Ever been burned by an Epson ink cartridge?

[Kali]

Class action lawsuit against Epson, printers bought in last 7yrs
Posted by: Pam (IP Logged - Community Leader)
Date: April 13, 2006 08:25PM


Class action lawsuit against Epson because their printers would notify user
that ink cartridge was empty when it wasn't and halting use of printer
forcing them to buy a new cartridge.

They have agreed to settle to avoid fees. If you purchased an Epson on or
after April 8, 1999 to May 8, 2006 you can receive a $45 dollar credit to
the Epson estore as part of the settlement. There is an alternative to
treceive a $25 check and $20 credit to the estore or 25% of an estore
purchase for a total of up to $100 discount.

List of eligible printers: www.epsonsettlement.com

Direct link to claim form: www.epsonsettlement.com

[wtmusic]

1. I'll take the check

Just dumped the Epson and won't go back.

The other little "planned obsolescence" in their units are the print heads. Plan on them clogging irreparably after 1-1/2 years--then it's time to go out and buy another $100 hunk of plastic...

Very happy with my Canon so far. Thanks for the notice.

[alfredo]

3. I've been using a 777 for years without a problem. Yeah ink is

always a problem. The Photo 820 has print head problems. They need to be cleaned all the time. that uses ink.

[Kali]

7. well,

they gave me the option of taking it to an approved Epson repair facility (100 miles away) for just a few bucks more than a new one....:crazy: ....:grr:

I don't mind them making a profit, but that is different than a RIP-OFF. I am actually on my second epson printer because I stupidly believed the first was my fault. Then when the second started doing the EXACT same thing, I started looking into it. Seems a lot of folks have the same problems. They work great for 18 - 24 months (if you use them at least weekly and keep them shut off when not in use) then it starts: crappy lines in your pix, repeated cleanings, low ink warnings, buy more "fresh cartridges" even though you can hear and feel liquid ink in the "empty" ones...call to the company, "try running the clean print heads utility again" RINSE REPEAT. I get two refunds! and probably an HP!

[wtmusic]

8. I was considering an HP

after going through this mess with the heads. HP cartridges have built-in heads so they are replaced every time you replace ink. A lot of good reviews online (although I'm more skeptical every day about "objective" online reviews).

It was personal recommendations that steered me to the Canon. So far so good.

[Monk06]

37. Canon i860. Near laser quality color and separate color cartridges with

transparent ink. One large opaque black cartridge for B/W that you
can set to draft quality and save ink.

ISB port for direct photocopying from digital camera plus album software.

Never looked back after using Epson at work. The Epson is as load as a
rock crusher and actually shakes when it is starting up. The cat wouldn't
go anywhere near it.

Plus if you printed print only in black all the color ink was wasted at
$30 for the brand name cartridge. A total rip.

[dipsydoodle]

2. It's been the case for years

that the manufacturer's profits in printers are in the consumables - not the printers themselves. Presumably this was a problem of which Epsom were aware but declined to take corrective action. Fortunately the absense of action caused no physical harm unlike Fraud Motor Co. with their Pintos back in the seventies.

[datadiva]

4. Thanks to you I won't be now

I just received one this morning for my birthday from my boss. Now I will get a credit too thanks to you.
Thank you Kali!

[Faux pas]

5. Thanks for the info. With my model of their printer, if the colored

ink runs out, you can't print at all. I got around that problem, I never buy their brand of ink. Pay about $6 a cartridge, screw 'em.

[wtmusic]

6. Or even worse

when they SAY the colored ink runs out...many times the printer is still printing fine when it shuts down.

Glad someone called them on this.

[Faux pas]

21. I found you can 'trick' the progam for awhile. But when the

the colored in is really gone, that's it.

[spuddonna]

9. Yeah, we've been burned by Epson too...

Think I'll take a look at the dates on our original AND replacement model that they sent us. Exactly what is outlined in the lawsuit is what happened to us. Worked fine for awhile, but then it started saying that the cartridges were empty (I'd replaced them the day before!) and then the whole printer stopped working. We still had it under warranty, got a replacement and it seems like its happening again...

