Dye or Pigment ?

[The Hat]

I got a question which is not a Poll just a curiosity on my part and it’s aimed mainly at you guys that have and use both types of printers regularly.

Which of the two are easier to maintain and run for you, the pigment or dye ink printer, does one clog up more and need more attention than the other or are they both the same and no trouble at all. ?

It’s not a preference in one or the other type of technology that I’m interested in, just which one makes printing more pleasant and enjoyable for you. ?

Happy Printing..

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

O.k. - not a poll..I'm using both types of inks, somewhat regularly, some more dye by volume. Both inks behave pretty friendly in the printers, pigment inks are somewhat more difficult to remove from the fingers and other stains are more resistant as well

 

[bobjoek]

Some limited experience on dye versus pigment ink: I have an Epson Pro 4000 that would experience clogs with pigment ink if I did not print something every other day. I flushed out the pigment and replaced with dye ink 6 months ago and have yet to experience any clogs, even with the printer being idle for up to a month.

Bob

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Using both. The short answer: no problems.

HP Photosmart Premium with HP564XL cartridges and 3rd party ink (different brands), has pigment black + 4 color dye. No problem ever with clogging.

Canon 9500 II is OEM dye. Gets plugged in about once a year. No problems.
EDIT: I meant the 9000, not the 9500.

 

[The Hat]

@ThrillaMozilla, it’s interesting that you prefer dye inks in your 9500..

 

[palombian]

Oops, maybe @ThrillaMozilla confounds with the PRO9000 .

I use the PRO9500 Mk II as an amateur photographer (never touch the Mk I since it flushes more ink down than ever comes on the paper - unless you print daily, they go for €50).

It is a very reliable printer that seldom or ever clogs.

Maybe the only problem vs Epson printers is that there are not many ink suppliers (the ex-IS inks distributed by precisioncolors.com and octoinkjet.co.uk are the most reliable, the only other suppliers I tried, prodinks-tintenshop.de and octopus-office.de did not convince me since one color clogs, another doesn't dry on glossy paper or is way of in color, etc ...).

In the beginning I was rather shocked by the gloss differences but I managed to find some semi gloss, lustre, and even glossy papers who accept the inks quite well.

Since I liked the glossy surface I tried some dye printers, they produce marvelous prints fast, and at negligible cost, but alas after maximum 6 months the colours fade.

I also tried to print with pigments on matte papers to avoid the gloss problem, but the limited gamut is not for every subject.

At the end I decided to stay with pigment printers. With a little effort they produce the same print who will last much longer.

IMO, if you work with 3th party inks, pigments are the only option if you want any longevity (although again, OEM pigments have less gloss differences/bronzing).

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Yes, I meant the 9000.