refillable ink cartridges for entry-level printer

[jvgig]

I just purchased an Epson Workforce 310 for some basic printing/scanning at college. The Epson ink is rather expensive, and since I will almost exclusively be printing text, I am not too concerned about high quality/long lasting prints. I did a quick search and found a seller on ebay, buyinknow, marketing a refillable cartidge system with extra ink (equiv 15 cartidges) for $26 as opposed to $50-60 for the Epson single use cartidges (5 cartidges). While I have read consistantly positive reviews on the CIS for higher end photo printers, I cannot find much info on basic refillable cartidges for entry level printers. The same company also makes a CIS for the 310, but I feel that since I will be in a dorm room, the potential for the tanks to get knocked over is too high and I will be doing all of my major printing on the schools printer eliminating the need for that quantity. All of my photo printing needs are handled by mpix. So, does anyone have any experience with refillable cartidges for entry level printers and if so could you comment on their practicality, quality, and lifespan?

Compatible Ink cartridge For Epson Workforce 40 30 310 - eBay (item 220442142241 end time Aug-24-09 09:42:10 PDT)

Thanks

 

[Garbz]

I've refilled every printer cartridge I own. It's messy, but it's cheap and it works. The ink isn't top quality and eventually you'll be up for a head replacement. Don't believe Epson's marketing though since you'll well and truly recover the print head expense with the cheaper ink.

One thing that may or may not be an issue for you is the tank level indicator. Many printers which are refilled will crap themselves when the ink is empty and refilled without a cartridge change. In the case of my Canon none of the level indicators work anymore. There's just big Xs next to all the ink cartridges and an error saying unable to get level information.

Works fine though.

Oh and one quality issue I do have is with some people marking normal black ink as photo black. I had to replace a cartridge after filling what turned out to be not photo black into the photo black cartridge and having all my prints on photo paper turn green within 10 min.

 

[Dao]

I remember I came across with a article one time saying that the cheap refillable ink are different from the manufacturer ink because the more expensive one are pigmented ink.

But you can get pigmented ink to refill the printer as well, but in general it cost more than the regular cheap ink. I am no expert on this so I could be wrong.

For me, if I just want to print something out and do not care so much about the quality, off brand / ink refill is a good choice. The money I save in ink supply can offset a new printer later on if needed. But then again, if I going after quality, or print something that will last a lot longer, I may choose the expensive route. (or just have them print from a print shop)

 

[Dagwood56]

The one and only time I bought a refurbished\refilled ink cartridge from a company, it leaked and ruined my printer! I'll never make that mistake again.

 

[jvgig]

Garbz, do you refil the manufacturer's cartridges or do you have another refillable set? What brand do you use?

I am not really concerned about quality as long as it can produce decent text and as long as the paper remains readable for 6 monts I will be happy.

 

[hyperdash]

i am thinking of switching to refurbished dell ink any thought about it?experience?

 

[jaomul]

If your printing photographs I recommend paying the price for original ink and paper. I went the cheap route once and colours were awful, and ended up with a printer that no longer says when ink is running low. To OP if your only doing text and don't care bout quality I'm sure cheap ink is fine