Epson wins ink ruling; ITC recommends banning third-party imports

While we're still not sure whether refilling those empty ink cartridges is indeed a criminal act (or a waste of money), Epson has taken one more step towards forcing the average consumer to purchase name-brand carts at sky-high prices. Of course, Epson would have you believe that it's simply protecting its patents, but in a recent preliminary ruling that deemed some 24 suppliers that "import and sell Epson-compatible cartridges" as in the wrong, it could spell higher prices and less choices for consumers with Epson printers. Nevertheless, if the final ruling (set for July 30th) follows the same path as this one, a "general exclusion order on the cartridges" would be enforced, barring any future imports of the presumably lower-cost alternatives into the States. It looks we're almost down to two choices when it comes to printing: break the law, or break the bank?

[Via TGDaily]

[Bill @ Apr 6th 2007 4:02PM]

I don't understand why one of the manufacturers doesn't break from the pack and offer less expensive OEM ink. If Canon came along and said their printer now uses ink that costs 50% less than OEM competitor ink...I'd seriously consider that printer. Seems like the increased market share would be worth it.

[haydesigner @ Apr 6th 2007 5:49PM]

Kodak has

[haydesigner @ Apr 6th 2007 5:50PM]

Sorry, forgot the link
http://www.rechargermag.com/articles/43851/

[rarthur @ May 28th 2008 6:50AM]

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[waLLy @ Apr 6th 2007 4:13PM]

And now they're "breaking" any chance that I'd buy one of their printers in the future.


Bill, that's an awesome idea. Hell, one could startup with that as a business model.

[boe @ Apr 6th 2007 4:26PM]

Maybe that will help epson pay for all those ink cartridges of their own they are going to have to replace by tricking you into thinking their own cartridges were empty so you'd buy more!

http://www.epsonsettlement.com/

[Adrian @ Apr 6th 2007 4:33PM]

The problem propably is, that the inks are just too good of a business for the printer manufacturer to let go. Sell them cheap printers and then profit on the consumables like hell. Thath scheme has been going well for the printer, razor and coffee industry. It doesn't seem like they intend to stop anytime soon.

One problem is, that buying a printer, razor or coffee machine, people tend to forget what comes after and focus only on the price at hand...

[Old Mac Guy @ Apr 6th 2007 9:57PM]

Did you know that if you keep your razor in a glass of water it lasts for more than a month?
It keeps the minerals in the water from drying and forming a dull edge.
You can win this battle by trying... Now back to the rip off Ink companies.

[George @ Apr 6th 2007 4:50PM]

Bill: Canon already offers cheap OEM ink, at least for the several models I've had - carts generally cost $6 or so, compared to $20+ for HP and Lexmark. They're good machines and don't cost much to feed.

Epson, on the other hand, is never getting my business - first the false empty debacle (as referenced above) and now this. No Epson products for me, ever.

[Dennis F @ Apr 6th 2007 4:51PM]

Checkout http://www.memjet.com. This is going to have a direct impact on ink prices. Apparently it will cost 50% less than current systems and prints up to 60 ppm A4.

[Kentaro yamada @ Apr 6th 2007 6:29PM]

The thing is that for professional printing and color rendition, I would not trust third party in the first place where cost of paper and getting the right color on it is what I need to pay. Even getting the right shade of black is critical.

That being said, for consumer and household printing where color rendition, quality and longevity does not matter that much, the manufacturers should offer economical alternatives as well.

[Ellianth @ Apr 6th 2007 8:30PM]

Is this the same Epson that doesn't allow me to print when 1 of the 6 ink cartridges runs out? The same Epson that tells me if I replace 1 I will be alowed to print? The same Epson that after I replace 1 cartridge "charges the ink?" And, by charge they mean wasting 1/10th of the ink in the cartridge, and finishing another cartridge, so that you can't print till you replace another cartridge. I replaced my ink yesterday (for an epson printer) and it kept making me change the cartridges 1 by 1. By the time i was finished "charging ink," my black was almost 50% done without ever being used, yellow was down 30% light magenta was down 30% also. How does that work and I didn't print anything? And for the record the "empty cartridges" that they had me replacing sounded like they had TONS of ink in them when I took them out.

