Epson
Printers · Last assessed 6/9/2026
Score breakdown
Why this grade
Epson is bifurcated. Its cartridge models are widely documented to receive firmware updates that block third-party/remanufactured cartridges, requiring firmware downgrades to restore them. Separately, Epson printers enforce a 'waste ink pad / end of service life' counter that shuts the printer down based on a page-count estimate — a recognized planned-obsolescence concern — though Epson does provide an official one-time Maintenance/Ink Pad Reset utility. Offsetting this, Epson's cartridge-free EcoTank supertank line (the best-selling supertank line, 100M+ sold) eliminates cartridge DRM entirely and slashes ink cost (refill bottles ~equivalent to 80 cartridges, up to ~$1,000 savings), the strongest pricing story of the four. Epson also publishes official service manual PDFs on its support site, giving it relatively better schematic access. Still a category-wide F due to cartridge-model firmware blocking and the waste-pad brick.
Methodology & version
Five dimensions — parts availability, schematic access, repairability, OEM pricing, and software freedom — are scored 0–100 and weighted equally; the letter grade is the average (A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60). This assessment is current as of 6/9/2026 and cites its sources below. It covers the Printers category and is not a claim about every device the maker ships.