I have an Epson SX405 printer which gives great print quality but at a price.
I buy my ink ,always genuine epson ink from ebay as they are the cheapest.
But I am beginning to think they are cheap because of a reason .
I am going through an awful lot of ink this month and yes I am busy but feel the ink doesnt last very long. I can buy individual inks which helps a little but I am wondering if I should change my printer or my ink supplier.
The ink I buy is always sealed but wondering if they are as full as they should be
anybody else have same problem? It 's putting me off buying prints to down load for my decoupage cards
Reminds me of a quote from an Oatmeal comic … “Either printer ink is made from unicorn blood or we’re all getting screwed.”
'bout sums it up really! 
My personal preference is a continuous ink system. My system uses 125ml bottles of very nice pigment based inks that cost £28 a bottle … versus the Epson cartridges which are about £11 for 11ml of ink.
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We had to buy some new ink cartrideges a while ago for our Samsung laser printer. The origionals were very costly so we went for a cheaper option on ebay and what a mistake we made. All the connections were out of line with the printer, so we had to swap all the contacts off the old cartridges and fit them on the new ones. We had 4 to do, what a farse. Its now showing that we need to replace them again, but I don’t think we’ll go down that route again.
I normally buy my epson inks online from Just Ink & Paper, and they are always fine. Recently I found a shop on ebay that was a little cheaper (but not much) and bought some from there but, like you, found they seemed to run out quite quickly. They looked genuine, all sealed and boxed, exactly as they should be, but I can’t help wondering. So I’ve gone back to Just Ink & Paper again.
I use Just Ink & Paper, too, for my HP cartridges and they are always fine.
I quite llike the sound of the continuous ink sytem Did you install it yourself?
Yes, well my other half did! It’s from this company http://www.permajet.com/Products/PermaJet-Eco-Flo-CIS-Systems
It might require some small modifications to your printer to fit it but as I recall the installation on mine was pretty simple. I’ve been using the system on an Epson R2880 for about 4 or 5 years now with no issues. Occasionally the chip block (the thing that fools the printer into thinking it has full cartridges in it) needs resetting but that’s about it. The outlay was a bit pricey (although about half of that is ink cost), but as I do a lot of printing, it has turned out to be a worthwhile investment.
We went with the Perma Jet CIS because they provide special clamps for the ink tubes to stop ink leaking onto the print head or air getting into the tubes when the printer isn’t being used and some of the cheaper systems didn’t have those. Plus the Perma Jet ink is top quality, I think it actually looks better than the standard Epson inks.
It costs me fortune to keep me in ink! I’ve just bought ASDA’s own refill your own cartridges kit. I was sceptical but it worked! And at less than £5 for a set that should re-fill many times 
thanks beledien I had a look at the perma jet system but my printer isnt listed so I have found ink express which has a suitable system but I have emailed them because I think I would like a pigment based ink as worried about fading as many of my customers like to frame my cards. All my profit is disappearing into ink!
I’m sure it will save you loads in the long run! 
Printing ink is more expensive than gold, weight for weight. You take a risk using non-original-manufacturer inks, but some are fine. I have 4 printers, two being Hewlett Packard ( 6 - colour printers). I had no problems with testing compatible inks from my local shop and no visible difference, but the printed finished items are unlikely to last as long without fading, as the HP.
So be very cautious.
I found a great deal locally, on HP inks, which work out price-comparable to the imitation ones, due to the generous money back, on trading-in used cartridges.
I have an Epson 3880 ( A2 )printer, which is the best printer I ever had. The ink volume is massive, and avoids me the need for the Permajet Bottle system, which I considered. A set of 9 inks is however, over £400 , but I have found a much cheaper Epson-ink source, and the inks go on for ages.
I use paper from Epson, Permajet and Fotospeed. All quality printing papers, particularly like the lustre, and pearl- finish Fotospeed and Permajet.
I too have an Epson and have been buying inks from http://www.cartridgeshop.co.uk/
for many years. They are fast, inexpensive and quality. If I have had an issue with a cartridge, they just send a replacement with no quibbles or return. The quality of ink is comparable to the OEM brand and lasts much longer.
Hope this helps,
Leslie