Epson 405 / 405XL Compatible Ink: What to Stock for the WorkForce Pro WF-3920 & WF-4920 Fleet

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3920, WF-3925, WF-4920, WF-4925 and WF-4930 all take the same cartridge family: Epson 405 in standard yield and Epson 405XL in high yield, across black, cyan, magenta and yellow. That is eight SKUs covering five printers — an unusually tidy range for a business inkjet line, and the reason it is worth listing properly.

These are small-office machines: the WF-4920 prints at 25 ppm at up to 4,800 × 1,200 dpi, with a monthly duty load of around 1,600 pages. Owners buy in ones and twos, but they buy often — which is exactly the pattern that rewards a distributor holding stock rather than ordering per sale.

Two yields on the same printer: 450 vs 1,200 pages

Our rated yields match the original Epson figures on every colour. There is no shrink here — if a supplier quotes you less, that is a different cartridge, not a discount.

The XL carries roughly 2.7× the pages of the standard cartridge, in every colour. On a machine rated for 1,600 pages a month, a standard 405 black is a two-to-three-week cartridge; the 405XL is a two-month one. That is the argument you make to an end customer, and it is also the reason the XL should be the deeper line in your own stock.

The chip is the whole game

Business inkjet buyers have been trained by bad experiences: a cartridge that installs, prints, and then refuses to report how much ink is left. Every 405 and 405XL we ship carries a built-in smart chip, so the printer shows a real ink level from first page to last.

• Accurate ink-level display — no guesswork, no "unknown remaining" states.
• No chip swapping or resetters — the cartridge is ready to install out of the box.
• Fast-drying ink — text and colour can be handled straight off the tray, which matters on invoices and quotes that go out the same day.
• Batch-tested before shipment — output quality equivalent to the originals.

Request a quote for Epson 405XL →

Two builds: standard compatible, and patented-design first-to-market

We run the 405 range in two lines, and picking between them is a commercial decision rather than a technical one.

1. Standard compatible — the volume line. Same chip, same yields, built on our Zhuhai & Zhongshan partner-factory network. This is what you want for price-led channels and tender business.
2. Patented-design build — our own design, aimed at distributors who want to be first into a market and stay there. If your channel competes on being early rather than being cheapest, this is the line to lead with.

Both are available for OEM/ODM and private-label packaging, with model-specific labelling and batch-level traceability.

What to check before you buy 405 compatible

1. Chip behaviour, not just chip presence. Ask for the cartridge to be demonstrated through a full low-ink cycle, not just installed once.
2. Yield on all four colours. Some suppliers hold the yield on black and quietly shrink cyan, magenta and yellow — ours are rated 450 / 1,200 across the board.
3. Fitment list in writing. WF-3920, 3925, 4920, 4925 and 4930. If a supplier also claims other models, make them prove it.
4. Drying time on plain paper. Fast-drying ink is the difference between a happy small-office customer and a smudged stack of invoices.

Where to start

If you are evaluating the 405 range for a Europe channel, the fastest path is a free sample from the same line that would produce your volume order. Sample units are free — you cover the courier — and quotes come back within 24 hours.

View the 405 / 405XL seriesRequest free samplesChat on WhatsApp

Also read: Epson 405 patented-design series · Epson 406 vs 842 vs 815 — which WorkForce Pro ink · This month's new arrivals · OEM & trade terms