PC Peripherals How good is Epson TX121? (or the T13)

DarkAngel

DarkAngel

Skilled
Need a basic printer and zeroed in on Epson because of cheap ink availability from reputed dealer online.

IC02 COMP CARTRIDGE EPSON 73N 91N BLACK TX111 T11 6PC | eBay Rs.600 for 6 black or assorted cartridges.

How good is quality of the print? The seller claims 400 pages per cartridge(Would be happy if the black ink gives me 250+ pages per cartridge. Just want the print+paper costs to be less than Re.1(The amount that the shops in my area charge for print))

Will use it to take print out of records. So will the print quality be good? (I know they cant match laser but if whether it will decent for such usage?)

Flipkart.com: Epson Stylus - TX121: Printer Rs.2835

Flipkart.com: Epson Stylus - T13: Printer Rs.1583

I was left with two options. The T13(basic printer) and TX121(AIO)

I have a few old photos to digitize(Dont want to spend a bomb on the AIO for that). Since the difference was just ~1.25k if the digitized photos are half decent then i am willing to get the AIO.

Also please let me know the duration that one can keep an ink cartridge. Say if i get a pack of six cartridges then i might end up using them for ~1 year+ (Expecting avg. usage per year to be 1500-2000 pages). So will sealed cartridge dry out before a year (n00b printer buyer. So excuse if my questions are stupid :ashamed:)

Please advice guys. Thanks in advance :)

Open to other quality options in the price range provided i can get good quality replacement cartridges for cheap online. (No refilling :no:)
 
i own the tx121 and can say that its a real vfm printer. its all plastic with a glossy lid at the top.the paper entry slot is behind and normally it takes 4 seconds for a b&w and 15 seconds for a colour print.the prints are crisp and colour prints look really nice.photos on a glossy paper look awesome,tried it once and was looking totally professional but remember its an ink sucker!. afaik my black ink finished in about 800 to 900 prints.colour inks jets may run till 1500 prints given that you use it proportionately[in my case i had to do a lot of b&w's].

all in all i was happy that i got it at 2.8 k from ebay.it scans perfectly,copy feature comes in handy so you dont have to run to the xerox guy everynow and than,even colour xerox is awesome and afaik comes with a 3 year warranty.one of the best budget printers i have experienced and its sturdy enough to have a long life.also yeah it has a feature that when one ink finishes it does a combo of ink's to get your desired colour[only regarding some colours] which i thought was cool!
 
^You mean the default cartridge lasted you that long :O

Flipkart listing says only 1 year warranty and the ebay listings too state only 1 year warranty!

Any comments on photo scanning? Tried it?

Since your cartridge is now over which cartridge are you using now? Official or the ones that sell in ebay.
 
Its a great printer. I was in the same dilemma as you 8 months ago and ended up buying the AIO (TX121) coz of small price difference between the basic one and the AIO one. Later, I was glad I went in for the AIO coz I used it to digitize all of my important documents (marksheets, degrees, certificates, etc.) and kept them backed up. You don't really use the scanner much, but when you do, you'll be glad its there :D. Got it at a great price of around 2.9k too. The best part is the individual colour cartridges so you just need to buy the black colour one. The print quality is pretty good no problems so far. The scanning and copying is excellent too. Total VFM. The software which it comes with provides a lot of options.

Regarding the 400 pages per cartridge, I'm yet to see. The thing is, there are 2 size cartridges available. The ones which come in the printer starter pack are the small ones. I mostly used it to print B/W documents and I would say it lasted for more than 100 pages. There's still a tiny amount left. The refill size is 91N. I think your seller probably meant that one when he said 400 pages per cartridge. I have that one lying packed around as well. Once the original one completely finishes, I'll be putting this one in and only then will I be able to find how many pages it lasts for. Also, Epson has the cheapest cartridges IINM (I got the 91N for around 350 bucks). HP is the most expensive providing lesser quantity and costs more than 1k.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
DarkAngel said:
^You mean the default cartridge lasted you that long :O

Flipkart listing says only 1 year warranty and the ebay listings too state only 1 year warranty!

Any comments on photo scanning? Tried it?

Since your cartridge is now over which cartridge are you using now? Official or the ones that sell in ebay.
Click to expand...