I hope someone sues them for something, so that they lose all the money they'll potentially get from being the only company allowed to sell ink for Epson printers.

[Scott @ Apr 6th 2007 8:54PM]

Ink and paper sales are about 60% of Epson's operating revenue. I don't know why this surprises anyone. The printing companies (Canon, HP, Epson, Lexmark, Kodak) are in it to make money not to help you print for less. How is it you don't understanding this?

[Woolly Mittens @ Apr 6th 2007 8:58PM]

The only thing worse than a razor-trap, is being herded into one by the government.

[Tom @ Apr 6th 2007 9:40PM]

What about the high-end manufacturers for fine photography? What will happen to Jon Cone Piezography, Lyson, and Pantone? They all make inks for Epson printers, and many professionals prefer these inks over Epson's own Ultrachrome inks.

[James @ Apr 6th 2007 11:42PM]

OldMacGuy: wouldn't it, you know, rust? Since stainless steel doesn't hold a good edge, I always assumed that disposable razors were made of high-carbon (rustable) steel (I use an electric).

About ink: for the love of all things holy, buy a Canon. We have a 6-color photo printer that makes excellent pics (though it recently started making noticable stripes each time it advances the paper...) and the best part is that each color is its own separate cartridge. We order them from ink4art.com as a 12-pack for $44 US. Less than 4 bucks per cart? HELL YES.

[ken @ Apr 7th 2007 10:18AM]

Amazing - our government will step in and prevent the import of foreign ink cartridges (presumably to "protect" our printers from being murdered by these horrible 3rd world inks), but will allow companies to import ingredients used to make food for our pets from countries like China well-known for having unscrupulous practices (like adding melamine to boost the protein readings to make a few extra bucks - to hell with the animals, they eat 'em there anyway). I'd think protecting our food supply is a little more important than protecting our printers... sorry, i know i'm a little off-topic, but our government's behavior on this is just silly - and the margins made off of ink are disgusting.

[philly @ Apr 7th 2007 5:47PM]

went to buy 4 new carts for epson r300 (angrily) and saw a HP laser jet for 93 € hahaha less than the price of said carts lmao guess what i did. Inkjets are now disposable ...

[tekdroid @ Apr 8th 2007 1:22AM]

ok, so this ruling is for Epson-compatible cartridges that supposedly break some design patents, I assume. I assume you can still refill their cartridges and modify the electronics? I'm really not up to speed with Epson printers. Last I heard they suffered from worse clogging than their competitors.

[mattclarkie @ Apr 8th 2007 8:03AM]

I don't know if your aware, but ink is really expensive to make. The cartiridges are made in clean rooms that meet Nasa standards 10 particles per square foot.
Plus printers are sold near cost.

I only use Epson printers and their ink, especially the Durabrite is superior and not much dearer than those 'cheap' alternatives.

The only thing about Epson that annoys me is that if your cyan runs out it wont let you print an all black document until you replace the cyan. But that is a small price to pay for ink that doesn't smudge or fade and actually looks like the colour you printed.

[Magallanes @ Apr 8th 2007 9:52PM]

Not really, inks are made from the same principle and in fact the same chemicals. Epson can add some "magic formula" but in fact the difference is usually unnoticeable. It's the same that "special epson paper".

In my case a ink can cost $15 (x color) but a alternate ink can cost the same $15 but all four colors.

[mattclarkie @ Apr 8th 2007 8:10AM]

And can I just add, that I bought one Lexmark printer, and it broke before the first cartidges ran out of ink. So yes, inkjets are disposable if you don't buy an Epson.

[emsyff @ Apr 8th 2007 8:27AM]

Time to stock up I guess....I use Meritline to get 48 carts for $55.

http://www.meritline.com/ridisc-dw048-epson-t048-48pack-ink-cartirdge-combo1.html

[emsyff @ Apr 8th 2007 10:08PM]

48 carts for $55.

[simon Gamble @ Sep 19th 2007 9:17PM]

Choice Stationery stock think+ cartridges which are allowed, are great value and have a different design inside so they are not included in the import ban

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