Epson Ink and Toner Cartridges

Epson Ink FAQs

What ink does Epson use?

Different Epson printers use different types of ink, particularly because certain printer models serve different purposes or cater to different printing needs. You can find Epson printers perfect for printing medium quality photos as well as documents, photo printers that deliver professional quality images, and printers that deliver the print volume needed for office use.

For example, Epson Expression and some lower level WorkForce printers are perfect for home use while higher end WorkForce printers and EcoTanks are great for office use.

Epson Ecotank printers are perfect for users who print frequently. Ecotank is good for both printing documents and medium-quality photos.

The Expression Photo, Expression Premium, and lower-end Stylus printers are great for photo enthusiasts who want above average photo quality prints at home.

The Epson SureColor and higher-end Stylus printer line was made to cater to professional photographers' need to produce superb quality photographs.

Most Epson printers are inkjet printers that use ink to print images and text onto paper.

Ink Types by Printer
The kind of ink used by each of these printer types would depend on its intended use. Printers that are meant for home or office use are most likely using Epson DURABrite inks which are formulated for everyday documents and images. DURABrite cartridges are made with a pigment-based formula that deliver brilliant colors and are water- and fade-resistant.

Higher-end printers such as the Expression Premium or Expression Photo use Claria photos, most of them come with one dye-based photo black ink cartridge and one pigment-based black cartridge on top of the individual dye-based color cartridges.

Epson's EcoTank line of printers use a special formulation of ink meant for use on EcoTank printers. Most EcoTank printers use a dye-based ink formulation, the higher end models use either pigment-based black ink and dye-based color ink, or as is the case with the WF-R4640, all four colors are pigment-based ink.

Epson's line of professional photo printers also use Claria ink to provide the best of both worlds when it comes to pigment-based and dye-based inks. Usually, professional photo printers or higher-end inkjet printers use more than 4 ink cartridges, some even as many as 9 ink cartridges to provide a wider range of shade and color.

The Epson's most superior ink cartridge series is the UltraChrome which is used by top-of-the-line wide-format Stylus Pro printers as well as SureColor printers. Epson UltraChrome inks are developed with pigment-based inks that deliver very accurate colors and a high optical density DMAX for deeper blacks and more detailed photos.

Aftermarket Ink vs Original Epson Ink
Aftermarket Epson ink cartridges are specially formulated to deliver the same print quality as Epson's different types of ink. This way, Epson printer owners can enjoy the same crisp and brilliant quality without the steep cost of each original Epson cartridge. Find aftermarket Epson ink for all Epson printer models here!

Are all Epson cartridges the same?

No, they are not. Some Epson ink cartridges have a dye-based formulation while some have a pigment-based formulation. Dye-based ink is perfect for printing brilliantly colored photos while pigment-based ink is known for its fade- and water-proof characteristic making it best for printing archival documents and images. It is strongly recommended that you use only your printer's designated cartridges. Using a different cartridge can result in irreversible ad expensive printer damages.

How to install Epson ink cartridges?

Replacing Epson cartridges can be a doozy especially because some printers use two cartridges while some use four. Knowing how confusing it can be to those who have not replaced cartridges before, we've put together a nifty guide on how to install Epson replacement cartridges using the top two Epson printers, the XP-410 and the Workforce 545, to illustrate the installation differences between printer types.

You can also visit Epson's Support Center for OEM cartridge installation guides. Always remember to check your product manuals before attempting installation as incorrectly inserting a cartridge can result in costly damages.