The thing is, you get different options for print quality. See below

UF5OB.png


Draft is the lightest and will use the least ink but still more or less legible. So if you're just doing simple copying, or if you want to submit documents to your mobile provider or HR or something, just use Draft. If you're printing your resume or something, then use "Text"
 
Dear DarkAngel,
Just for text printing, the TX121 or T13 will serve you clear and sharp. But, for photos they are not good. The B&W print speed of TX121 & T13 are reasonably fast and slow for color prints.
About the cartridges, i my self got refillable cartridges for T13 and Artisan 725 from the same ebay seller ink-shop-india, which are good and they can be used along with the original Epson cartridges. Depending on usage level go for use&throw cartridges or refillable or CISS. If you are going for refillable cartridges or CISS, make sure that the chip version is 6.0 & above. With refillable cartridges and CISS, you get the option to choose the ink. Generally with Epson, dye inks are used for 6 color printers and pigment inks for 4 color printers. Almost, all these compatible cartridge & refill ink sellers provide only the dye ink and that too of inferior quality (fading, clogging). The best refill ink comparable to Epson's is OCP inks (Germany). You can get both dye and pigment inks of OCP from LIPAP (Mumbai). Hope, this helps.
 
DarkAngel said:
^You mean the default cartridge lasted you that long :O

Flipkart listing says only 1 year warranty and the ebay listings too state only 1 year warranty!

Any comments on photo scanning? Tried it?

Since your cartridge is now over which cartridge are you using now? Official or the ones that sell in ebay.
Click to expand...

apologies for the late reply!

well photo scanning is ace tbh.totally beats my old scanner.i got to check the waranty again,will do so in a couple of hours and edit this post.

i plan to order from the official site if possible,if not than i will order it from ebay or take from a local store.the ink is readily available in a store near me.

the cost of the ink is 285 for the economy version and 485 for the standard version.

i checked the warranty and its for 12 months.my bad! solid product though
 
DarkAngel, ur choice is good. I have the Epson Tx101 (predecessor to TX111/121). Pretty good solid printer.

Just a couple of points to note

1) Even if you dont use the color cartridges, they will slowly deplete. Each time a head cleaning/black cartridge replacement is done, printer will use some of the color ink as well, so you'll run out of color cartridges eventually (sooner than u think). And the printer wont print (even black only) unless all cartridges have ink. I suggest u buy the other combo (CMYK+2 extra black) instead of all black. I dont know how much shelf life these have but should run 1 year min I think.

2) Original Epson ink is water resistant. I've used these compatibles (same ones u listed) but I dont remember if they were water resistant. I'm currently using refillables with good quality ink. Everything's working perfectly but only prob is that document printouts on plain paper are not water resistant. On photo paper it is water resistant. Tried 2 brands of refill ink (good brands), but none were as good as original epson ink. Since you mentioned document printouts, you might want to check if they are waterproof before buying in bulk.
 
Dear arvnd,
Dye inks are made using water soluble dyes and pigment inks are made by dispersing water insoluble pigments in water. Pigment inks are non-fading and water resistant. Dye inks will fade out over time and have poor water resistance. Pigment inks are 50-90% costlier than dye inks.
Your Epson Tx101 is a four color printer, which is supposed to be used with pigment inks. Most probably the refill ink that you are using will be a dye ink. Easy way to check the type of ink you are using is, if the ink is transparent then it is a dye ink. Pigment inks are Opaque because they are in a dispersed state. I am using Epson printers (R230, Tx101, T13 & Artisan 725) with CISS & refillable cartridges, over the years i have tried various inks and all were of same inferior dye inks. Only recently, i came across OCP, who provide both dye and pigment inks. You can find the right ink for your printer from their website OCP INKS ... inks of finest quality . After years of search, i find OCP inks to be the best beside Epson's. The 100gms black & color dye ink will cost Rs.170, 100gms black pigment ink Rs.250 and 100gms color pigment ink Rs.300/-. You can give it a try.
Of your concern regarding " Everything's working perfectly but only prob is that document printouts on plain paper are not water resistant. On photo paper it is water resistant." This is to do with the surface of the paper. With Photo paper, the surface is coated and literally fiber free and so the even film of ink does not come off that easily.
 
^^ thanks a lot for the info, rajkri. Yes, both my inks are transparent (the yellow color) so I guess it is dye ink.

