Expired inks OK? Epson 9800 K3 inkset

[Pacific Image Works]

I purchased an Epson 9800 in very good shape. It came with a nearly complete set of Ultrachrome K3 inks with a "Use By Date" of almost 1 year ago. The inks have been stored at room temperature. The financial saving if I can use this ink is obvious. If this ink will hurt the printer, then I will end up spending much much more.
What are your opinions about using this ink?
Does anyone have any actual experience using ink that is a year out of date?
How conservative are the Epson "use by" dates? They are, after all, in the business of selling ink.

thanks

craig_c

[52days]

It's a tough question. Of course to be 100% safe you should use fresh ink.

I have used an out of date ink set with no problems in my 9800. I don't recall having more frequently head clogs. If it could damage the printer I would expect epson had made the printer refuse out of date ink via the internal clock on the printer and the chip in the cartridge.

Shake the cartridge well before installing.

[Richard S]

I used expired inks on an Epson R1800 that were approaching a year out of date.  I didn't experience any problems but I did see a difference in a color cast I hadn't seen before.  I re-profiled the printer and was back on the money again.

I was told by a reputable source that Epson now has their inks manufactured in China, and since then the consistency isn’t what it was.  Possibly the expired ink wasn’t the problem, and that re-profiling is necessary when ever you swap out a cartridge.