"I'm Empty" Say's Brother's Inkjet Cartridges (But They're Not!)
"I'm out of ink. Feed me a new cartridge." That was what my Brother 640CW multifunction printer demanded recently. I checked and -- you're probably ahead of me on this -- there was still enough fluid in the cartridge for goodness knows how many more pages of printing.
I was fuming.
To be sure, I examined all three allegedly empty cartridges -- cyan, yellow, and magenta. From the top to bottom, they measured 1 1/8-inches. There was still 1/4 inch of fluid at the bottom of each one. That's about a fifth of the cartridge's capacity that's wasted. My loss in ink was roughly $2.25 per cartridge. Not big bucks, certainly, but enough that I felt I was being scammed.
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Got ink? My Brother cartridges still do...
The question was obvious: Was there a mechanical reason to leave fluid in the cartridge? Or perhaps this was a marketing decision to help me replace it before it was really necessary.
Brother Says, Oh, That's Normal!
I used my pull and fired a note off to the PR person representing Brother. Needless to say, things were dandy at Brother's headquarters because they had an answer. Here it is, verbatim, with key parts in italics. (Make sure to slip on a pair of comfy hip boots so you don't get splattered with anything.)
"First, we would like to assure you that Brother stands behind our product and the information disclosure that we provide to the consumer. It is always our policy to provide such information to consumers to help them understand both the product and the conditions under which the product operates.
"To address your specific question regarding ink volume, the rated yield for each cartridge follows the industry standard of that period which was based on 5% page coverage. So regardless of what small ink volume you may see remaining in an ink cartridge when it needs to be replaced, we guarantee that the ink volume that was provided and 'used' meets this industry standard calculation. Any additional ink volume left in a cartridge at that time was not put into the rated yield calculation that is guaranteed by Brother.
"Importantly, there is a technical and performance reason for why the small amount of ink is remaining in a cartridge that is identified as 'empty.' As mentioned in the User Manual,' even though the machine informs you that an ink cartridge is empty, there will be a small amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge. It is necessary to keep some ink in the ink cartridge to prevent air from drying out and damaging the print head assembly.' By doing so, the machine is protected and consistent print quality is ensured to satisfy the consumer. In effect, remaining ink should not be viewed as waste, but as Brother's affirmative action to provide ongoing high quality output and performance of the machine.
Granted the printer may need a small amount of ink to keep the printer heads from drying out, but overall, I say, horsepucky. The volume left in the cartridge isn't small; nor am I interested in the industry standard of five percent coverage. What I know is that even with what I think is minimal printing, the Brother needs a new cartridge way too often -- and in my arguably closed mind, I want every last drop of ink in the cartridge.
Inkjet Cartridges? It's a Hot Topic
I'm not the only one incensed about the hassles of inkjet cartridges. You can read over 100 PC World reader comments in response to our Cheap Ink: Will It Cost You? article. (Also read Where and How to Buy Cheap Ink.)
You can also glean some money saving printing tips by viewing our video, reading Save Money on Inkjet Printer Ink, and Inkjet Printer Ink: Reader Rants and Hacks. And don't miss Study: Over Half of Inkjet Printer Ink is Thrown Away.
How About You?
I know you're dying to take a shot at the printer companies and their cartridge escapades. So spend a minute in Comments and give me your rant.
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I will replace the darn cartridge when I get good and ready to do so. Which means about the time the numbers on the spread sheet can no longer be seen.
Another point I'd like to make is that it's environmentally unfriendly. The more frequent we're required to change our ink cartridges unnecessarily, the more landfill waste. Granted many people recycle their used cartridges, but just as many throw them in the garbage.
My mother had a Brother printer with separate cartridges for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. If any of the colors was "empty", the printer would not print an all-black document, which is mostly what she needed. I made her get rid of the thing. Oh Brother! No more of your junk in my family.
Change the name in your rant from Brother to Canon and it's exactly the same story. My brand new Canon was telling me the color cartridge was dangerously low for months before I actually got a printout with some missing color.
So that's my test. When the colors are off, it's time to replace, no sooner! And I'll take 'em to the local place for $10 refills instead of buying a new one for $25. Take that (fill in printer brand) ! !
Don't get me started on that.. My hate for all the printers started a few years ago when they started to add ink level check to the cartridges/printers.
I lost a very good Epson printer because some connectors went bad and it could not recognize that my brand new cartridge was completely full (it indicated the cartridge was empty). After several calls to Epson, they told me that since the warranty period was over, they could not do anything about it.
Old printers would not do that.. they would try to use the cartridge
even if was bone dry.
In my point of view, it is a scam to make money... and just because they make more money on ink than on the darn printers..
Just have to add my 2 cents to this. In addition to my raging fury with HP for installing mini-ink cartridges in new printers that will print a test page and then force you to buy FULL SIZED ink cartridges right out of the gatethe HP Officejet Pro K850 (purchased because it networks via IP) forces me to change practically FULL cartridges because it says they have “expired.” This machine takes 4 “high-yield” tanks of ink @ ~$80+ bucks to replace. Think I’d buy another HP??? Never! They’ve lost sight of the customer in their greed crusade.
Brother, Canon , HP . They all get abused for this replace ink cartridge scam/
Re the $80 to replace a "High-Yield Tank" , I have an HP Officejet Pro L7580 and I replaced the Black High Capacity Cartridge a few months ago.
The cost was nz$48 which is worth us$35, so I do not see how mestock could have paid $80 (I assume us$).
I used have an Epson that I used compatible ink for but with the HP I don't bother to find any compatible as the price seems reasonable to me.
oldfellow here again.
I do however run the cartridges until the printer will not print any more, which is some time after I get a warning about low ink,
It does not however tell me a cartridge is empty when it still has ink to print with.
Happy printing.
I've been in the supplies industry for 30+ years and 7 years ago developed my own website (OfficeSupplyOutfitters.com) to sell aftermarket and compatible replacement alternatives to the "Brand Name" inkjet and toner cartridges. Why? Because inkjet and toner cartridges were appallingly high priced and if that weren't enough, the printer manufacturers are now using new technology to get you to buy more than you need as witnessed by this story by Steve Bass. I get feedback all the time from our 100,000 plus customers, outraged by the prices they were paying for their ink from the printer manufacturers. Now some of the printer manufacturers are using chips on their cartridges to prevent the aftermarket suppliers from being able to remanufacture their cartridges! Imagine having no options, but to pay the high prices of the brand name cartridges. When the price of ink per gallon makes the price of gas per gallon seem cheap, then you know we have a problem!