Refillable Epson Ink Cartridge Design Upgrades
The photos on the site are a representation. They may not be an exact match to the cartridges you will receive. (The reusable cartridges are the only ones which have not changed over the years and we only get them from one supplier.) We have found that for regular and refillable cartridges, we must deal with several suppliers because at times one or the other runs out of stock. This means variations in design. Design upgrades have also been made, sometimes at our express request. Here are a few examples:
Old design: The older design had a glue-on plastic clip. After a number of times of being inserted and removed, this clip could break. Because the cartridges were not individually shrink-wrapped, the clips sometimes broke during shipping. Because these cartridges are completely filled (unlike Epson which are 3/4 empty), temperature and changes in air pressure could cause the ink to leak. A leaky cartridge could create a mess. A clear plastic plug filled the air hole, which must be open in order for ink to flow. Despite putting this in our instructions and in the email sent to customers and on the back of the business card sent with each order, people often forgot to remove this plug and then called to report the cartridges weren't printing.
New design: The new design has a clip which is embedded into the cartridge. So far we have not had a single one break out of thousands sold. The cartridges are individually shrink-wrapped, which means a leaky cartridge will stay contained in its wrapping and not create a mess. Instead of the plastic plug, the air hole is covered with the same yellow tape customers are already used to removing.