Epson: Ink Cartridge Yields For T078, T077 Series

Epson Stylus Photo R260, R280, R380, RX580, RX595, RX680, Cartridge Yields.

The T078 has 7ml ink, the T077 contains 11ml

Cartridge yield information for the above mentioned printers.  The T077 and T078 ink cartridges from Epson represent a “you can pay us now, or you can pay us now” cartridge strategy.  The cartridges are the same physical size and shape, but one (T077) is full of ink, and the other (T078) is only half full.  This is also reflected in the price as the T078 cartridges are slightly cheaper ($16.99, $12.99) than the T077 ($19.99) cartridges.

The effective cost per ml is the same on these cartridges, so there is no major savings by going with the higher capacity ink cartridge.  Just try and find the best deal.

We cracked open this cartridge and took a look here –

http://freedomtoprint.com/2009/04/16/review-epson-t078-and-t077-ink-cartridges-cracked-open/

Link to original (T078-T077) cartridge yield page on Epson’s website here:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/Landing/InkYieldISO2.jsp

T078 Series (half full cartridges 7ml) – $16.99 black, $12.99 colors

• Black – T078120 Cartridge: “About 300 pages”
• Color – T078220, T078320, T078420, T078520, T078620: “About 515 pages, average of all colors”

T077 Series (full cartridges 11ml) – $19.99 each

Black – T077120 (High-Capacity): “About 480 pages”
Color – T077220, T077320, T077420, T077520, T077620 (High-Capacity): “About 855 pages, average of all colors.”

T078 cartridges contain 7ml of ink, T077 series cartridges contain 11ml of ink.

All the more reason to use a CI System (CISS) for these printers – if you are a high volume printer, and are tired of sending countless inkjet cartridges to landfills a CIS is the way to go for your printer.

Look here for systems for your:

Epson Stylus Photo R260

Epson Stylus Photo R280

Epson Stylus Photo R380

Epson Stylus Photo RX580 (multi-function)

Epson Stylus Photo RX595 (multi-function)

Epson Stylus Photo RX680 (multi-function)

Excellent series of 6-color photo printers from Epson, and they work well with aftermarket inks.  Replaced in the Epson lineup by the Artisan series (50, 700, 710, 800, 810) inkjet photo printers.  These photo printers that use the T078 and T077 series of inkjet cartridges are still a solid choice for anyone serious about photo printing.

Review: CIS Plus Epson Stylus Photo RX595 CI System (CISS)

Epson Stylus Photo RX595 With CI System

Excellent combination – works extremely well. Highly recommended. The Epson Stylus Photo RX580 has an identical print head, and the exact same insides.

Why the RX595?

We like to highlight solid performing inkjet printers that have one thing in common – a cheap printing solution is available.  That is our main criteria when evaluating inkjet printers.  If we like the printer, and we can use either compatible and re-manufactured inkjet cartridges, or (even better) a CI system – you have a winner, and the RX595 is just that, a winner with a CI system.  If you are looking for product specs, please go here.

What are you waiting for? That is a stack of cartridges that retail for $450.00.

Slick 6-color photo printer from Epson:

With the RX595 inkjet printer, a CI system works extremely well, and it is surprisingly easy to install.  Just remove the cartridge cover, plug the scanner unit open latch, and route the tubing.  The system works very well when the scanner unit is completely closed – there is a bounty of room inside the printer so the CI tubing does not tangle or kink at all.  The RX595 is just a great overall candidate for a CI system.

This printer produces incredible prints, even if it is a little poky.  Takes about 2 minutes to print a modestly sized image from the memory card slot (about 4MB) at maximum quality.  Also prints text quite nicely.  The Epson Stylus Photo RX595 is a 6-Color printer, so photos come out looking better than lab quality.  Epson brand cartridges use a dye based ink with this printer, and our CI system was no different – it also uses dye based inks.

Step 1 – Remove the cartridge cover:

Removing the cartridge cover on the Epson Stylus Photo RX595 could not be easier – one of the easiest of the Epson printers to do.  Simply pry off the small piece of plastic on the bottom right side of the print head assembly, and the cartridge cover will lift right off.

Epson Stylus Photo RX595 continuous inking system (CIS CISS) how-to installation video.

Step 2 – Plug the scanner unit open latch:

There is a peg on the under side of the scanner unit that fits perfectly into a cut-out that contains a latch.  When the peg depresses this latch, the printer knows the scanner unit is open.  To get around this issue, simply take some wadded up paper, or some Styrofoam from the CI system box and stuff it into the hole.  Place a piece of scotch tape over the plugged up hole, and the printer will think it is closed all the time.

This is not an issue during normal printing, however when running a nozzle check with the top open – the printer will prompt you to close the hatch so printing can complete.  Plugging the hole is a fairly straightforward process.

Locate scanner closed latch:

Plug hole so latch is always depressed:

We cut a piece off the CI system box and plugged the hole with Styrofoam and a piece of scotch tape.  You could also use a piece of wadded up paper, or other material to achieve the same results.  Use your best judgment.

Step 3 –  Install CI cartridges and route tubing:

Now we can install the CI system dummy cartridges (with push-button resetting chips) and route the tubing through the printer.  You can place your external tank wherever you like, however we found that setting the external tank on the outside left of the printer was the best position for us.  The tubing wants to naturally go to the left, so that is where we put the external ink tank.

Routing the tubing was very simple – lots and lots of room inside the Stylus Photo RX595.  This CI system performed perfectly.

The final result.

