DON'T buy an Epson c84, well, maybe DO buy one, nah DON'T

I have an Epson C84 because it was cheap and it was highly rated by all the internet people who love giving their 2¢. However, I was not WARNED by how OFTEN I'd be changing my ink cartridge! I fondly remember the good ole days where if I ran out of cyan, no worry! I simply ignored it and printed everything in black. Sometimes, I ran out of black, and would choose to print everything in blue or red, just until I was able to go to the store.

So, I begin printing stuff left and right. My computer warns me that I'm running out of magenta. I glance at my document and realize I use very little magenta. I just ignore it. Not two pages later, my computer tells me it can no longer print because it ran out of magenta. I say, fine - print in black only! It adamantly tells me, it cannot print ANYTHING because I'm out of magenta. I start yelling at my computer, but realize it's really Epson - ever since they began the 2-way communication between the computer and the printer, we've been in trouble!

You would THINK you'd want 3 different cartridges for cyan, magenta, and yellow instead of one cartridge containing all 3, but now I know it's a big mistake. I find myself changing an ink cartridge at least once every few days. Oh yeah, the ink might last 2 or 3 weeks, but they never run out at the same time! So, every few days, I change ink. And I'm not allowed to print one more sheet unless the empty ink cartridge gets changed.

So, I decided, fine. If I'm going to have to buy ink cartridges left and right, I'm going to buy the staples brand because it will save me a couple of bucks for every cartridge. I'm not into quality, right now, I just want to print whenever I feel like it! So, I put in a generic brand magenta. My computer warns, "This is NOT Epson brand ink. You may encounter problems using a different brand, are you sure you want to do this?" I say, "yeah, yeah - go ahead and give me your disclaimer. I'll take my chances!" So, I print out some stuff and everything seems to be fine. Until, I turn my computer on the next morning, and discover that everything I'm printing out is a lovely shade of blue and yellow - no magenta!! I take a deep breath and discover the head cleaning utility. Ok, so I do a head cleaning. It does the trick, although ALL of the ink levels have dropped considerably! I print everything out fine, then the next morning, SAME THING! I must do a head cleaning, once again. My cyan ink level is eerily getting close to the point of no return (the point where the computer curses at me and says it will NEVER print out another sheet until I change the ink).

Next morning, I decide to create a birthday card for a family member. I don't feel like running to the store for a card, why should I when I can print out beautiful photos on my Epson C84? So I design my card and remember that magenta won't work. So, I go to do a head cleaning. Once again, my computer states it cannot do a head cleaning because there is not enough ink. WHATTTTT?!?!?! Oh yeah, the CYAN is too low. It didn't go beyond the point of no return (I see a smidgen of blue at the bottom of their virtual inktank) but it's not enough for a head cleaning, ugh! Now, I'm stuck. I can either choose to print out blue and yellow flowers for my card, or go to the store to buy EPSON brand ink cartridges. I could just see my computer saying, "didn't I warn you that you better not use a different brand?" I printed out blue and yellow flowers. I called Staples who willingly took back my faulty magenta, and I paid another $50 to get all EPSON ink.

I hate my Epson. But then, I was at a friend's house, and I don't know what printer she had, but we go to print out something simple and put it in draft mode. It took FOREVER to print it! What is the deal? So, I love my Epson. It prints so fast! But I still hate it. Epson must be like some people I know. High strung, requires only name-brand items, must be doted upon, but when you treat it right, it works hard.