short on bandwidth - and, a good product ...

here we are, running out of bandwidth, and still a week to go ... our Verizon cellular internet allows for 5gb per month of usage, and the last couple months, I have hit my limit well before it 'rolls over' on the 20th of the month ... I have been thinking that my computer usage hasn't changed lately, but then it hit me ... during the summer, I seldom used my account on weekends, as I was usually in town ... that's enough to account for the recent boost in usage, almost another 8 days per month of usage these days ... regardless of the reason, it gets pretty pricey, if I go over my limit ... 5 cents a megabyte, to be exact ... so, the rest of the week will be limited for me, again ...

I had a request for a sunset photo, I hope this is OK :

 since losing all my film cameras to the forest fire, I have really begun to miss film - the digital cameras are fine, until you need really big, sharp negatives to make large prints, that's when you really miss the film ... 

just like my love for Kodachrome 64, Tri-X monochrome film, and a home darkroom, it has also joined my past, never to be regained ...

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on rare occasion, I will purchase something that actually does what it claims, and I can't wait to tell people about it ... recently, I came across such a product ...

I have always owned, and recommended Epson printers, they are simply the best out there ... but, Epson is dedicated to guaranteeing you will buy your ink cartridges from Epson, and regret trying aftermarket cartridges ...
actually, if the manufacturer's ink wasn't so outrageously priced, the average person probably couldn't afford a printer, they're extremely complex ...  BUT, that doesn't mean we can't look for savings ...

my particular Epson printer is the 'Artisan 50', a photo printer that uses 6 ink cartridges ... a fine printer, Epson is quite proud of it ... so proud, they charge about $16 for each of the 6 cartridges ... you do the math ... 

I have been using aftermarket refilled cartridges, with mixed results ... Epson cartridges like mine, have an electronic chip on the cartridge ... this chip monitors ink level, and makes sure it is a GENUINE EP$ON cartridge you are installing ... that's the glitch, the chip must be reset each time it's filled and/or re-installed, etc ... (also, the ink itself wasn't as good, as genuine Epson) ...


HERE COMES A SOLUTION:

aftermarket empty cartridges, with their OWN chips installed, that merely monitor ink levels, not the cartridges origin, etc. ... like everything else these days, the cartridges and inks are made in China, but evidently to very high standards, in this case, anyway ...


I found an ink store on good old eBay, that sells everything you need, to easily convert your printers ink supply ... the factory cartridges are made to be hard to refill ... besides the chip fighting your switchover, there is a layer of foam in the top of the cartridge, making refills more difficult, and usually messy to boot ... while the factory cartridges could hold about 20ml of ink, they come from Epson less than half-full, about 7ml, to be exact ...

name and logo of the eBay store I used ...

this ink supplier is an 'eBay Store', located in Florida ... I received my package in Kalifornia in 3 days, they are amazingly fast ... Free Shipping, etc...

BOTTOM LINE :

the cartridges worked perfectly ! --- when switching, you have to switch out ALL the cartridges, and it's as simple and easy as installing your regular cartridges ... no mess, no fuss ... and, I was really surprised, to see how good the ink looked ... while I had gotten used to refilled inks, the ink used in these kits, looks much better, just like the original factory inks ...

when your ink level drops, and it's time to refill, you simply remove the cartridge, inject more ink into the cartridge (no blocking foam, no holes to drill, etc.) ... when you plug the cartridge back into your printer, it automatically resets, to calibrate your ink level back to Full ... simple ...

you can buy the pictured kit, like I did, or if your printer really gets used a lot, you can also convert it to separate outboard ink tanks, with ink fed to your cartridges via small lines ... I don't do all that much printing, so I settled for the refillable cartridges, and some bulk ink ... the kit I bought came with 6 pre-filled cartridges, six 100ml bottles of ink, and six syringes for injecting the ink ($ 36 total) ! ...

SAVINGS :

Epson Genuine Cartridges (7ml) - about $16 each (x6)
Aftermarket Refills (7ml) - about $7 per cartridge (x6)

this particular kit came with the 6 pre-filled cartridges, plus a 100ml bottle of each ink (x6) - about $36 total, so refills should work out to only a couple bucks, per cartridge, that's a HUGE savings ...

and, when I need more ink for them, they sell six100ml bottles of bulk inks for about $20, including new syringes, too ... 

anyway, you get the point ... now, hopefully, when it's time for my first refill, I won't wind up looking like I splashed around in the ink, and all will be well !

well, this post should have used up my daily bandwidth allowance, so I gotta go !