Epson Durabrite T1285 Fox Genuine Multipack Ink Cartridges

With the relatively, (some might say 'exorbitantly') high prices of genuine original manufacturer's inkjet cartridges, it might be very tempting and seemingly obvious, to opt for the very much cheaper, so called 'compatible' versions. Indeed, I would be very high on the list of those who decry the ridiculously high prices manufacturers charge for their own brand originals.

With the seemingly artificially low prices of most manufacturer's printers, particularly those in the lower price ranges, it might be reasonable to suspect that Messrs Epson, Canon, HP and Lexmark etc, are using their budget and lower mid-range printers and multi-function units as loss leaders; potentially sucking in new customers with artificially low prices for new hardware, simply to claw it all back (and some!) through the ultra high prices they charge for their branded inkjet cartridges and paper. My personal assumption of this is that they almost certainly are doing exactly that. So, it might therefore seem that moving over to the considerably cheaper compatible cartridges is virtually a 'no brainer' (an obvious choice) but, is it?

Having been the owner of at least ten Epson inkjet printers over the years, plus two Canon ones and one HP, I have succumbed to the temptation to use cheap compatible cartridges on three occasions in the past. Each however, turned out to be a bad decision and on at least two occasions, a fairly costly one.

Despite the strongly advertised promises made by the various manufacturers of compatible inkjet cartridges that, for example, "they meet or exceed the specifications of original cartridges" or "produce identical results" etc, etc, I have simply NEVER found such promises to be true.

In my experience over many years, I have not found any compatible cartridges to produce results as good as those from originals and in fact, simply exchanging any one of the eight original cartridges in my Epson Stylus Photo R2400 printer, immediately results in very obviously sub-standard print quality, often combined with colour matching from that which had previously produced a perfect match every time, to what I could see on my monitor to that of the finished print, being thrown completely awry the minute just one single cartridge was swapped for a compatible. This results in needless continuous, endless and usually completely fruitless colour adjustments while trying to correct the imbalance, in turn, resulting in a massive waste of printing paper, ink and of course......MONEY!

Even when used on my 'everyday' basic printers, compatibles simply don't produce the goods. Colour balance may be all over the place or at best, not as accurate as when using original cartridges. In some cases, I have experienced 'runs' where too much ink seems to be laid down and worse, far more incidents of blocked printer heads, often proving quite stubborn to clean effectively.

Furthermore, I am convinced that I have in the past had two of my printers completely ruined by the use of compatible inkjet cartridges. One reached the 'end of it's serviceable life' and required replacing, even though it had actually been used far less than one might expect; although it had seemed to continuously require blocked print heads to be cleaned and another, on which the pad that soaks up excess ink whenever head cleaning is carried out, becoming completely (and I 'do' mean COMPLETELY) saturated in ink, which again, rendered the printer effectively beyond repair.

I have never experienced any such problems with original manufacturer's inkjet cartridges and always get perfect and consistent colour balance. I cannot recall the last time I had to undertake a head cleaning cycle and my Epson printers continue to provide perfect and reliable service when using manufacturer's original ink sets.

Consistent with all my past experiences of using inkjet cartridges, I find the Epson Durabrite T1285 Fox Genuine Multipack ink set to be brilliant and, the ONLY cartridges I will EVER use with my current budget 'everyday' Epson printer.

Not just 'recommended' but absolutely ESSENTIAL in my opinion.

This gives excellent print quality and is cheaper than the version with the apple on it. However this is a false economy.

I put the magenta one in two days ago and I've been printing out images for my portfolio. The magenta has now run out! My advice would be to go for the apple version - double the printing for your money. I won't be buying the fox one again.

After searching for ages for these inks at a good price hey presto, here they are. Brilliant price and very quick delivery. I will be buying from here again without any hesitation.