Where to Find the Absolute Best Value Epson Compatible T1291 Ink Cartridges
The original brand Epson T1291 black ink cartridge can retail for as much as €10 online or cost even more if you buy it in the high street. It would seem utter madness to spend that sort of money on an ink cartridge when you buy a perfectly good compatible version of the cartridge for €1 online – yes, that’s €1 (when bought as part of a 20 cartridge pack).
If the price is so low does that mean there is something wrong with the cartridge? Well now, the proof is in the pudding and if you are offered a money-back guarantee with the cartridge what have you go to lose? The T1291 ink cartridge is one of four ink cartridges that work alongside each other in the particular range of printers, the other colours being cyan, magenta and yellow. The pack of four cartridges is known as the T1295, and again, can be bought for as little as €1 when bought a part of a 20 cartridge multipack.
Epson T1295 ink work in each of the following printers:
With so many Epson printers using the T1291 ink cartridge it’s no wonder that the original purchase price of the printer was good value. It’s thought that the clever marketing tactic by Epson was to pitch the printer at a low price and then recoup some of its profits by the sale of the original brand Epson printer ink. Of course, the real clever bit can be on the part of the buyer if they buy the printer at a knock-down price and run it on the compatible ink cartridges for €1 each! The print quality of the compatible ink cartridge is fine for everyday printing with virtually no difference in the print quality. In fairness, the only difference would be if you were intending to print photo quality prints, and them to remain without any fading for years to come. If this is the case then it’s fair to say you would be better with the originals but for everything else compatibles are fine.
- Published in Epson, Ink Cartridges
Will the Ink Volume Levels Display if I use a Compatible Epson Ink Cartridge in my Printer?
The Epson compatible ink cartridge is one of the most reliable non-genuine cartridges on the market. The Epson printers will generally accept the compatible version of the cartridge without any issues. The ink volume levels however may not work on all printers, this depends on whether the printer can read the volume levels via the ‘chip’ on the ink cartridge. If not it is safe to print anyway until the ink runs out and just replace when the ink out warning appears.
Very often the cartridge will run until the ink is completely out and then give the message ‘cartridge not recognised’. This can be a signal to replace the ink cartridge if the cartridge has been working normally for some time or for what you would consider a normal length of time. If this error message was to appear when you first insert the cartridge then the chances are the cartridge is faulty. The ‘chip’ that is read by the printer may be damaged, out of position or even missing. In this case try removing and re-installing a few times and if this is still unsuccessful then replace the cartridge.
The print quality of the non-genuine ink cartridge can sometimes be a concern for people who have never used them before. The rule of thumb is that they are fine for every day general printing of text and images. If you are printing photo quality images and the colours are of particular importance then you may notice a slight difference in quality from the original genuine cartridge. In 95% of cases the compatibles are acceptable and the savings of up 70% when compared to genuine cartridges are a big plus. There is also more ink in the compatible ink cartridge than the genuine.
The reason for this is that the third-party manufacturers fill the cartridges to the top and don’t leave space. This is why a lot of the popular compatible cartridges are described as XL or high capacity so the customer benefits the extra ink at no extra cost. When an printer is bought new the ink cartridges that come with the printer only contain a small amount of ink and they are refered to as ‘set up’ inks. This ink will not last long and of course the printer manufacturer is hoping you will buy the genuine cartridges immediately. Switching to compatible or non-genuine cartridges not only saves you money but gives you the freedom to print for longer.
- Published in Epson, Troubleshoot