OEM Epson carts region-locked?

[bobhof]

Hi All,

I'm hoping I can get some advice from the experts here.

I'm thinking of buying an Epson R2000 in South Africa. Originally, my plan was either to get some refillable carts and Image Specialists ink locally, or order some from inkjetmall in the US, but then I saw some very affordable OEM inks for the R2000 on Ebay. Obviously, genuine Epson carts would be great, especially since it seems a firmware update could cause the printer to reject non-OEM carts.

My question is: will US Epson OEM carts work in a South African printer? I think there may be some sort of region code on the inks preventing them from working, but I've been unable to establish this for sure. It does seem that the codes of the inks differ by region (for example, Photo Black is T1591 here (product code C13T15914010) and in the States I think it is T159120 (not sure what the product code is).

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[bobhof]

I called Epson South Africa and they say that only carts bought in sub-saharan Africa will work in a printer purchased in South Africa. The mfr # of the South African printer is C11CB35311. But it seems that the identical printer (C11CB35311) is sold in Europe alongside the C11CB35301. If 2 different models are sold in Europe, surely the available inks must work in both? It's all a bit confusing.

 

[mikling]

They are dissuading the importation of grey marketed cartridges or the Epson rep does not know and took the safe route and just stood by the Epson guidelines.

Let us assume for a moment that they are in fact region locked yet carry the same numbers and are made in the same factory. How would Epson in African know the difference between one that come from away and a local one. Now suppose an importer brings these grey marketed ones into Africa and they are sold into retail channels. Now let us assume they don't work. I think Epson would be in for a lot of trouble. "I just bought a genuine Epson cartridge with the correct number and it doesn't work"

The fact is that the model number of the printer is sometimes similar. However the regional differences will be clearly shown in the cartridge model number Txxx that is used with the printer. These are always listed on the underside of the cover or lid or by reading the owner's manual.

This is the only logical and "manageable" way to separate markets. Doing it under cloaking would be inviting issues with support calls and expense to Epson.

 

[bobhof]

Hi mikling, thanks for your response. While the ink code (Txxx) numbers are the same, the SKUs differ. Eg T159120 versus C13T15914010. As do the product numbers of the otherwise identical printers. I'm unsure whether this is so Epson can identify grey imports, or if the chips actually differ. But, assuming they do differ, Epson could just point out the fact that the full SKU numbers are quoted on their website and that these don't match. I've ordered some OEM cartridges from the US and will test them when they arrive. If they don't work, I will purchase a set of refillable cartridges and syringe the ink out of the OEM carts. Once I've finished the OEM ink I will buy some bulk non-OEM to fill the carts. It seems like an unnecessary hassle, and in the end, it will result in Epson losing money because I will move to non-OEM ink.

BTW, I also emailed a local supplier of refillable carts and Image Specialists ink with this question. His response: "Normally each region uses a different coded chip on the exactly the same cartridge.As this is the case, even the refillable cartridges are coded for a specific region only."

 

[bobhof]

Hi Mikling. You were right. I ordered some OEM cartridges off ebay in the US and they work just fine. They are cartridges taken from a new printer and they are indistinguishable from the ones that came with my new South African printer. They don't have an SKU on them. I'm not 100% sure about replacement cartridges, but I assume they will work as well. Thanks for your help.