Epson EcoTank ET-8550: Pigment instead of Dye inks

[Fried Chicken]

What is the difference between Epson 552 and Epson 114 inks?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

What is the difference between Epson 552 and Epson 114 inks?

The business region U.S, vs. Europe/EU

 

[Fried Chicken]

The business region U.S, vs. Europe/EU

Komisch, ok.

 

[PeterBJ]

Canon also does this. Here is a post with a list of Canon business regions.

 

[marshalleq]

I'm currently running an ET-8550 - with dye inks - and will stay with them. But I switched various times between dye and pigment inks on various other Epson printers - like the R265 or the L800/805 or L1800 , I can report that it worked out o.k. when changing from dye to pigment inks - following a kind of similar approach as described in the farbenwerk instructions. I'm running pigment and dye inks alternatively on a small 4 color WF2010W w/o problems. I had more and longer lasting problems when trying to switch back from pigment to dye inks, incl. replacing the dampers in the printhead carriage - the cartridge like replacements in the printhead. And more effort is necessary to clean the tubes and tanks from the smallest leftovers of pigments. I would support the comment by farbenwerk to start with pigments inks directly in a new printer.

Be aware that any change as intended - swapping the inks - will void the Epson warranty so all such modifications are at your own risk.

I tested various dye inks for longevity, the best performing inks are the Epson OEM inks - 114 or 106; I couldn't find any non-OEM inks being close to OEM inks in this respect. I cannot comment on the Pigmera ETX inks by farbenwerk how they perform in regards to gamut size, black level . gloss and bronzing, there are significant differences between 3rd party pigment inks in this respect, which must always be judged in connection with particular paper types.

I'm interested in the Longevity aspects mostly, I don't see the point of printing it to display on the wall and having it fade in 1-2 years, so your comment that the Epson OEM inks apparently perform better than most - what sort of lifespan do they have in your experience? I mostly print with Gloss and have been eyeing the 8550 for a while - already got one for my mother, but I see one on a super special at the moment and am wondering if nows the time. Just need to resolve which ink I should be using. Thanks very much for any reply.