bought a colour laser multifunctional printer in 2009 from brother. It was about 500€ but it's been printing for over a decade. Currently at 14000 pages printed and we only had to refill 3 times which cost us about 80€ total as we can refil the toners ourselves.

As for the program it's safe it has been tested by many people and it's fine. However do keep in mind that whilst all of this is bs from epson the error is actually warning you to replace a ink catching pad which is actually something you should do.. Super cheap to do too as it's basically just foam you can cut.

Kilrah · February 2, 2022

It might be because it's a cheap model, a friend has a higher end ecotank, has had it for 4 year or so and has done LOTS of photo printing, had to replace the pad a couple of times but no permanent lock.

The truth is simply that any <$350 or so printer in existence will "get you" in one way or another.

And yes unless you print photos a laser printer is usually a better choice especially if you don't print often.