Epson Printers and Big Brother
Epson currently makes the best inkjet printers for digital photographers. Epson inks,
which are archival, and Epson paper are by far the best media for budding digital
photographers. However, the dark side is that Epson printer ink cartridges include
Big Brother technology that forces you to spend more on printing.
Epson includes hardware and software in its printers that monitors exactly how
much ink has been used and then issues a warning before the ink cartridge runs out.
This sounds helpful, but actually it is a clever way to force users to buy more ink.
The print cartridge does not issue a warning when the ink is completely empty;
instead it warns you that the ink will run out soon. This leaves a sizeable amount of
ink in the cartridge, which will go to waste if you follow the rules.
In addition, when a warning is issued for a specific cartridge, the Epson software
flips a switch in the ink cartridge and renders the cartridge useless. In other words,
when the warning goes off, the ink cartridge no longer squirts ink!
These “chipped” ink cartridges are unusable if you would like to refill them with
third-party printer ink. Small companies, however, have found ways to fool these
chipped cartridges into thinking ink remains. These technologies include the
following:
■ Hardware chips. A chip resetter is a small punch that pulls the old Epson
chip and replaces it with one that fools the printer into thinking the cartridge
is full.
■ Software. A small program is available in Europe that fools Epson printers
into thinking a new ink cartridge has been placed in the printer. This small
software program bypasses the chip in the inkjet cartridges with a FULL
notice.
■ Continuous-ink supplies. As mentioned in the last section, a few compa-
nies sell simple external ink supply systems that snake PVC tubing to the
printheads in the printer. Instead of installing a small 15ml cartridge, you
attach a hose with a four-ounce or more bottle of ink. The savings are
tremendous if you are a frequent printer.Ink refill kits are almost mandatory for digital photographers. Fortunately these kits
are available over the Internet from a number of companies, through eBay, and at
your favorite warehouse club. Warehouse clubs also have finally started selling ink
refill kits.280 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TODIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY