Do ink cartridges expire? I understand that they expire after a year or so, once installed in your printer; but do they ever expire if left in the package? Thanks!

Question

JOANN2104 · Accepted Answer

No they will not expire that soon if you don't open them. I used a pack of ink 5 years after the expiration date; I lose the ink pack during a move and the ink was just as if it have been recently purchased. The seal does a great job protecting the ink. Always keep your ink in a cool safe place out of direct heat. I always keep extra ink stored and I frequently use ink after the expiration date without a problem. I no longer look at expiration dates.

Answered by JOANN2104 11 years ago

PJMP · Answer

I have had some sealed in the package that were still good after several years.

TxinOregon · Answer

I find that its best to use them by 6 months of purchase.

Iam1 · Answer

On the box it has an expiration date. It doesn't matter if you install it in the printer or not because the box has an expiration date on it so I would check that, and you could always call Epson just to be sure. They are friendly.

Answered by Iam1 9 years ago

Angie · Answer

There is no expiration date on the packaging, so I believe the ink (unopened) does not expire.

CW6556 · Answer

From what I understand the answer is no, there is no expiration date. However, I have found a few over time (years) may not discharge correctly from the casing.

harvey54 · Answer

I'm not really sure, but I have had ink cartridges for more than a year at times and they have always worked for me. Once you remove the ink seal on a cartridge and install it into your printer, you need to run the maintence program on your printer every 2 or 3 months to clean the ink nozzels, otherwise, the ink will dry up on the nozzels which keeps the ink from coming out as it should to print properly. Hope that helps.

Answered by harvey54 10 years ago

fred64 · Answer

i always keep a spare set on hand, and since I don't print much, its sometimes a year or more before I use one. I keep them in their sealed plastic wrapper and have never had a problem. In fact, I have had some carts installed in the printer for longer than a year and they still work just fine and I may go 6-7 weeks without printing! These Epson 69 carts and ink work great in those circumstances. I was never able to do that with other printers -- they would dry out sitting in the printer -- especially an old Lexmark I had, where carts would dry out in a matter or 6-7 weeks with no printing.

Answered by fred64 10 years ago

I was never able to do that with other printers -- they would dry out sitting in the printer -- especially an old Lexmark I had, where carts would dry out in a matter or 6-7 weeks with no printing.

MaveR · Answer

There is a best before date on the bottom of the package. The printer utility has a status monitor that will give you the production date for each cartridge. From my experience, it seems that there is a 3 year span from production to its best before date. Also, I'm not certain that they expire after a year or so because my printer is still able to use ink tanks that were produced in January and February of 2012, they are low in level but they still work.

Answered by MaveR 11 years ago

char7484 · Answer

Yes, they do expire in the package, but kept cool & dry, will last a long time.

FormerRadioShackDude · Answer

There shouldn't be a problem. The cartridges are individually packaged in air tight bags.

Emanouel · Answer

Not if you don't open and expose to air. If seals are broken it will eventually go bad if not using the printer for a year or so.

“Do ink cartridges expire? I understand that they expire after a year or so, once installed in your printer; but do they ever expire if left in the package? Thanks!”

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