Can printer ink go bad?

[Macnerd]

I have a Brother MFC-J885DW that I bought at Best Buy in November 2015. A few months ago, the printer couldn't recognize 2 printer cartridges. That's probably because I used non-Brother ink cartridges. Now, I'm paying the price. I need a new printer. Henceforth & forevermore, I will use only OEM ink cartridges not "compatible" ink cartridges.

I'm considering either the MFC-J895DW or the MFC-J995DW. The "995" is only $70 more at Best Buy. The "995" is really meant for people that have a lot to print. One would spend less on ink cartridges if one has a "995" instead of a non super-tank printer.

I've spent hours on Google & YouTube researching the different brands of inkjet printers. I want to get an all-in-one. I considered getting a color laser all-in-one but the printers are heavy & the consumables are expensive.

I read online about the super-tank printers & that intrigued me.

I believe that Brother guarantees their printer ink for 3 years from date of manufacture or is that "best if used by..."?

The manufacturer claims that a cartridge will print 200 - 300 pages. I read online that it actually means 5% coverage. Some of that ink is used to clean the print-heads. So, obviously, a full ink cartridge will print less than 200-300 pages.

Brother does sell standard & high-capacity cartridges.

Weeks can go by without me printing anything. I'm still considering the MFC-J995DW, which is supposed to have enough ink to last for 3 years. My fear is that the ink will go bad during the 3 years.

What are the signs that the ink is going bad?

 

[Mervinlee1235]

I am not sure, should I explain something regarding your issue. I have used Lexmark (sorry, I have forgotten the model as it was 5 years ago), HP Deskjet 1000 printer J110a also canon pixma mg2410. As far I experienced, once for about six months I had not made any print from my hp printer and when I tried to print, it was blurred print and noticed that the ink somehow got dried up. May be for not using long time, or for rough weather or getting touched with unexpected dust. Again, sometimes without any reason, the I got my print in a vertical line like bar code or in deep spreading shape and after cleaning with soft tissue I got it clear again. When the ink was about to run out the print came out with blurred text.
So it seems to me, it may not work properly if it is kept useless for long.
Some printing brand also does not work with non branded cartridge, it's true.
The number of printing pages depend on perhaps how or what types of print work you do like if you used only for text print, it obviously be able to print much number of papers but if you print only image file then the number of print will be reduced than expected.
Thanks for sharing your problem.

 

[Macnerd]

Thank you for the quick reply.

Over the years, I've had Lexmark, Xerox, Canon & Brother printers.

I've wondered about getting a Brother business-class inkjet printer. They are bigger than the home printers & heavier & more expensive.

Business-class printers would hold more paper. They'd be more reliable - less likely to have paper jams & clogged print-heads.

I wonder how Brother business-class printers compare to the Brother InkVestment printers.

 

[VA1DER]

With respect to page yields, Brother doesn't use the 5% coverage method. They use the ISO 24711 standard. It is a pretty resasonable sample of pages that mimic real-world usage cases pretty closely. When they give you page yields, you can usually trust them pretty well. Incidentally, their speed testing is also done in accordance with similar ISO standards with pages that have real-world coverages on them.

I personally own the similar MFC-J6945DW printer, which is also an Inkvestment printer, and I love it. It is hands down the best printer I've ever owned, and I am a bit of a printer aficionado. I do a lot of printing, but it tends to be in batches with very long periods in between. I have never had any issues with ink clogging with this printer - I have only had to do a head cleaning once. This is significantly better than any other inkjet printer I have ever had. I can't say exactly how much ink gets run through the printer during its own routine, but my sense is very little. I never see my remaining page counts or ink percentage drop even after long periods of disuse.

The signs of ink going bad are frequent clogs. Ink consists of pigments or dyes (pigment for Brother) in a liquid solvent. As inks sit the solvent tends to evaporate slowly, which makes the ink viscous and clogs the heads frequently. I've only had my printer about a year and a half now, so not the three years you are contemplating. But I have replaced the colour cartridges, so the black is still original. There is no sign my printer is clogging - I think the seals in Brothers are pretty good.

I wrote a detailed review of my printer. Some of it doesn't apply to the 995 you are considering, but it does speak to brother's philosophy in general. And if you can afford the space and difference in price, the 6945 is a great buy too.