Epson Stylus CX4200 Inkjet Printer

I purchased this printer 3 years ago. It is the biggest ink-sucker Ive ever known! I finally switched to non-OEM cartridges because I went through them so quickly. Ever time you turn it on, go to print, end a print job, turn it off--it would just use up ink. The sponge at the bottom was always completely soaked with ink no matter how often I cleaned it off and dried it up. I barely printed anything before it was time to change at least one of the cartridges, and, once one was due for a change, the other 3 werent far behind. Ive experience numerous paper jams with this machine. And who knows where its going to print on the page?!? The colors would also come out funny, ESPECIALLY if you used the scanner. I would scan an image and the colors would be completely different shades! And the quality really wasnt good for all the photo-printing features it boasts. Finally, my printer started making a funny noise last week--like a grinding. Nothing was dropped in there and the troubleshooter was a waste of time. After the noise, Id go to print and it acted like it would, but then itd start to feed the paper and itd just jam up on the right-hand side. I finally called tech support because I couldnt figure out what to do by fiddling around or using the internet. The guy finally said he couldnt help me and gave me the number and address for a computer repair place in town (at least I wouldnt have to drive too far). He told me to ask for an estimate and, if that was more (hint hint!), then he asked if Id consider looking at the Epson website. I promptly informed him that, if it cost anything, then Id definitely be purchasing a Canon and Id already been researching in the week I havent been able to print. So I called the number he gave me and was informed there was an upfront $50 diagnostic fee, which would kindly be applied to whatever charges thered be after the guy was done looking at it. For $50 I can purchase a well-reviewed Canon Pixma iP2600. For a little more, Im looking at the Canon Pixma MP470 (currently on sale at BestBuy for $79.99). So, after 3 years of hating my printer, it rebels for the last time less than 2 months before I start medical school and have all these other stresses going on. This was just what I needed to finally warn the world about this terrible, horrible piece of equipment!!! Time to go buy the Canon I should have purchased last time...

For years I used Epson printers, but the CX4200 was a chosen as a home/office solution. Was I wrong. Epson, in its greed, requires the use of color even when most printing is black and white. They also placed a chip in the cartridge that stops the printer when the chip is removed, shaken and reiniserted. Even if there is ink remaining. NEVER BUY EPSON.

Not only will it not print without Color ink. It will say your out of color ink when your not. Im not just saying this out of frustration. If you pick up an empty cartridge, you can tell from the liquid moving around in it that its nearly full. If thats not enough I put it on a scale, 0.1 of an oz difference. Expect to have to purchase ink every other time you want to print something. As for functionality of the scanner and everything else, well that all works fine. The scanner is not very fast but it works alright. Its prints okay pictures.

Yup, if it wasnt for the ink glitch, I will be giving it better... Because of it, this product doesnt even deserve to have one star!

This is a good printer/scanner when its working properly and you have ink. Its user friendly too. My first one quit working all of the sudden for no reason. It wouldnt produce any ink. My second one is starting to die as well and I just bought it this year (although it was used). The ink is pretty expensive too and it wont work unless you have ALL the colors.

With the CX4200, every color cartridge must contain ink in order to print, even if you just want to use the black one. This product was created to oblige consumers to buy as much ink as possible, even when its unnecessary. Dont buy it. Please, dont buy it.

If one color of ink is out, it prevents all printing. Even if you have a full black cartridge. Thats ok if you want a printer that doesnt print I guess. The cartridges run out quick. The color cartridges get used up even when printing in black only. The scanner is good enough, but does not scan 35 mm negatives.

This printer ends up costing a fortune in ink. It always prints with all the colors, even if you select black only, and it does not print if any cartridge is removed or empty. It always tells me my cartridges are empty when they are not. It runs out of ink after printing about 20-30 pages of low-quality, black-only. It never seems to have ink when I need it most, which is frequently very inconvenient and has caused me to decide to buy a new printer even though technically this one is still functioning fine. Perhaps mine has some kind of problem, but I would certainly not take the risk and buy it again - nor will I be buying any Epson for my next printer if I can help it.

I, too, am incredibly aggravated that I cannot print with only black ink. I ran out of blue ink but all my other inks are full, and I just want to print a black & white document. The printer wont print at all even though I checked the various print only black printer options.

Mine just self-destructed. It sucked a piece of paper into itself, made a death whine, blinked its lights furiously, and died. I cant get the paper out. Also, all the other bad things you have heard are true.