Epson 1400/2400: CISS using quality aftermarket pigment ink

[pharmacist]

Lin,

The Canon MX7600 does not print large format. Then I could choose for the Pr 9500 which uses the same PGI-9 pigment ink cartridges. The problem is that Canon printers are not so CISS-friendly due to the cartrdiges and installing a CISS on a R2400 printer is much more likely to work flawlessly. And you can redirect the waste ink to an external waste basket with a simple operation.

 

[websnail]

The Canon MX7600 does not print large format. Then I could choose for the Pr 9500 which uses the same PGI-9 pigment ink cartridges. The problem is that Canon printers are not so CISS-friendly due to the cartrdiges and installing a CISS on a R2400 printer is much more likely to work flawlessly. And you can redirect the waste ink to an external waste basket with a simple operation.

Also worth noting that the MX7600 is getting a bit of a slating in commercial reviews too which is hardly surprising as this it Canons first foray into this particular segment of the market.

The issues re: waste tanks is an interesting one actually... I wonder just how much of a difference we'll see in the MX7600..

 

[Tin Ho]

CX5400 uses Epson Durabrite ink. It's pigmented ink. The compatible pigmented ink I tried worked perfectly on CX5400. But I wanted to print photos on my R300 with pigmented ink too. That's why I tried it on the RX300. The cartridges were OEM T048 series cartridges. Before I refill I shake the cartridges so that most remaining ink was emptied. I weighted the cartridges just to make sure they were all about the same and empty. I refilled them with the Durabrite compatible ink. The R300 printed less than 3 8x10 photos then it began to clog. I believe it was Yellow that was clogged. Eventually I had to swap the cartridges out and put in another set of OEM with OEM dye inks in them. Had to unclog the print head first using a small stack of cleanex soaked with Windex and stuck it under the print head for a good half a day. The R300 worked again with OEM dye ink.

About a year passed and the R300 got very little use. Then I got another set of Durabrite compatible ink from a friend. So I tried it on the R300 again. But this time the black got clogged with only a few photos printed. I gave it up on the R300. It seemed it could not handle pigmented ink to me. The cartridges I used were OEM T048 cartridges. I don't believe any compatibles can be better than that. Meanwhile the RX5400 is still printing fine with the pigmented ink. No, it's not a profile issue. It's clogging that made me wonder if R300 can print with pigmented ink at all.

Anyone successfully printed with pigmented ink on his/her R300 or similar printers?

 

[websnail]

To be honest TinHo I think your problem is more that you never flushed the old ink out of the cartridges much less the printhead.

If I was going to be swapping inks I'd definitely be looking at virgin cartridges with no dye in them at all but before I did any of that I'd also be using some flushing solution in another set of cartridges to make sure none of the old inks was left in the printhead. Quite a bit of work.

From what I've read the key issue (beyond the printhead design) is that any combination of dye with pigment ink in the printhead is near fatal clogging.

 

[Tin Ho]

You may be right. But I did try to empty as much as I could (without actually using water to purge though) the cartridges. I should clarify that my experiment did end up with a clog (twice) in the print head. I don't know if it was cause by a problem in the cartridge or not. When I swapped out the cartridges with pigmented ink in them and put in another set of T048 with OEM dye inks the clog persisted for a couple of weeks until I finally figured out how to clean and unclog the print head. I am not completely convinced by the idea that dye and pigment ink don't mix well. I did try to avoid it although I did not purge the cartridges for fearing that it may leave some water in the cartridges that might actually cause more problems when mixed with pigmented ink.

If mixing of dye and pigment is a fatal combination to the print head why it did not clog all colors of my print head? Can you provide a source of information that explains why a mix of dye and pigment ink will cause fatal clogging? I did hear about this but I have never seen an explanation. I am a believer of OEM quality. I have tried some aftermarket Epson compatible cartridges on the R300. They were probably made in China honestly. They really belong to garbage level in terms of quality. I am not going to be easily convinced that any virgin cartridges (from China, no matter who sells them) would work better than OEM cartridges emptied for refilling. This is of course only my own opinion with no actual testing of all compatibles out there.

It is a basic requirement for me to accept that my R300 can use an aftermarket pigmented ink. I have to be able to refill my OEM cartridges. It has to be reliable and will not clog, except clogs caused by other usual reasons not associated with the use of pigmented ink. If I am told that I have to find an aftermarket virgin cartridge in order to use the pigmented ink that really gives a vendor all kinds of excuses if the ink doesn't work.

By the way, a friend of mine has an Epson multifunction that has OEM cartridges with Durabrite inks. He refilled them with dye inks bought on ebay. He did not purge the OEM cartridges nor did he use aftermarket virgins. The printer works just fine as far as I know. The colors naturally are not the same as before. That's really the difference between pigmented ink and dye ink. But there have been no clogging issues. This is one example why I can not believe that mixing dye and pigmented ink is a fatal combination for print head clogging.

 

[Smile]

From what I've read the key issue (beyond the printhead design) is that any combination of dye with pigment ink in the printhead is near fatal clogging.

Perhaps this apply only to epson ink and epson printers? Or should I say Non bubble jet technology printers.
Because I sucessfully used HP pigment ink diluted with HP or InkTec dye ink in Canon printers.

 

[Tin Ho]

I sucessfully used HP pigment ink diluted with HP or InkTec dye ink in Canon printers.

Are you talking about color pigmented ink? That's quite remarkable. What Canon printer are you talking about? I will order a Pro9000 if there is a source of color pigmented ink that will work on Pro9000. I am reluctant to get a Pro9500 because of no alternatives for ink. If I have to mix it with some dye ink that would be a significant progress.

 

[Smile]

Well I wrote about black ink. I used HP cartridge 10 pigment black mixed with InkTec dye black and used in canon ip 1600 in PGI-40 with diluted ratio about 50% / 50%. In i965 i used it with dilution ration 30% pigment ink and 70% dye ink.

This mixture does not produce gel like other inks I heard. So it is safe to mix.
Don't know about color never tried it.

the i965 has 5pl nozzles, I plan to try to mix and try this black ink in my ip6700d it has 2pl nozzles but I wonder what ratio to use.

 

[pharmacist]

Smile, Can you tell me which Canon printer you use this mixture ? And what is the percentage of pigment to dye ink to get optimal results without fatal clogging ?

 

[pharmacist]

Hmmm, a bit disappointed since the PGI-40 is already pigmented ink based. For me it would be more interested in let say: photomagenta pigment with dye ink mixed to improve lightfastness in prints. Please mention the results on your IP6700D with your mixture if it works or not.