Epson DURABrite T127120 Ultra 127 Extra High-Capacity Inkjet Cartridge, Black (T127120)

I know that Epson and other manufacturers (HP, Canon; but maybe not Brother) have switched to "chipped" cartridges long ago, and have been "updating" the firmware in printers to both add or fix features, as well as to discriminate against older-dated refilled cartridges (I'm pretty sure of this after reading various posts -- it's much like the ever-changing copy protection on DVD/Bluray discs). However, I also know that in the early days of attempting to use "quality" refills (Costco stores, do-it-yourself kits and online reputable firms) that I was having hit-or-miss printing quality and capacity issues; i.e., I wouldn't be getting the number of pages per cartridge, thus increasing the cost/page of the "bargain" priced refilled cartridges. I even bought a sensitive precision scale to measure new OEM cartridge before/after weights, then the weights of before/after using refill services. I found that (at least for the Epson XL extra-high-capacity T127 cartridges) rarely did the weight of a returned "filled full" cartridge approach that of a new/unused "full" one -- typically it was a few to many grams less, reducing the cost/page value of the refilled cartridge. Also I was having to run the printhead cleaning cycle more often to remove streaks from printed pages (again, leaving less ink for actual page printing). Maybe it was the firmware silently executing a "punishment mode" routine upon detection of a refilled cartridge, even though they were Epson/OEM with a reset chip -- I dunno, but it's possible... Or maybe, as the manufacturers would have us believe, it's truly a customized concoction of secret sauces and magic ingredients, blended especially for each model printer vs. the generic ink of the refillers. At any rate, since switching back to non-refilled/new Epson OEM cartridges the printer performance has been near flawless -- lots and lots of pages with little to no streaking and very seldom need for cleaning cycles (maybe over a year since the last one?). Just pop a new one in and it's back online, usually without an extensive ink-wasting priming cycle (as long as I don't wait until the previous cartridge is "sucking air" by ignoring/overriding the multiple warning messages and trying to squeeze more printed pages from the cartridge until it's really empty -- then I lose more ink from priming the full cartridge than I lose by stopping/changing when it reports "low" for about the third time!) In the end the hassles of trying to coax the refills to work properly and get lower cost/page printing just wasn't worth it in using this model printer, an Epson WF-3540 which, for several years now, has been the best, most trouble-free one I've owned so far among many (no more pricy-ink-gouging HP inkjet printers, ever!). Oh, yes, the order experience itself: 3/5 stars for Office Depot getting half of the order correct: Ordered 2 Epson inkjet cartridges, both to be XL extra-high-capacity: 1 magenta, 1 cyan. Received 2 cartridges: 1 extra-high-capacity magenta (OK), but (OOPS!) 1 high-capacity (i.e., standard) magenta 5/5 stars for customer service from "Vincenzio" (Amazon.com Marketplace Support / Office Depot, Inc.) for swiftly processing a refund for the wrong item shortly after I posted my complaint -- thanks! 1/5 stars for UPS claiming to have delivered the order to my "front door" address on Tuesday; Wednesday I checked on the whereabouts of the missing order and saw that the seller, Office Depot, posted a conflicting arrival time of 5-9 days for order fulfillment (i.e., well after Amazon's originally-estimated shipping arrival day posted at the time of order placement, so OK, just be patient...); Thursday it shows up at my door, so perhaps a neighbor dropped it off from being wrongly delivered to their address on Tuesday?

What can I say about printer ink? I mean, wow. It didn't turn the printer into a 3D printer capable of recreating the toenail I lost back in 'Nam (toenail fiasco aside, it was the vacation of the 2000's so far, most definitely), but it does print out some legible (and sometimes steamy) love letters to my Jr. High crush and doesn't complain if I go vanilla and choose the Arial font. (though it prefers Heveltica (sp?)). Alas it also fails to print plum baby plum trees that I could bring with me to my new place since the bank took my house (and that prized tree), but it does do a stunning, crisp job of printing the story Plum Baby entered into the most recent NPR three minute fiction contest. Surprisingly enough, it prints the whole thing, not just an excerpt, but I've recently heard it should have ended after the sticks hit Mama in the eye (or missed her altogether - whatever). This ink also doesn't print out road kill raccoon carcasses, but it does print out beautiful "beware of stentch" signs in case I leave another one under my bed with the plums and shoulder pads Mama likes to put her hand on while she's modding and nodding into catatonia. Oh Mama. So over all, I have to give this ink 5 stars. It's been fabulous, never ever giving me a hard time for printing worthless crap - including lots of wedding bands I bend and tape around my caterpillar fingers. I love it. I think I'll write a story about it for NPR. I wonder if there will ever be a found item round, 'cause this ink was the find of the year, and I ain't ever giving it back. (Well, I might recycle the container when the ink dries up, but I might just place it lovingly under my bed and hope it regenerates. Good price or no, it still costs money, and I'm saving all my money to buy my plum tree (and my house) back from BMO Harris. Five stars.