We'll never buy another Epson after this fiasco...

[kurth]

10. $8,000 a gallon

Yep. That's how much HP is charging consumers for ink.

The lion's share of HP profit is not computers or printers, it's INK.

[blogslut]

29. No kidding

It's not just Epsons. The printer ink biz is a freaking racket. Reminds me of the boxed cereal and CD rackets. Cheap goods for high prices. Grrr.

[Karenina]

40. Printer ink is

the most expensive liquid product on earth!!! And EPSON SUCKS!!!

[MadHound]

11. No, it wasn't problems with the Epson ink cartridge

It was problems with the Epson printer itself. Had it crap out last summer after only two years of very moderate use. Would have cost more to fix the damn thing than buy a new one, so I went out and picked up an HP. So far, so good.

Espon printers are POSs, avoid them like the plague.

[joeunderdog]

31. Just for balance sake, I can't see any printer being better.

I've been using the 1280 for photos for about 5 years. It's so good, the model is still in production. Phenomenal results with very few glitches for me. Color profiling is tricky, but once you get it down, it's a great printer.

The ink cartridge thing is an absolute rip off, though. I bet I've spent $1000++ on ink. Granted, the ink is top quality and yeilds amazing results, but that don't make it right.

[MazeRat7]

12. Thanks for the info.

I was a bit miffed last time I had to buy black to keep printing only to find out there was still ink in the cartridge. I discovered this as I tried to "refill" the cartridge only to learn I needed to reset the on-board smart chip as well. *grrrrrrr

MZr7

BTW: Printer companies are in business to sell ink.. not printers. Ink is was drives their profits.

[loveandlight]

13. thanks!

I will get my refund, free ink is good by me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Wow my printer does this a lot!

Does this mean they are going to make better cartridges now?

Thanks for the link. I had no idea there was a lawsuit. Printing out the claim form now.

[Kali]

17. ha - I CAN'T print the forms

at least from home...but I will!

[Elwood P Dowd]

15. Just received my notice from the Claims Administrator

I purchased an Epson 740 back in August, 1999. It's been working perfect since then. You do have to clean the heads quite often. Also, I've found other ink cartridges for as little as $8.00 that work just as well as Epson's overpriced crap.

Think I'll take the $25.00 cash and the $20.00 credit since I don't really need anything from that company.

[Occulus]

16. I had an Epson Color Stylus once

Ack. it would feed multiple pieces of paper and the styls would catch on the multiple edge.

That eventually broke the stylus.

Also, has anyone ever noticed that to replace both the color and black ink cartiges at the same time results in a higher price being spent (in many cases) than simply buying a brand new printer of the same brand and model?

One that has ink, by the way. When the ink it comes with runs out, you buy more ink, and it costs more then a new printer.

Someone's getting fleeced, here. This thing with "smart" cartiges doing dumb things is only part of the problem with printers.

[Kali]

18. kick

just cuz I feel a little vengeful}(

[Kali]

22. just gotta do one more for the Saturday crowd

[Dinger]

19. Thanks For The Info!! (nm)

[REP]

20. I Have 2 Photo EXs!

Thanks for the info!

[tyedyeto]

23. Got my notice in the mail today

The one I have is a POS also. Hasn't printed in color for ages, so I have kept it as a back-up for black only printing.

[riona]

24. Replaced my Epson CX4600

I spent a fortune on ink. It needed the "maintenance" steps more than any other printer I've had. Never had any problem with my Canon or Lexmark.

[cynatnite]

25. I got a thing in the mail about this...

and guess what? I've never owned an epson. :shrug:

[suston96]

26. Thanks a lot.

I bought two Epsons and still have them. the Stylus Scan 2500 was orphaned for Mac OS X. And I think the other is an Epson C84. Both are on the list. Thanks again.

[high density]

27. Tonight I am going out to buy a new printer

Just crossed any Epson model off of my list.

[kestrel91316]

28. My first printer was an Epson and it was a COMPLETE POS.

Actually, the one tha came with the computer didn't ever work, and they had to send me a replacement. It always had prooblems with lines through the printing, and i finally gave up in disgust last summer and got a little HP for $50 and it works like a dream.

