Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Epson should give the printer away to sell more of the replacement ink cartridges. We purchased the Expressions XP-440 for $50 largely because of its small footprint which was compatible with the limited printer space in our built in desk area. Our 5+ year old XP-400 (same size and features as the XP-440) started skipping and blurring print lines and required replacement. The old XP-400 went through the ink cartridges just as quickly as our new XP-440; however, we could purchase 10 re-manufactured compatible Epson ink cartridges for $7 to $11. By comparison (on Amazon), Epson standard XP-440 cartridges (1 black & 3 color) are listed at $34.70 and the same 4 Epson cartridges in the high capacity version are $58.99! Needless to say, we were shocked after 5 weeks when our black ink ran out (and the color cartridges were also all below 50%) and we started our search for replacement Epson XP-440 ink cartridges. We only print 200 to 300 pages a month, but we could end up paying 4 to 5 times what the XP-440 cost for annual ink cartridge replacement even if we purchase the slightly cheaper third party re-manufactured ink cartridges. This printer would work best for someone who doesn't print more than a couple of pages a week. UPDATE - 9 months later. Although still more expensive than our re-manufactured XP 400 ink cartridges, we have been using LD ink cartridges - until recently. We installed an EPSON firmware update in April. Subsequently, some new LD ink cartridges were rejected when they were installed. Our only Epson OEM cartridge did work (used to replace the rejected LD black ink cartridge.) What's especially bad is we can't print just black and white because the printer is locked up on "does not recognize our LD cyan ink cartridge." We ended up chucking the EPSON 440 out of frustration and bought a HP 3755 printer. It works fine with cheaper ink costs than the EPSON OEM costs. Clearly, the real money is in the ink cartridges and EPSON wants to protect the profitable sale of EPSON OEM ink cartridges