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Configuration 7.00
The inks for the ESP 3 are conveniently separated into two cartridges, one for black and the other for color. The color cartridge has also separated itself by color, as seen below. Although this may be good thing in terms of only have to deal with two cartridges, its actually inefficient because the color cartridges is one whole unit, meaning when one or two colors run out, the entire color cartridge will need to be replaced. The driver of the ESP 3 also doesn’t measure individual colors, but the cartridge as a whole. So you may end up with a lot of yellow or magenta but since the cyan has run out, you’ll need a new color cartridge. With that said, the ESP 3 did a good job of making ink last, especially compared to the Canon iP2600, which also only uses two cartridges but went through ink much faster.
Value 8.00
The prices of ink for the ESP 3 are very reasonable at $14.99 for the color cartridge and $9.99 for the black. The black ink is one of the least expensive inks we’ve seen and lasts long for the price. The color cartridge is on par with other multi-color ink cartridges.
The one draw back with the ESP 3 ink system is that while other printers have the option of a black ink tank, or additional volumes of ink, the ESP 3 does not. You only have one size of ink cartridge to choose from.
Ink Management 4.00
The printing preferences window always has a graphic for ink levels on the bottom right hand corner. When the printer is properly connected to a PC and powered on, the printing preferences first tab, General, will let you know how much ink remains. Every time you execute a print, a status window will open and also updated ink levels.
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