I qualify for the settlement, but I don't want to have to DEAL with those morons. Why the hell would I want a credit to their estore when I will never again buy their products??

[Kali]

30. yeah I sort of feel like that too

but think about taking the $20 and then just leave the other coupon or whatever they send on the shelf at your local best buy or whatever....

Hey I will fill out a dang form for $20!



And maybe this will drive them to fix the damn problem - because honestly, they sure print nice photos (when they work)

[Karenina]

32. AHA! In the Lounge now!!!

Can't have consumers finding out en mass how Epson has duped them, eh?
DO NOT BUY EPSON. My first, a 740 was a dream. It was fast, clear... THEN SUDDENLY THE CARTRIDGES DISAPPEARED FROM THE STORES. I had one refilled and the poor thing imploded. THEN I bought a CX3650. I KNEW I'd been had when it suggested in the manual that if it stopped printing to remove the cable and wait 24 hours. I did so. It WORKED again, but suddenly the cartridges registered a 50% depletion. It's KAPUTT again... the black cartridge is at 30% and the color ones EMPTY. I have NOT used it for color printing AT ALL. I just can't imagine spending 50€ just to see if this POS still functions. THAT is half of its purchase price.

Folks tell me Canons are pretty reliable. :shrug:

[tigereye]

42. Canons rock!

they are wonderful. We have a new 780, it is so cool.

[Gatchaman]

33. Inkjet printers are a total rip-off!

I dumped my Epson inkjet a while ago for a color laser printer, and I've never been happier. Now, before you roll your eyes and say, "I could never afford that", hear me out.

I bought a Konica Minolta 2430DL for $399. About a month later it was on sale for $299, so you might get lucky. If you don't mind a little less memory (and no memory slot for expansion) and no network connection, the 2300 is usually $299. Epson inkjets cost between $50 and $100, so I've paid 4-8 times the cost of an inkjet. Make it 6 times for averages.

It has four toner cartridges, which cost about $70 each. A set of ink carts costs about as much as the printers do. Again, we'll say six times the cost of inkjet, just to work in whole numbers. Generic inkjet cartridges are such a pig in a poke that I won't even discuss them. Sufice to say I've had nothing but bad experiences with them.

Now, usage. I have printed 1,057 pages, and my toner usage is as follows:

Black: 8% remaining
Cyan: 22% remaining
Magenta: 56% remaining
Yellow: 56% remaining

I haven't done the math, but this has to be more economical than an inkjet printer. At the very least, the convenience of not changing cartridges every month is nice.

Photo printing on this color laser is very nice. Not inkjet quality (no super glossy paper) but still very good. I make and sell railfan DVDs, and when I print a full color photo cover and put it in a DVD case, it looks as professional as one that was printed by a "real" printer. If I want a picture to hang on the wall, Shutterfly does a great job (better than an inkjet) and is very reasonable.

As for speed? From energy saver mode to printed page is about 80 seconds. That's for anything from a sheet with a few lines of text to a full color DVD cover. About a minute of that is wake up cycling. First sheet in 20 seconds when warm.

Best of all, no smudges, no leaky ink carts, and no endless cleaning which wastes as much ink as the damn thing uses.

[ghostsofgiants]

34. Wow, I actually have had that problem...

And my printer is on their list. But I don't think I'm eligible since I'm in Canada. x(

[APPLE314]

35. fill your own --- buy by the pint or quart

[Kali]

36. well, if it could get two kicks in gd it can get another in the lounge

eh?

[ContraBass Black]

38. What happens when you take the cartridge out, put it back in,

And tell the printer it's new? Or will it not allow that?

[Kali]

39. Believe me I tried everything

including that - it won't run test and says cartridge is empty

[tigereye]

41. their printers bite the big one -

pieces of crap. I wondered why they seemed to run out of ink so rapidly, and then if you used an generic ink cartridge, the printer would scold you repeatedly.

I'm printing this out for my office mates, thanks.