Matching an Epson cartridge number to your exact printer model

For an Expression Home XP-440, the number is 288. It comes in two sizes, 288 (standard capacity) and 288XL (high capacity), and Epson lists both for the XP-440. Neither 202 nor 212 is on Epson's list for the XP-440. Epson's own ink page for the XP-440 lists only 288 and 288XL cartridges and packs. The single cartridges are:

• Standard: T288120-S black, T288220-S cyan, T288320-S magenta, T288420-S yellow.
• High capacity: T288XL120-S black, T288XL220-S cyan, T288XL320-S magenta, T288XL420-S yellow.

Epson lists the same 288 and 288XL cartridges for five other printers: the Expression Home XP-330, XP-340, XP-430, XP-434 and XP-446. The part-number table in Epson's XP-440/XP-446 user's guide gives the same pairing: 288 for standard capacity and 288XL for high capacity, in all four colors.

Each row below comes from that cartridge's own product page on Epson's US site. If your model is not in a row, Epson does not list that number for it. The 202 and 212 are here too: Epson lists the 202 for the XP-5100 and WF-2860, and the 212 for the XP-4100, XP-4105, WF-2830 and WF-2850.

For 222 and 232, the user's guides for the XP-5200 and the XP-4200/XP-4205 list a high-capacity part for black and a dash for cyan, magenta and yellow. Epson's XL packs for those printers, T222XL-BCS and T232XL-BCS, pair an XL black with standard-capacity colors. A listing for a 222XL or 232XL color cartridge is not describing a part those guides list.

One mismatch on Epson's own site: the single 222XL black page (T222XL120-S) names only the WF-2960. The XP-5200 user's guide lists 222XL black for the XP-5200, and the XP-5200's ink page lists 222XL black only inside the T222XL-BCS pack. So for an XP-5200 owner who wants the XL black, T222XL-BCS is the product Epson's XP-5200 ink page lists.

On Epson's US site, the codes start with T and the family number, then XL for the high-capacity version. For the seven numbers on this page, the next digit in every single-cartridge code is the color: 1 black, 2 cyan, 3 magenta, 4 yellow. So T288XL320-S is the 288XL magenta. The standard cyan, magenta and yellow three-packs use 5 instead: T288520-S, T222520-S and T232520-S.

Not every Epson number uses the digits this way. In the 410XL family, T410XL020-S is the black cartridge and T410XL120-S is photo black. For any number, go by the color name Epson gives for the code, not the digit.

The three user's guides cited here print the numbers without the T and the -S. The XP-5200 guide gives 222120 and 222XL120 for black, and the XP-4200/XP-4205 guide gives 232XL120. The XP-440 guide lists just 288 and 288XL beside each color name, with no color digit at all. To match a listing's full code, compare it with Epson's ink page for your printer.

For the XP-440, Epson's ink page also lists T288120-BCS (four standard cartridges), T288120-D2 (two standard blacks), T288520-S (standard cyan, magenta and yellow) and T288XL-BCS (an XL black with standard cyan, magenta and yellow). Epson's Ink Finder takes either a printer model or an ink code; its search box gives WorkForce Pro WF-4740, 802 and T802120 as examples.

Both fit the XP-440. What differs is capacity. Epson's XP-440 specifications declare these yields, from ISO/IEC 24711 tests printing continuously:

• 288: 175 pages black, 165 pages for each color.
• 288XL: 500 pages black, 450 pages for each color.

Of the two, 288XL carries the higher declared yield. The XP-440 holds four individual cartridges, and its guide has you replace whichever one the screen names, so you can choose the size color by color. Epson's own T288XL-BCS pack puts an XL black beside standard colors. All four have to be installed for the printer to print.

Two Epson notes bear on the choice. The XP-440 guide asks you to use a cartridge within six months of installing it, and the specification footnote says yields may be lower when you print infrequently. At the declared yields, finishing a black cartridge within six months works out to about 29 pages a month for the 288 (175 ÷ 6) and about 83 for the 288XL (500 ÷ 6). For each color cartridge it works out to about 28 pages a month for the 288 and 75 for the 288XL. If you print fewer pages than that, six months pass before you print the declared page count; buying for a few pages a month covers that pattern. Whether the XL works out cheaper per page is a division with today's prices, and cost per page walks through it.

• One digit apart, different cartridge. On Epson's lists the XP-420 takes 220 but the XP-430 takes 288. The XP-320 takes 220 but the XP-330 takes 288. The XP-4100 takes 212 but the XP-4200 takes 232. The XP-5100 takes 202 but the XP-5200 takes 222.
• Close WorkForce model numbers do not mean the same cartridge. The WF-2630 through WF-2970 in the table span five numbers: 220 (WF-2630, WF-2650, WF-2660, WF-2750, WF-2760), 212 (WF-2830, WF-2850), 202 (WF-2860), 222 (WF-2960) and 232 (WF-2930, WF-2950, WF-2970).
• The series name does not tell you the printer takes cartridges. Epson's 502 ink bottle page lists the Expression ET-2750, the WorkForce ET-4750 and the WorkForce ST-2000, and Epson describes EcoTank models such as the ET-2800 as cartridge-free. Every printer on the cartridge lists above has an XP-, WF- or EC- model number; every printer on the 502 bottle list has ET- or ST-. If yours is an ET- or ST- model, go to Epson EcoTank ink bottles instead.
• A listing title that names your printer is the seller's claim. The list that counts is the one on Epson's page for the cartridge, or Epson's ink page for your printer.
• Epson says the XP-440 is designed for Epson cartridges only. Its guide adds that other brands are not compatible and may not work properly, even if they are described as compatible.

1. Read the full model number from the printer: the letters and every digit, such as XP-440 or WF-2860. The series name alone, Expression Home or WorkForce, is not enough.
2. Open Epson's ink page for that model. For the XP-440 it lists all eight 288 and 288XL cartridges and four packs. For any other model, type the model number into Epson's Ink Finder.
3. Or open the model's user's guide at its part-numbers section. In the XP-440/XP-446 User's Guide that is Ink Cartridge Part Numbers, which starts on page 164, with the table on page 165. The XP-5200 and XP-4200/XP-4205 guides call it Ink Cartridge and Maintenance Box Part Numbers. To get a guide, search for your model at epson.com/support; on the XP-440's support page, the User's Guide is under Manuals and Warranty.
4. In the listing, check three things against Epson's ink page: the family number, whether XL follows it, and the color name Epson gives for that code.

The printer lists on this page come from Epson's US site. For the same check on any brand, see confirming the right cartridge for the printer you already have.