Epson's not so 'smart', smart chip.

[kelly_flanigan1]

My engineer friend at a printer company is not allowed to design a new printer; after an existing cartridge is X months old......Almost all their entire profit is from the ink cartidges; and not the printers; which are almost sold at cost.......Having ones ink Cartridges going generic is a major fear; like a drug companies drugs going generic; and the profit stream collapses.......New bastard cartridges must be used for new printer designs; to lock in a new annuity of profits from the freak cartridges.........It is just like the razor blade business; where a new razor cartridge ; always better; must be introduced; to get the premium profits; the highest margins...This profit pays for the engineers salaries; and the research to bring out better printers.....................I spend several thousand dollar a year on inkjet ink and paper; and find it abit humorous that people who buy digital cameras "to save money"; and then do alot of squawking about ink and paper prices; after their "teaser starter printer with 1/2 filled cartridge" runs out.........

[blueviews]

I guess that I don't understand all the fuss. If you look on Ebay or any of a myriad of sites there are replacement cartridges for all of the chipped printers. The market is indeed working, even though you might not like the quality of the prints that you get. What people really want is to be able to buy Epson quality cartridges (with all of the appropriate worked out profiles)at $5.00 per cartridge.

As for the price of the Dom Perignon, unfortunately the raw materials for the inks don't grow in the ground.