Very Fresh Ink!

When printing a job recently I noticed my LK ink had dropped below 10%. I've learned I can print for months using cartridges that report a fairly low capacity. But the printer may refuse to run cleaning cycles when the ink for any channel to be cleaned drops below 10%. It was time to place an ink order. I also needed a roll of the paper I use for most client jobs, so the timing was good.

A week ago I ordered, from IT Supplies (itsupplies.com)* a roll of Epson Luster and a 150ml LK ink cartridge. The paper arrived Thursday, the ink the next day.

Of interest is the expiration date on that ink. I have received inks with widely varying expiration dates. In one case, the marked date was the very next month, which in fact was only a week away. Needless to say, I returned that for a replacement. More typical are expiration dates eight to twelve months away.

The expiration date on the new LK is November, 2014. That's the longest period I've seen, making this a very fresh ink!

  --Jay

*I have no affiliation with IT Supplies other than as a frequently-satisfied customer. I find their prices to be slightly better than the lowest I can find elsewhere, they have the ink and papers I want, and they offer free shipping for orders over $99.00. It's very easy to spend more than that on any given order, so it's always free shipping (in the U.S.—sorry, I've not checked this for other countries). I have had problems with damaged shipments due to poor packaging. And that "expires next week" ink did come from IT Supplies. Still, my good experiences with this vendor have outweighed the bad, orders arrive very quickly, and their prices are good. Returns of damaged items, while they shouldn't be necessary, have been painless.