Epson Drylab inks in L1800

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm using a cleaning liquid as a thinner for the light colors

http://www.octopus-office.de/en/sho...olution-for-the-inside-of-printer-cartridges/

or you may use the gloss optimizer offered for the R1800/1900/2000 printers alternatively.
Since you use other inks and other papers than Epson standard materials you need to create color profiles so any slight changes in your dilution ratios will be compensated with the profiles.
I have seen another clear 'ink' but currently can't find a link to it.

 

[martin0reg]

...didnt know the Fuji is that much cheaper, where is the catch. So another question, where to get clear dilution fluid in Europe...

If you look at normal price of fuji DL carts, it is not cheaper i think. It's the reseller's offer which is cheaper... and I do not find such offers for the 6 color set.
I know three options for diluting: nozzle cleaner, gloss optimizer or "noritsu clear base" from MIS.
(edit: seems to be two of us "promotors" of DL ink here in the forum, ink stained fingers was faster.. There is much information to find regarding DL ink for refilling, in different threads..)

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

you may look into this document for a clear base, and links to inksupply.com on the pages 5 ff

http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Ink-Mixing.pdf

 

[DryAxE]

Idk for those nozzle cleaner and gloss optimiser. First is meant for cleaning any ink left, the other is meant for pigment inks to get even gloss surface. How is with print longevity, is it affected by those dilutive liquids?

I have looked to MIS site, but found out they dont ship to Europe. And also finding all those ingridients might be quite some challenge.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the nozzle cleaner is more a rinse solution than something with an active cleaner, there are others at octopus-office for that purpose. I'm using that stuff for inks in a R265 with pigment inks, and a '7600, so it works for me on printers with different printheads and nozzle/ink droplet sizes. The gloss optimizer improves the longevity somewhat , similar like other coatings and varnishes, but if it is just used for dilution it does not cover the complete sheet. Light inks fade faster than saturated inks, there are more dye molecules to keep the color for a while. If you dilute you are saving, Epson or Fujifilm charge you the same for regular and light colors, although they contain less of the expensive dyes, and more of a cheaper dilutant.
Another dilutant may be this one

http://www.farbenwerk.com/LimpidFLUID-transparent-Fluid-500ml

a substitute liquid to use in ink channels which are not used for printing, but flushed in cleaning cycles. With some RIP software you can have an option that you print with CMYK inks only, and not with the light colors.

 

[martin0reg]

MIS ships to europe, but it's not cheap: for 2x 500ml noritsu clear base (around 20usd) I had to pay 30usd for shipping, makes around 50usd total, without tax.
Both nozzle cleaner and GLO did work as thinner, but if I make a B&W ink set out of BK, dilution ratios are much higher. And these high amounts of GLO seem to produce a special sort of gloss differential on glossy paper. So for B&W I do need the clear base.
For 4colors to 6 you might try all three options, I don't really know if longevity is affected more or less with different dilutions.
But I have to say that the strong diluted B&W set turns to brown/sepia.
While the diluted color set shows very slow fading without visible color cast under my UV-bulb.

 

[DryAxE]

Ok seems like i missed this information. Well then there is no problem, now just the decision between Epson 7890 (8/9color) or Epson SC-T3200 (4/5 color). What would be a better choice for photobook printing with dye inks? One would need diluted inks the other not. One is dedicated photo printer, other is CAD printer.

I only print in highest resolutions possible, since some photos in photobooks can be small and detail is really important in this case. Dont want any dots to be seen like on my Canon ipf6400 pigment printer. So to get max print quality, which would be better?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

This thread started with a question about the L1800, a A3 printer, the 7890 is a 24" printer, there is a 4880 in between as a 17" model with roll paper handling,cutting as well. I don't know which size is suitable for the intended purpose. The Surecolor SC models are 4 ink models, whereas the 4880/7890 come with the additional light inks which make halftone/photoprints smoother, with the drops dithering the lighter colors less visible, which is the whole purpose of the lighter colors. I would recommend to contact an Epson dealer, and discuss the models and ask for test prints

 

[DryAxE]

SC printers have 6 colors.

And yes i agree, i have some dilema, buy cheap L1800 and have difficulties with paper handling or buy 24" to get automatic cut and save some time and nerves. Also drivers and support is ussualy better with larger printers. My largest and most common prints are 61x31cm so they go borderless on 24" (61cm) printers, this saves me lots of cutting.

It is a bit difficult to ask Epson dealer if dye inks will be fine in pigment printer. Even harder to get test prints.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

o.k., that clarifies the format issue. These Epson printers come with a smallest ink drop size of 3.5pl, that's typical for the office oriented A4 models with the 4-color Durabrite inks, photoprints on those units show some graininess from this drop size when viewed close-up. For photoprints I would tend to the 7890 model with the light inks to reduce that effect. When it comes to test prints, they could be done with pigment inks, judging sharpness should not be affected so much by the ink type.