EPSON Printer Difficulty

I'm having issues with my EPSON CX6000.

I'd tell it to print "Black Only" and it forces me to replace a yellow cartridge. Note also, that magenta and blue are at full capacity according to its sensors.

After replacing the yellow, it allows me to print... however, blue is now at half capacity, magenta lost a quarter, and yellow is down a little ALREADY! I just installed the cartridge, had the printer only print out black ink (for a text document), and the yellow is already being used up apparently.

This P.O.S printer is getting on my nerves! Can anyone explain what is happening?

Better yet, can someone also point me to a reliable brand of printer that doesn't guzzle ink needlessly?

Thank you loads!