Epson T0807 Hummingbird Genuine Multipack, Eco-Friendly Packaging, 6-colours Claria Photo HD Ink Cartridges,44,4 ml

In late December 2009 I purchased a PX710W. Initially I did a lot of photo printing. 15 x 10 cm prints, lots of them. In early February 2010 I noticed that the Light Cyan and Light Magenta inks were being used fairly fast and bought replacements from a marketplace seller. These came in the proper packaging. A week or two later I bought a full set (TO807) direct from Amazon. Again, these came in the proper packaging. Since then, the printer has been used mostly for document printing and copying rather than photos, but recently I have been printing more of them, some being of larger sizes.I kept no record of dates, but all the cartridges have since been installed. The last two were about a month ago and were the Light Cyan and Light Magenta from the 6-pack. Black is now very low and I have just ordered a replacement from Amazon's Preferred Merchant.I have read a lot of complaints regarding packaging of Epson ink cartridges from marketplace sellers. They should always be in the vacuum packaging. They are not packed this way for fun. If they don't have vacuum packaging, send them back. Likewise, the TO807 set should come in a box with the individual cartridges vacuum packed. Otherwise they are not 'Genuine Epson TO807 Multipack'. Read what the merchant says before buying, and take care.My experience has been extremely good. Unusually so, perhaps. I have never yet had to clean the heads, and this is despite the automatic head cleaning being turned off. I prefer to have things under my own control. I have seen a recommendation always to leave printers turned off when not in use. When turned off, it should park the head and cap it so as to prevent the ink from drying out. Judging by the whirring and clanking that takes place after a few minutes of being left idle, I suspect that the printer parks and caps the head automatically. Epson don't say, of course.What is the life of the inks? I don't know. Those currently in my printer all came from the 6-pack and have manufacturing dates of September or October 2009 (The Status Monitor gives the information).Don't use 'Compatible' inks! I found this out the hard way. I bought my first inkjet printer some time in the late 1990s or early 2000s, and saved cost by using 'Compatible' cartridges and also a cartridge refill kit. The end result was that the head became so badly blocked that I could no longer clean it. The cost of a replacement head was as much as the cost of a new printer, so I threw it out and bought a new (and better) printer. From then on I have only used Epson inks, despite the cost. Epson's prices are outrageous for sure, but in the long run the cost of buying non-Epson cartridges can be greater. There can also be questions as to whether the inks in non-Epson cartridges are really equivalent. There are matters of colour and light-fastness, for example.I hope that this is useful to some people.

The colour fastness is exceptional

Having tried various compatibles (including some fairly expensive ones) in my Epson P50, and with previous printers, my advice would be 'don't bother'.Regardless of all the claims about how good they are and being a cheap version of the manufacturer's original.....rubbish.As with most things, there is a reason why they are cheap.The ink used in most compatibles invariably clogs the heads up, especially if you don't use the printer for 2 or 3 days.Then you finish up running cleaning cycles which waste a lot of ink and, before you know it, the cartridges are empty and need replacing one by one. A right royal pain.It's a false economy.You can get a lot more cartridges for your money with compatibles but you need a lot more.As anyone with a printer will know, manufacturer's originals are disgustingly expensive but, when you consider the waste with compatibles, there really isn't that much difference in price. On the other hand, if you enjoy running endless cleaning cycles and continually changing cartridges, fine. Use compatibles. Personally, I would rather get on with some printing.

I've been a user before of cheap third party inks and as much as I laughed hard thinking of all the people who buy full price inks (what idiots eh?) I also experienced my fair share of the printer playing up and also the prints that I thought were great quickly degrade over time to look terrible. After the last printer, EPSON R-something refused to work properly, it would attempt printing but some colours wouldn't appear and even then there was terrible consistency and a lot of banding, I bought a new Epson PX720D.The inks ran out quite fast on the new printer but I decided to stop laughing at people who buy full price inks and join them. Prints now are stunning and they do not degrade over time as fast as third party inks do. I also can relax without worrying about cartridges causing errors and having to perform monthly cleaning to get rid of poor printing issues.So bear this in mind, third party inks are cheap for a reason, I do agree that genuine inks are very expensive but if you value your prints for photography or value not buying new printers all the time maybe it's time you chose these. Amazon were also the best value at the time compared to supermarkets, computer shops etc.

The service provided by the Amazon Trader, 7dayshop, was excellent. 7dayshop shipped my order the next day after I had placed the order. It arrived two days later by the free standard delivery service. 7dayshop divided the six ink cartridges into two slim packages which were easily delivered through my letter box. Normally with other traders within Amazon these ink catridges arrive in a bulky Epson package and when it is delivered somebody has to be at home in order to receive it. If nobody happens to be at home to receive it the customer has to go to collect it at the Royal Mail delivery office. So, well done 7dayshop.The price of the ink catridges was £36.60, which includes postage, and is a big saving on the Epson retail price. This leans towards encouraging customers to buy the Epson original ink cartridges rather than inferior compatible cartridges. However, the price is still steep though, and really ought to be reduced further if possible, bearing in mind that the price of these Epson ink cartridges is still about a third of the on-line price of a new Epson stylus photo printer.

Printing

My epson stylus photo R360 which I have been using for years now docent recognise the huming bird inks. There is a warning on the packet that this may be the case. I found that hard to believe since as I said I'v been using them for years with out a problem. So this means that I have to dispose of a perfectly good machine and by a new one I expect Epson will be perfectly fine about that!

Arrived as described, fits and works well with my printer.