After about 4 head cleanings – which is really a print head primer cycle – the RX595 was printing perfectly, and we ran off some test prints.  Color was amazing, no streaks or lines, and we highly recommend this system to owners of the RX595 printers.

Epson RX595 nozzle check printout - looks like we need to prime the print heads one more time.

We discovered that one of the tubes was not full of ink (black), so we ran a cleaning cycle (priming the print head) and wanted to show the ink as it is being pulled through the tubing.  Pretty neat, and also pretty revealing – think of how much ink is used to clean the print heads on an Epson inkjet printer.  No wonder cartridges go out so fast.

Continuous inking system installed:

There is a reset button on the set of cartridges.  When the printer says it is out of ink – simply press this reset button and the ink levels will be reset to full.  Easier than changing a cartridge.

With the system installed there is plenty of room for the tubing to travel safely through the insides of the printer.  No need to worry about tangling, or the tube catching on some protruding corner.

Solid performer:

We like this printer, it prints to CDs, prints from memory cards, no need for a computer – built-in LCD display, and it’s a six color photo printer.  Solidly built, and stylish offering from Epson.  The Epson Stylus Photo RX595 and a continuous inking system make this printer a color laser replacement printer.

Youtube videos:

Epson Stylus Photo RX595 with continuous inking system installed

Installation of a CI system on an Epson Stylus Photo RX595

Video: CIS And Epson Stylus Photo RX595

Epson Stylus Photo RX595 with CIS:

Video – this is an older printer, however it still works great and it works even better with a continuous inking system.  Look how easy it is to install, and use.  The ink sits outside the printer and is fed to a set of resettable dummy cartridges.  If you still own this printer, and are not using a continuous inking system, get one today.

Review: Epson T078 and T077 Compared And Split-Open

A Peek Inside The Epson T078, T077 Series Cartridges:

A little background…

The T078 has 11ml ink, the T077 contains 15ml

Epson has employed a 2 cartridge marketing effort with the T077/T078 series inkjet cartridges for owners of the Epson Stylus Photo R260, R280, R380, RX580, RX595, or RX680 inkjet printers.  The T078 series of inkjet cartridges which have 7ml of ink per cartridge and cost $14.00 each, and the T077120* cartridge which will set you back $19.99 and contains 11ml of ink. Think of it as a pay me now, or pay me later type situation.

What is most interesting about these cartridges is what they reveal about Epson’s strategy for defeating or strongly deterring re-fillers or re-manufacturers.  More on this in another article.

Inside the T078 Series Inkjet Cartridge:

Getting into the T078 series cartridge (we used a T078520 photo cyan cartridge in our example below) was a pain.  You must first remove the outside plastic cover (8-tabbed), and then carefully remove a blanket of securely fastened black tape, while at the same time trying to be extremely careful not to rip the clear plastic tape that holds the ink inside the cartridge.  The black tape is not present on some older cartridges (over 1-year old); consider yourself lucky if you can find one of these.

Getting inside a pain…

Inside the T078520 cartridge:

epson.com web site.

The cartridges are actually quite insulting. When T078/T077 compatible cartridges from China were available they were completely filled with ink, and the part number distinction was not necessary for that simple reason.  Epson prices the smaller capacity T078 cartridge at $15.00 black and $12.99 for each of 5 FIVE colors.  Yes, you will use color when printing black only, so you will need color cartridges in the future.  The ratio of black to color cartridge replacement is about 4-1 on standard out of the box settings.  The higher ink volume T077 cartridges are just about completely full of ink and will run you $18-$19 each…no kidding.  They contain about 11ml of ink.

Cracked open T078520 cartridge. This is al the ink you will get in a T078 series inkjet cartridge. About 11ml. Notice all the air space. Thanks Epson.

Lots of air-space inside the T078 series of inkjet cartridges.  So you are basically paying for ink and air. Stay classy Epson.

Inside the Epson T077 Series Ink Cartridge:

epson.com web site

The T077* series of inkjet cartridges are what should come with the printer to begin with.  The cartridge is completely full of ink, with minimal airspace in the cartridge.  The problem is the price.  If you are printing photos, and most likely you are if you purchase this 6-color photo printer, printers use a ton of ink for photos, and replacing the cartridges can get expensive.

Same process as above getting into this cartridge.

T077520 inkjet cartridge cracked open. Notice that the T077 series inkjet cartridges are just about completely full of ink. The design is similar to the T078 series, but w/out the airspace.

So what to buy?

To understand which is the best deal, we now have to do a little math.  Need to figure cost per ml of ink; not gonna be pretty.  The T078 cartridge has 7ml of ink divided by $12.99 = $1.85 per ml of ink.  The T077* cartridge has 11ml of ink, and will run you $19.99 from the Epson store, so we end up with $1.81 per ml of ink.  This means the effective price per ml of ink in both the T078 and T077 series cartridges is practically the same. But what if we could get two (2) of the T078 cartridges for the same price (or less) as a T077 series cartridge?  This is a much better deal.  14ml of ink divided by $19.99 = $1.42 per ml of ink.  Much better deal.  Moral of the story? Stick with the T078 ink cartridges.  You will change them more often, but the actual cost per ml of ink could be markedly cheaper if you can get 2 of them for the same price as the T077 series.  Don’t you love how Epson does that?

• T078 @ $12.99 each = $1.85 per ml of ink
• T077 @ $19.99 each = $1.81 per ml of ink*
• T078 x’s 2 @ $10.00 each = $1.42 per ml of ink

You can check pricing on Epson T078/T077 OEM cartridges here.

* At this time, T077 cartridges are available from Epson direct only.