Good ink but kinda pricey. Makes those new ink-tank printers look pretty appealing (if they weren't so damned expensive).

I just got my new Epson Workforce a month or two ago and was really excited to see that they sold these ultra high capacity inks. They do last a little longer than the ink on my old Epson, but not as long as I expected. I just printed 200 color trifold brochures (front & back) for our local quilt show. Last year I did the same thing using my old Epson printer. In fact it is the same brochure with just the pertinent info changed. I know it all depends upon the color needed for the particular print job, but I really didn't think I'd be in the middle of my third cyan cartridge by now. And I am almost ready for my third magenta and yellow. (I'm only about 1/4 of the way thru my second black. I give four stars because it's clear the 127 line does last longer than the regular capacity inks. In my usage, it seems to be about 25% more. Epson advertises 50% more usage, and I definitely don't see it. To be fair, I'm comparing these high capacity cartridges (for my Workforce), with the regular cartridges for my old Epson Photo R320. Maybe if I compared them with the Workforce regular capacity, I'd see more of a difference. BUT....what would that say about the Workforce regular capacity inks???? They'd be even less productive than the cartridges for my old R320! So bottom line, these are good, they last longer than what I'm use to, & I'll keep buying them. They just don't last quite as long as I expected based on Epson's claims.

Ink cartridges were exactly as I expected and provided consistent color print coverage. Price was less than shopping at the big box stores. Convenience of having shipped in a few days to the house was an added bonus.

I print shipping labels every day and do some graphic design and craft projects that require a lot of ink and before I posted a review I wanted to see exactly how much I could get out of this (black) ink cartridge. Roughly, I've printed about 425 shipping labels since the beginning of March. I've done about 25 print projects that require a massive amount of ink, printed about 25 High Quality photographs and I've printed about 100 pages of things such as resumes, concert tickets, recipes, etc. I've also done a Nozzle Check and Clean two to three times since having this cartridge. After all this my ink levels were not low until yesterday. Considering that I used to pay $25-$30 for a small HP ink cartridge... where I was lucky to get 90 shipping labels printed, (not to mention that I was buying ink every few weeks) I consider this Epson Ink to be an excellent value! I have a WorkForce 7010 and though Amazon states that it won't fit my printer - it WILL! But please be aware that I've only used the black 127 cartridge due to the space inside of my printer. The color 127 cartridges will NOT fit inside of my printer. If you have this printer and you're looking to replace the black cartridge, do not waste your time or money on the 126, get the 127 instead - you'll be happier with the results and length of time that you'll have the cartridge before having to buy more ink. Hope this review helps some of you! October 15, 2013 - UPDATE Since reviewing this product, I am just now coming back to purchase another black ink cartridge. From the time of my review until now, I was able to print exactly 500 shipping labels and did about 20 detailed print jobs before the black ink started to run low. Can't beat the price here on Amazon! Still highly recommend the Black 127 cartridge!

For my pricey Epson all-in-one, I only use original Epson ink cartridges. The black is pure black and prints crisp text and photos. There is no smudging or smearing from moist fingers or water on a page/print. The larger 127 XL size is more economical and environmental. More printing, less replacements for ~$22 over the smaller 126 cartridges that came with the printer, which still costs $17. So for a few dollars more, the 127 size provides double capacity. The only issue I have with this is if the printer is not used for a few weeks, the print head clogs or something, even though I've installed a new cartridge. But cleaning the heads return the printer back to working order. This is not the fault of the ink cartridges but the printer itself.

Repeat buyer,happy with purchas

I have been using this for years on my Epson printer. I started to buy this from Amazon couple years ago as it offers the best price with delivery, and it always in stock.

Très bon produit

Very good

Excellent produit

Delivered the day after order was placed. PERFECT.