I got the info about the ink from the OCP website, but seems to be a german site. Do you know if this ink is available anywhere in India online?

I'm from Kerala - I wont be able to come to LIPAP (Mumbai) to get this :(
 
Dear arvnd,
There is a person for LIPAP at Ernakulam. I will PM you his details and i too got through him only. Epson Stylus TX101 uses 73N cartridges and the inks you need from OCP are, BKP 115, CP 115, MP 102 and YP 102. The minimum pack starts from 100gms.
bye...
 
Didnt get a AIO then. But the printer shop near my home closed down now. So again thinking of getting one (hopefully will buy it this time ;))

Epson Stylus -> Rs.2565 after 10% off

HP Deskjet 1050 All-in-One Printer with manufacturer bill & warranty | eBay -> Rs.3051 after 10% off

Which is a better deal?

I don't want color prints but the Epson TX121 doesn't work if there are no color cartridges. What about the HP deskjet?

Which one offers better quality?

If I am not able to convince my parents for a AIO then which printer?

Brand New HP Deskjet Color Printer J110 1000 Series National Warranty | eBay ~ Rs.1529 after 10% off

Epson Stylus - T13 Printer epson t 13 inkjet printer | eBay ~ Rs.1485 after 10% off

Also i don't want want something that is dead slow since i might want to take some 70-80 pages at a time once in a while.

Anyone using these inks on their HP and Epson printers? Good ink dealer in ebay.

IC23 COMPATIBLE CARTRIDGE EPSON 73N / 91N CMY x 2 EACH | eBay -> Rs.600

RI09A DESMAT REFILL INK BOTTLE HP CANON 250ML BLACK | eBay-> Rs.299
 
the seller ink-shop-india is a good seller , what i will advice is since your usage is primarily black pages you should buy refillable cartridges ,they are easy to refill and will cost you under 1000 with refillable good that would be good to go for atleast 2000 black pages and about 400-500 color pages .

if the nearby shops are printing at a Re per page i would say go with them . But a printer at home is something other .
 
^Yes they cost Rs.1 per page. But the nearby one closed shop and thus might need one.

So which is better? HP or Epson for refillable cartridges. Is the default HP cartridge refillable?
 
Epson cartridges are quite. Relliable , in my expience the refillable cartridges from epson would last you for anround 18-24 months , after that you need ti use the head cleaner solution to clean the print heads on epson . Go for the Hp printer if your usage is that low , 2000 pages can be done on 2 cartridges and you already get one free cartridge . Remember one thing that after three to four refills hp cartridges have to be thrown . Another replacement cartridge can cost you around 450 - 500 . Go for the epson if your usage is more or you will print coloR pages too . Another reason to consider the epson is if you plan to use the priner for atleast two years .
 
Thanks. Yeah moderate-heavy usage for 1.5yrs and then will reduce afterwards. 100-125 pages a month till then. But yes will use it for after that for scanning and occasional prints.

We can scan when the printer is out of ink also, right? Or is it necessary that we need to have ink in the cartridge for scanning?
 
only cartridges are required for scanning regardless they work or ink is present in them or not .

Also if your printer sees a long inactivity say for a period of one month or more , remove the cartridges and store them in some plastic carefully , also it won't cost you much , so try taking out printouts every week so that the print heads don't get jammed
 
Okay. Final questions.

I have a HCL H505 printer that was purchased in July 2005. Haven't used it for 4 years! Its a Lexmark OEM with Lexmark 27 ink cartridges.

Is there any hope of reviving it or is it worth the effort trying to revive it?If not then how much will such non-operational printer fetch me?

How much is going to be the per page cost of black printouts?(TX121) A4 sheets in bulk is ~25p per page i guess. How much will be ink cost per page? <0.75p or more than that?
 
Hi I have hp deskjet 2000, it is the same as the new hp deskjet 1000 printer just print speed is light higher. But not the problem is the printer does not accept the refill cartridge. Now a day hp use a chip in cartridge which remember the no of page print in the cartridge. I refill a cartridge then after not accepted by my printer i insert the cartridge to another one where the cartridge is first time inserted, but the printer easily catch that the cartridge is refilled.

A new cartridge is cost more than Rs. 415/- and i can get only 90 -95 page to print . So the print cost is about Rs. 5 /- per page.

Any idea friend what should i Do?
 
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