Epson RX500 Impressions

[mikling]

I did say that the RX500 can use pigment ink in my assessment of the RX500.

It is better to get a set of refillable cartridges and use those for pigment ink printing rather than trying to convert the original cartridges. With the pigment ink, it is advisable to get a custom profile with the paper you intend to use as the colors won't be as accurate as the standard Epson cartridges which the printer was designed for. The issue with converting the original involves emptying the original of the dyebase ink completely which is not a simple thing given the internal complexity of the channels. Become familiar and familiar with all aspects of the machine before undertaking the conversion or adaptation to pigment ink.

 

[Trigger 37]

leo8088,,,. I see that mikling has pretty much answered your question. He is the ink expert. I buy all of my high quality ink from his store "Precisioncolors.com"

Take a look at the features of this ink from Epson and find out if Precisioncolors has the same ink. Sounds like it would have almost as much features as Pigmented inks. Again,.. ask Mike.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/Landing/Claria.jsp

 

[leo8088]

I read Mikling's posts again, and yes there were lots of information in them. Sure appreciate that. It would be great if someone who actually uses pigmented ink in a RX500 can also shed some experiences. I think if I need to use a custom profile I should get another Epson that uses pigmented ink in the first place.

Is Epson Claria ink really that good? 200 years in album or 98 in display, that's better than the pigmented ink Epson advertised a few years back. I was interested in an R1800 or R800 before. If the Claria ink has such a longevity as a dye ink I feel dizzy to look at the choices available now. My cousin spent more than $1k for a HP PC a few years ago. Now that PC is ready to be e-wasted. Even the 17" CRT she got is a landfill item now. Well, printers will wear out if not out dated automatically. The free RX500 maybe useful as is for another year or two. Better get some photo paper. Spring is not far ahead now. Thanks again for the invaluable help from everyone here.

 

[mikling]

I want to clarify a misconception as I don't want to misconstrue something. Real Epson Claria ink is indeed superior to regular dye ink and ALL third party ink do not match to its longevity. If they claim to do so then one should closely check the integrity of the claim. As far as shades of colors, third party inks can indeed come very close but the longevity of the ink will be the same as regular dye inks which for most consumers is good enough.

The irony of the CLARIA ink is that its cost is about the same as pigment ink and one retains longer life with pigment ink. Testing by third party ink manufacturers show CLARIA to achieve about half the life of real pigment ink. So where does CLARIA fit? That is an intriguing question because given the same cost as pigment why CLARIA? Well dye inks do provide more vibrant prints than pigment.......but similar vibrancy can be had with much cheaper normal dye ink..without the extended life. Most serious amateur and professional photographers who desire the utmost in longevity naturally go for pigment and bypass the compromise that CLARIA has.

The key point is that CLARIA is a unique true advancement in dye inks by Epson whose main raison d'etre is perhaps a small niche market but it is a unique advancement nonetheless.