Epson anti-competitive behavior

[General 711]

I spent a princely sum on a WF-4740. Once the short life original ink cartridges went dry, I started to research replacement cartridges. It was early in the life of the 4740 and genuine Epson cartridges were both expensive and hard to find. A new set of high-cap cartridges is still about $125. I have been able to locate good quality aftermarket cartridges for about $40. And I have been absolutely pleased with the quality of the cartridges. This worked just fine until yesterday, when Epson urged a firmware update. Once the update was installed, the printer will no longer operate; it cannot "recognize" the cartridges. A chat with Epson support left me seething! Their only answer is basically "buy our ink cartridges."
This is classic anticompetitive behavior. Remember when AT&T would only let you use one of their telephones? I intend to call this to the antitrust division of the U S Department of Justice. I further intend to look into a class action lawsuit.
If you are considering an Epson printer, I implore you to look elsewhere.

 

[ruffin]

Many of the printer manufacturers now preclude utilization of non OEM ink cartridges.

 

[spiritdragon]

I'm ready to throw out my printer bc I can't use my third party cartridges. Absolutely ridiculous that you spend all the money on a printer and then they demand more and more by preventing the use of third party.