Inkjet Continuous Ink Supply Systems

Keep in mind that printer manufacturers have varying levels of corporate social responsibility (see our review of Epson’s corporate social responsibility here). Today you can buy a color inkjet printer for less
than $100 from nearly any electronics retailer–a printer capable of
producing photo-quality prints at a reasonable speed and with
surprising reliability when compared to printers manufactured only a
few years ago.

The drawback to low printer costs is that the ink cartridges for these
units will run almost as much as the original purchase price of the
printer. Over the useful life of your printer hardware, you may spend
many multiples of the original purchase price of the unit on supplies.

If you search the online user reviews for nearly any current inkjet
printer online, you will probably notice that people almost universally
complain about how few print pages you get from a new set of cartridges
and how much replacement cartridges cost.

Printer manufacturers have figured out that their real profit is in
selling printer supplies, not in the original equipment sale.
Manufacturers also need to keep the game changing in order to keep
their profits high. That is why they introduce slightly changed new
models every few months, each requiring a new type of cartridge. The obvious reason is to limit the ability of aftermarket cartridge suppliers and recyclers from getting a foothold.

Manufacturers have also found that they have a strong disincentive to
making their cartridges long-lasting. In fact, the cartridges that come
with your new printer may contain only a small fraction of a full load
of ink. Some manufacturers state that they include only “demonstrator”
cartridges with their printers. In other words, you will be able to
print only a few pages before you need to seek out an expensive ink
refill.

With millions of these printers out there, all requiring new cartridges
on a frustratingly continual basis, that is a lot of plastic headed for
our landfills.

Aftermarket Solutions

In my business, I have tried using cartridge refilling kits with very
limited success. Buying aftermarket refilled inkjet cartridges has resulted in only slightly better but still unacceptable performance. For me, both the
cartridges that I refilled and those filled by industrious recycling
companies have lead to splotchy printing and limited printing capacity.

The CISS

A few months back I upgraded my trusty old Epson R260 printer with a
Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS). I am happy to report that my
printing problems are largely solved.

The Continuous Ink Supply System consists of a permanent set of color
cartridges, hooked via flexible plastic hoses to a caddy filled with separate ink canisters for each color.

Using these systems involves slightly modifying most printers by
removing the old cartridges, removing various retaining clips, and
installing guide arms for the ink hoses which lead to a set of
permanent printer heads.

Installation and testing took about twenty minutes for my printer.

CISS kits for many popular inkjet printers can be found on eBay. The
kit for my Epson cost less than $55.00 delivered.

The only drawback that I have found so far is that I need to put the
printer through a head cleaning cycle a little more often with the CISS
than I did with the original equipment ink cartridges and the top cover
of my R260 will no longer fully close due to the positioning of one of
the ink hose clamps and the ink hoses passing out of the printer. In
addition, the caddy sitting next to the printer may be a little odd
looking and unwieldy if you need to move your printer often.

A full filling of ink in the CISS is the equivalent of a dozen or more
sets of ink cartridges and actually costs less than a single set of new
color cartridges. With those stats, I can live with a couple of minor
inconveniences.

Keep these
three points in mind as you shop for your CISS kit:

• Look for a
  kit that includes the ink. Many sellers try to get you to buy the ink
  as
  a greatly inflated second purchase. (Everyone’s got an angle.)

• Choose a kit
  that includes a chip reset switch. Some printers will cause problems by
  telling your software that your cartridges need to be changed. You will
  want a way to reset this feature.

• If you buy
  your CISS on eBay, check the seller feedback carefully. When I bought
  mine, I noticed complaints on the feedback scores of a couple of
  suppliers. It seems that some sellers had a bad habit of packaging the
  kits poorly, resulting in smashed ink bottles and a huge mess on
  delivery. 

Overall a CISS kit is a great way to save both money and time in your business, and it is a great chance to make a small positive change in your waste stream.