Canon individual ink tanks are the best out there today for low ink cost. However, the HP and Canon Tri-color cartridge units are crap (1 color goes out=throw the other 2 away.)
Epson has tried to emulate this technology, but they can’t get it right. Right now im doing part time work as a Lexmark rep in Best Buy stores (used to do Canon/HP/and Epson). Every weekend the Epson rep comes in and replaces the ink in his units b/c they are on constantly and are always cleaning the print head.
We have also come to think that the new Epson line has a time limit for their cartridge, b/c it will say its empty when its really not.
-Currently, Epson is being sued in Texas for having microchips on the bottom of ink cartridges that tell it when to shut off, based off of droplet output estimates instead of actual remaining ink.
-Lexmark as well is being sued for making claims of speed output that is completely unattainable.
-HP made the claim about 1 year ago of having 'the worlds fastest photo printer'. what they didn't say (or said in small print) was that it had to be at the lowest DPI and draft quality (=banding).
-Also, the entire line of HP ink jet printers are having their parts made to HP specifications by Canon. They haven't actually made their own printers for years.
-Hp makes more than half of their total revenue every year through ink/paper sales.
In conclusion- all printers today are plastic boxes designed to cost money through the continual purchase of consumables. The trick is to find the one that costs the least.
