Magenta Magic (Epson T0713)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	Epson T0713
Date:	01/04/09 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb colouring within it's range

Disadvantages: Prices are increasing

I have had my Epson printer for just over a year now and had the one before that for over two before it began to chew paper and was kindly replaced by Epson for the one I currently have. Luckily for me both of the printers use the same ink cartridges and therefore I didn't waste any ink whatsoever when I switched printers.

Now being at University and constantly having to hand in double copies of essay and presentation notes I do get through rather a lot of ink and although it is my black ink cartridge that takes the greatest bashing I do find that the colour cartridges dwindle too.

My printer has three colour cartridges, a cyan one, a yellow one and the one in question here a magenta one. This magenta cartridge can be bought separately or in a pack, which as the code T0715 and contains a black cartridge and one of each of the colour cartridges. It may be a good time to mention that this cartridge as well as the multi-pack and the single colours has a picture of a cheetah on the front and so it is easily recognisable in the shops - always a bonus.

When you get the ink home I have found that the cartridges are really easy to replace and like I have mentioned above I have had two different printers that use this cartridge. You simply send the printer heads to the centre of the printer, flip open the cartridge lid, pull out the old cartridge and push the new one into place. The printer will then do everything else all on its own. The whole process I have found takes no more than two minutes and is so easy that even my mum, who is not exactly up with technology, can manage it without any problems whatsoever.

Each of the cartridges contains 13ml of ink, which compared to other cartridges is quite a lot. I do find however that it is my cyan cartridge that last me the longest and therefore the ability to purchase each cartridge separately is definitely a godsend. The alternative of course being to throw away cartridges that still contain useable ink. The cartridge itself can be used in the following printers: DX4000, DX4050, DX4400, DX4450, D120, DX6000, DX6050, DX7000, DX7400, DX8400, DX8450.

I have found that the magenta cartridge in question produces a very strong and clear colour that doesn't weaken as the cartridge lives out its life. The colours it produces within it's colour range are always prominent and don't fade once they have been printed. This is something I am quite pleased with because I hate printing out a lovely vibrant purple only to have it fade to a pale pink within a few hours or days. The stunningly bright purples to the subtle pinks that this cartridge produces are always distinguishable from one another on the paper, which again isn't always the case with some cartridges. A point to note here is that I don't purchase expensive paper, 500 sheets for £3 is about my limit and the quality of the printing I achieve is therefore all credit to the ink.

The price of a single magenta cartridge does however vary greatly depending where you purchase it from and how many you are purchasing. From a retailer such as PC World you can expect to pay between £8 and £9 per cartridge and roughly £30 for a multi-pack but by shopping around online and buying 2 or 3 at the same time I have managed to get that price down to around £7 a cartridge and between £24 and £27 for a multi-pack. It is worth keeping in mind however that prices are fluctuating greatly and therefore if you spot a bargain you should snap it up immediately.

Summary: A brillaint cartridge if you have a compatible printer

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Speed: