Epson Stylus CX4600 Photo Printer, Copier, Scanner

Why am I here?
Because all I needed to do was make 2 scans to include in a shipping document.
This is supposed to be a stand alone scanner where the computer isn't needed.
Well, the output of the copy is by far the worst thing I have ever seen.
Almost a slight image of words if black is selected.
Streaked with red if color is tried.
This printer was included with purchase of Apple laptop.
I just unboxed it month ago. Thanks Apple!

I'll update any changes discovered, otherwise I'm setting it out on the street.
I have a 5 year old Canon i9900 that is flawless, but no scan feature.

do NOT buy this printer. everything in the reviews posted here prove correct. the ink on my printer completely ran out after very little time. i, too, tried to replace only the black but was forced to buy the color cartridges (even though i had BARELY used them at all.) After replacing all of them, STILL NOTHING. just wouldn't work or register the new cartridges. what a total piece of CRAP!!! never EVER buy epson.

When new this product was nice. It was a good scanner and the print output looked good. However, if I don't print for a week the print heads need cleaning, and sometimes more than once. This cleaning in turn uses up the ink. For me I print about one thing a week, clean it once a week which causes my ink to run out in about 8 weeks. On top of this the cartridges are hugely expensive. I estimate I am paying somewhere around ten dollars a page! Obviously this printer is useless for my needs.

I had a CX4600 before I was sent a CX4800, which was fortunately covered and replaced under warranty due to the clogging issue many people have covered. I like the print quality of Epson printers, but unfortunately that's overshadowed by poor printer design.

That said, the trick with these printers is twofold:

1. TURN THE PRINTER OFF when you're not using it. Don't leave it on for extended periods of time.
2. You MUST print a few pages and/or run a cleaning cycle at least once a month, if not more, to keep the ink from drying up in the waste ink hoses, which is the source of the worst clogs.

It's a bit involved to repair yourself, but it can be done. Do a Google search for "inkjetprinterhelp" and you'll find a web site that has some comprehensive instruction on how to fix your CX4600.

Shame on Epson for producing such a poor quality printer design.

The short version of this is that I have bought quite a few Epson printers for personal use as well as for my company. Typically, they work well for a little while and then start having issues with heads clogging. I have just installed brand new ink cartridges (All four) and the printer still thinks it is out of ink. These four replaced four other brand new cartridges that the printer also thought was out of ink. The cost of printing on this unit has run me about $20 per page during the time I have had it. That doesn't account of my time to get ink and missing important deadlines due to the problems.

If this was the only Epson unit I had ever had this problem with, I suppose I wouldn't be so adamant, however I have had this type of trouble with several of them. One of my employees is recommending Hewlett Packard over Epson because of their consistent good, dependable performance.

As I write this, I am installing an HP on my computer to get rid of the Epson. I will never buy an EPSON product again.