Epson Claria Standard Ink 502

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm not looking to inks in cartridges and don't see the point whether precision core printheads really would make a difference, I'm just using the WF2010W as my test bed for all ink tests since refill and ink swapping - dye/pigment - is easy . It could be as well the driver in other models is printing with different ink densities which could change some results to a degree, but the overall results remain - there are some very good dye inks from Canon - Epson - Hp - and there are some other inks from Canon and Epson at almost the same price which are very weak and no better than much cheaper budget level inks by InkTec and others but Canon or Epson don't tell their customers, and this beyond all the confusion they create with their numbering schemes around the world.

 

[ClarenceL]

I'm not looking to inks in cartridges and don't see the point whether precision core printheads really would make a difference, I'm just using the WF2010W as my test bed for all ink tests since refill and ink swapping - dye/pigment - is easy . It could be as well the driver in other models is printing with different ink densities which could change some results to a degree, but the overall results remain - there are some very good dye inks from Canon - Epson - Hp - and there are some other inks from Canon and Epson at almost the same price which are very weak and no better than much cheaper budget level inks by InkTec and others but Canon or Epson don't tell their customers, and this beyond all the confusion they create with their numbering schemes around the world.

After some compare of the SDS exactly match.
T502 K = T512 K = T552 K (Pigment)
T774 = 102 K = 105 = 114 K (Pigment)

114 = 105 & 106=378(CMYK) [But 114 Grey is not the same as 478 Grey from XP-15000]
T552 != T512(only exception: Pigment K is the same)
102 != T502 != T522 != 103/

104

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

@ClarenceL - you are spending quite some effort to sort out all these Epson number variations and create good visibility with your tables but I must admit that I don't understand at all why Epson is doing this in the first place - is there a benefit for the user - not being told about large ink performance variations - or a benefit for Epson ? I don't get it. HP seems to be a little bit easier in this respect - their Smarttank printers seem to use the HP GT52 or HP31 inks - around the world - and these inks perform similar to the Epson Claria/Canon Chromalife inks - on all the Smarttank printer models.

 

[ClarenceL]

@ClarenceL - you are spending quite some effort to sort out all these Epson number variations and create good visibility with your tables but I must admit that I don't understand at all why Epson is doing this in the first place - is there a benefit for the user - not being told about large ink performance variations - or a benefit for Epson ? I don't get it. HP seems to be a little bit easier in this respect - their Smarttank printers seem to use the HP GT52 or HP31 inks - around the world - and these inks perform similar to the Epson Claria/Canon Chromalife inks - on all the Smarttank printer models.

Just curious about it, like a puzzle for the weekend.
For the difference in Europe, I would guess it might be some safety or environment limits. So, some versions of the ink need to modify for imports.

Check the WIR again
http://www.wilhelm-research.com/hp/WIR_Ink_Tank_Printer_Comparison.pdf
HP GT52 seems nice.
Based on Epson Stylus Photo RX595 Download 6-Page PDF, Claria Photo HD works better.
The 106 ink should be in the similar or same class.

 

[stg]

There is some info about some EcoTank ink codes here:

https://neofiliac.com/search?k=epson ink&t=&i=

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

That's quite an interesting and detailed listing which inks are used on which Ecotank printers; it does not cover all business regions and it does not specify if inks are of the Claria type or not.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm basically closing my tests of the fading performance/longevity of Epson Ecotank inks with the findings already stated several times

- the inks of the ET-7700 - 106 inks (in Europe) - and the 114 inks of the ET-8500 stand out as the most stable inks

- non-Claria type inks like the 102 inks or 664 inks perform very weak and no better than some 3rd party inks, there is no reson for a user to pay a premium price just because it's an 'Epson' ink

- A Chinese Hongsam HLF type ink performs surprisingly well and similar to the Claria Home inks with a very good price/performance ratio

- U.S. users get good performing 'Claria Home' 502 inks for a range of Ecotank models whereas European users get much weaker inks of the corresponding 102 type for the same printer models

- Fading must always be viewed together with the specific paper which gets used - different papers deliver different levels of fading stability - with the same ink type, there is no simple way to rank different papers - e.g. by manufacturer - or surface - or type of coating - every ink/paper combination needs to be tested separately

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I may add a few comments about the Canon dye inks for the desktop printers, most cartridge based printers operate with CLI cartridges - with Chromalife 100 inks which provide a very good fading performance - similar to the Epson Claria inks.
It is different with the inks for the Megatank printers - the GI-50, GI-51 , GI-590 inks are not of the Chromalife type and provide a very weak long term stability. Only inks of the G550/650 (European model numbers) of the GI-53 type are the very well performing Chromalife 100 inks.

There is no reason to pay a premium price just for the 'Canon' name for the GI-50/51/590 inks, 3rd party inks with similar (weak) performance are available at lower prices.

 

[websnail]

Thanks for your summary @Ink stained Fingers ... It's interesting that there has been this disconnect by sales zone and I do wonder if the issue is that of differing chemical safety requirements in the EU (for example) compared to North America (as suggested by @ClarenceL).

Does make a bit of a mockery of the brand if it's not that great in terms of quality though doesn't it...

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the issue is that of differing chemical safety requirements in the EU (for example)

I just don't know but would not consider differing safety requirements as a reason, Claria inks are available in cartridges in Europe so why not in 102 ink bottles ? I rather think it is a competitive reason vs. HP, I consider HP stronger on the U.S. market than in Europe with their tank printers, and the HP 31 and GT52 inks perform very well, but again - I just don't know , and Epson is not actively promoting the 502 as an ink with superior longevity - they ship it but don't tell anybody.
All the tests this year, and already last year, show how difficult it is to get a rather clear and reliable picture about the ink performance by different vendors.