INSTALL ONLY ONE CARTRIDGE AT A TIME:
This rule applies to all Epson chipped cartridges. Installing one cartridge at a time means loading the printer with a single cartridge and either closing the lid or pressing the cartridge load button to send the cartridge caddy back to the start / resting / ready position. This gives the printer driver an opportunity to interrogate the new chip and identify it without any other message interference. If a second cartridge needs to be installed, the cartridge caddy can be brought back to the load position by pressing the ink out button.

• CARTRIDGE/CHIP CANCELLATION:
  When a compatible cartridge is installed, the printer driver generates a splash screen on your monitor in an attempt to "scare" you into using only original brand cartridges. This scare message has proven to be successful in tricking some customers into buying original Epson cartridges. Disregard this message and select the option to use the new cartridge. The default button on this splash screen is "CANCEL". If you click on the button, or hit enter/return on the keyboard, the printer driver will send a "KILL" instruction to the catridge chip so that it cannot be read/recognised by the printer, thereby effectively rendering the cartridge useless... DO NOT DO THIS, DO NOT CANCEL!



• CARTRIDGE/CHIP RECOGNITION FAILURE:
  Often when a cartridge/chip can not be read/recognised by the printer, the printer driver may not be capable of distinguishing which specific cartridge is at fault, and needs to be replaced. It is not uncommon to see all 4 or all 6 cartridges in the printer set, showing a red "X" over them in the ink level indicator even though it may only one cartridge/chip that is faulty.
  
  You may also receive a message that certain catridges may not be present/cannot be recognised. Once again, it may only be just one faulty cartridge/chip, that is causing the printer driver to generate false positives. For example on an EPSON R210 & R230 printer, the BLACK cartridge/chip controls the behaviour of the other 5 colours in the cartridge set. A faulty BLACK cartridge/chip may cause other cartridges in the set to fail the recognition test. To confuse the issue, if you switch the printer off and then on again, you may find that the cartridges which have passed/failed the recognition test, have now changed.
  
  To avoid this often frustrating problem, just install one cartridge at a time, and you will immediately know which cartridge/chip has failed to read... it will obviously be the last one that you installed.
  
  A further point to note, is that it is quite easy to damage the printer cartridge/chip if care is not taken when handling the cartridge on installation. Touching or putting your fingers on, or near the cartridge chip may generate sufficient static electricity to destroy the fine circuit. Inserting the cartridge at the wrong angle, in the wrong slot, or merely being too forceful may cause physical damage to the cartridge/chip, or to the plastic clip that holds the cartridge firmly in place, ensuring proper continuous contact between the chip and the printer's copper cartridge chip contact points. The cartridge should snap/click smoothly into place. If it does not, then make certain that it is the correct cartridge for your printer, that you are inserting it correctly and in its proper slot, and that the printer's copper cartridge chip contact points have not been bent or broken.

ONLY INSTALL WHAT THE PRINTER IS ASKING FOR:
If the printer asks for a Black cartridge, then just install that cartridge. Don't install a Yellow, Magenta and/or Cyan along with the Black cartridge, just because you think one or more other cartridges may be low. The printer driver is expecting the Black cartridge only, and as a consequence, an inherint bug in the printer driver can sometimes cancel out one of the installed cartridges. In any event, replacing a printer cartridge before it is empty is the same as throwing money in the bin... You should continue to use the printer until it tells you to change the cartridge(s).

REPLACE EMPTY CARTRIDGES AS SOON AS THEY RUN OUT:
If you leave empty cartridges in your printer or remove a cartridge without replacing it with a new one immediately you run the risk of the ink left over from the last print job drying on the printhead. This blocks the ink from the next installed cartridge from flowing through to the paper, and may also result in permanent physical damage to the printhead.

WHEN DID YOU PURCHASE THE PRINTER... T0731, T0751 & TO811/821 SERIES CARTRIDGES:
Epson have been changing the pin configuration and firmware on printers that utilise the above cartridge sets on a regular basis. One model No. may have up to four different versions of the chip/firmware. The obvious aim is to frustrate resellers/customers into only selling/purchasing Epson original cartridges. Manufacturers of Epson after-market/compatible inkjet printer cartridges, can therefore only guarantee that their cartridges will be recognised and therefore work satisfactorily with Epson printers that have a manufacture date at or prior to the manufacture date of the current version of the compatible chip used in their after-market cartridges. However, unfortunately there is no certainty that they will, as this is not a hard and fast rule. You should therefore purchase and try just one cartridge to see if it will recognise, prior to investing in a complete set.