thoughts on printing inks.

[Dave Wilkinson]

My Epson printer ( not an expensive model ) takes six cartridges, and seems to use them fairly rapidly. All six are a total cost of around £60 - £70 for the genuine Epson replacements, which I have used over 4/5 years. Recently at a local street market - a guy selling computer related stuff, had the set of six inks ( third party ) for my model, at slightly less cost than one - from Epson!. Amazed, and of course sceptical - I chanced buying a set, figuring that it was not much to lose, if they were no good!.
So far, I have made a dozen or so prints, and can not tell any difference to the OE cartridges!, but - of course, time will tell regarding permanence, colour shifts, etc.. So what do you think to 3rd. party inks or refills? - o.k.? or would not touch them with the proverbial pole? - it's certainly tempting, given the cost of these things!.
Dave.

 

[ron1945]

printer ink question.

printer ink question.

i use an epson again like you not an expensive one,i have no trouble with refills after a year of useing them.i buy from refill man on ebay he is worth a look hope this helps you.his price is reasonable regards ron

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I use the MIS U14 black and white inkset for my Epson 1400 and the prints look great. I haven't had a clog, either, even with months between prints. (Stay tuned, I'm printing today...we'll see how it goes!)

EDIT: I spoke too soon! Got a clog, but it righted itself without my having to clean the nozzles. Lesson: print more.

 

[Bob Michaels]

<snip>So what do you think to 3rd. party inks or refills? - o.k.? or would not touch them with the proverbial pole? - <snip>

"third party inks" fit into the same qualification as "used cars". There are some very very good ones, and there are some that are disasters. I have had both.

I am convinced the inks from MIS Associates are at least as good as the ink from Epson. In some cases, it is better. I suspect the same is true for Jon Cone's inks although I have not used them for years.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

High end inks like Jon Cones are good and won't fade, but cheap refills are something I wold not risk. Epson ink is disgustingly priced but its still not expensive compared to what I spend for film in a year or what I spend on gas for my car to drive to places I photograph.

 

[chris000]

Epson ink is disgustingly priced but its still not expensive compared to what I spend for film in a year or what I spend on gas for my car to drive to places I photograph.

A fair point, but having spent all that money on film and (in my case) diesel saving on ink would be good. My Epson is still under guarantee so I won't risk it until that runs out - does anyone in the UK make inks for a 2880?

 

[Bob Michaels]

<snip> My Epson is still under guarantee so I won't risk it until that runs out - does anyone in the UK make inks for a 2880?

Chris, I cannot speak for the EU but I know in the US that a manufacturer cannot void the product warranty because of someone using 3rd party consumables unless they can demonstrate that the 3rd party consumables were the direct cause of failure. In direct terms, 3rd party inks will not void the Epson factory warranty.

Sorry, I do not know what 3rd party inks are available in the UK. Excellent 2880 inks are available here in the US from MIS Associates www.inksupply.com

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A fair point, but having spent all that money on film and (in my case) diesel saving on ink would be good. My Epson is still under guarantee so I won't risk it until that runs out - does anyone in the UK make inks for a 2880?

Inks are the LAST place you want to save money...they make YOUR FINAL IMAGE. If it fades, you're screwed, especially if you gave someone or, worse, sold someone a print.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris, I cannot speak for the EU but I know in the US that a manufacturer cannot void the product warranty because of someone using 3rd party consumables unless they can demonstrate that the 3rd party consumables were the direct cause of failure. In direct terms, 3rd party inks will not void the Epson factory warranty.

Sorry, I do not know what 3rd party inks are available in the UK. Excellent 2880 inks are available here in the US from MIS Associates www.inksupply.com

Bob, That's not the risk I was talking about. I haven't heard of anyone's printer damaged by inks, and like you said they can't void your warranty for it. I'm thinking more of fading from poor quality inks.

 

[chris000]

Chris, I cannot speak for the EU but I know in the US that a manufacturer cannot void the product warranty because of someone using 3rd party consumables unless they can demonstrate that the 3rd party consumables were the direct cause of failure. In direct terms, 3rd party inks will not void the Epson factory warranty.

Sorry, I do not know what 3rd party inks are available in the UK. Excellent 2880 inks are available here in the US from MIS Associates www.inksupply.com

Bob,

I'm not sure what the 'law' says in the UK, but I do know that if you have a problem some manufacturers will try to find any excuse not to fix under guarantee - I'm not saying that Epson fall into this category, but for the sake of waiting until the guarantee has run out, I'd prefer not to risk it.

 

[donmcmahan]

third party ink

third party ink

there are third party inks that are known quantities like Lyson or Jon Cone and then there is the stuff the guy at the flea market that refills carts uses, a qualified yes to the former and a "why not who cares" to the latter for the office printer and a "no way" for my 3800

 

[hlockwood]

Bob,

I'm not sure what the 'law' says in the UK, but I do know that if you have a problem some manufacturers will try to find any excuse not to fix under guarantee - I'm not saying that Epson fall into this category, but for the sake of waiting until the guarantee has run out, I'd prefer not to risk it.

I know from experience that if you have to take your Epson in for repair, they will not touch it unless it has Epson inks in place. Just an added thought.

Harry

 

[jesse1dog]

Dave
I get my Epson inks from choicestationery.com who now seem to be in Jersey. OK, my Epson is a Color1180 and I use it for office/magazine work and the colour reproduction does depend very much on the paper I use. The inks are much much cheaper than Epson standard and when I look at work just printed I can't tell the difference between them and the Epsom. However as I'm not too interested in storing the results for months let alone years I can't say what happens over time. I suspect that will depend very much on storage etc. Do you want to display your prints in sunlight for years? Do you want to store them in a chest smelling of camphor and that has been treated for woodworm? Or is your storage of achival quality?
If you want cheap quick prints, here today and gone tomorrow, or next month, use the replacement alternatives rather than genuine Epson!

 

[NickTrop]

I've given up on inkjet technology overall - especially for black and white. Now that I'm shooting more digitals, this time around I'm sending it all out. Gonna give York a try and try different vendors until I settle on one I like. Yes, you lose control but I've been frustrated by every inkjet printer I've ever used for making either color or black and white prints - two Epsons and an HP; with clogs, jams, banding, not recognizing 3rd-party grayscale "chipped" cartridges, and ink consumption/cost. They look fine when they work but every print is an adventure. I have a broken HP (purchased for B&W) in my bedroom taking space, an old Epson in the basement. Need to get around to throwing them out. These printers were not abused in any way. They were covered when not in use, turned off properly, not jostled or otherwise mishandled. The consumer-level printers exist in a market where purchases are made mostly based on a $10 price difference where they also using the ole "make money on the razor blades" model... And, they have an aggressive accelerated release cycle like all consumer electronics, where the price point doesn't pay to get anything fixed, and they know consumers will just throw them out when they break. Their build quality, based on these facts, is terrible. If I had a better experience with the lower end models, I would pony up for a better one but based on my experience I think I'll just upload what I want to print and "rent" some company's $100,000+ (or whatever) professional printer when I need it.