Epson XP-15000: how to mix dye ink with clear ink base to obtain red and grey using CMYK

[pharmacist]

Since I do not know from which area you are, I presume you are in the EU: My favourite high gloss photo paper is Netbit/Sihl paper, available in Aldi super market several times a year here in Belgium. 50 sheets of A4 (300 gsm) costs € 6.99 in Belgium (used to be € 5.99 a few years ago) or 100 sheets 10x15 cm same price. It works very well with dye ink printers (for example XP-15000) and reasonably good with pigment ink printers (I use the Epson SC-P800).

 

[soysauce]

Based on plenty fading tests over the last years I can confirm that there is just a small group of the best/most stable inks - the mentioned Epson 106 or 114 or Canon GI53 inks , and as well HP31 inks which may be of interest in some other regions of this world - the market share of HP printers with bottled inks appears to be rather small in Germany.
And we should not forget - for historical reasons - that as well the Fujifilm inks for the Drylab printers perform very well in this respect, I cannot state that the 106 and 114 inks are identical, there have been small differences depending on the paper used for testing - the 106 ink performs (slightly) better on one paper than the 114 ink, and the 114 ink on another, but there is an interesting difference in Germany - the 106 inks are about 20% cheaper overall than the 114 inks at this time which is a good reason to prefer the 106 inks. But the 106 inks for the ET7750 got on the market 2 years earlier than the 114 inks so Epson may discontinue the 106 inks earlier .

I think that Epson Ecotank 105, 106, and 512 are all the same ink but for different regions. And 114=115=552. I see 512 (105,106) associated with printers with 1.5 picoliter print heads and 552 (114,115) associated with printers with 3 picoliter print heads

 

[pharmacist]

It is possible to use pigment ink in Epson printers, even in printers that produces droplet size as small as 1.5 pl like the Epson 1500W. It is perfectly possible to use almost any dye ink in these 1.5 pl capable Epson printers and in most cases the prints will be fine and detailed (however a dedicated profile for the paper/ink/printer combination is needed to get best results).

 

[billydr]

Sorry one more question. Probably a stupid one, do I want normal black or photo black going with the 106 ink. Will mainly be printing photos.
Thanks billy

 

[billydr]

sorry one more question, probably a stupid one. I’m going with the 106 ink, 114 grey, cannon red. Do I want the the photo black or normal black? Will be mainly printing photos.

 

[pharmacist]

sorry one more question, probably a stupid one. I’m going with the 106 ink, 114 grey, cannon red. Do I want the the photo black or normal black? Will be mainly printing photos.

Make an educated guess and the answer will be revealed to you.

 

[billydr]

Well I did say it’s probably a stupid question lol might go for the photo black

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I think that Epson Ecotank 105, 106, and 512 are all the same ink but for different regions. And 114=115=552. I see 512 (105,106) associated with printers with 1.5 picoliter print heads and 552 (114,115) associated with printers with 3 picoliter print heads

It is pretty useless to assume this or that in the area of inks, I have used both the 106 and 114 inks in fading tests, the inks - when you average lots of color patches - are pretty much the same - but different on individual color level, cyan and magenta fading speed as an example can vary between these inks but the average remains the same, but I don't think that this level of detail is relevant for the user, and to make it more complex - cyan of one ink may fade slower than magenta on one paper but faster on another paper - with the average still the same. Again - you are not selecting your paper by this level of detail information.
And I can add to the confusion - the 102 ink in the U.S. is specified as the Claria ink, but not in Europe, it is a weak ink here , no better than Inktec and similar.

There is this small group of high performing inks as listed above, you can add Fujifilm inks for the Drylab photostation printers into this group, but they are more expensive in 200ml cartridges, even the expired ones.

 

[soysauce]

And I can add to the confusion - the 102 ink in the U.S. is specified as the Claria ink, but not in Europe, it is a weak ink here , no better than Inktec and similar.

Good point. I just read your and others' posts about Epson Claria Standard Ink 502 which I has missed.

 

[websnail]

Clear Ink Base (CIB):

-propylene glycol 5 parts in weight
-ethanol denaturated (96% in strength) 30 parts in weight
-isopropanol 15 parts in weight
-destilled water up to 100 parts in weight

Interesting... Did you not have any of the WJ807 base fluid? Can't remember if I've ever provided you with any of that...

Worth noting that the Paul Roark B&W recipe's use with 807 Base or the WJ804 GLOP as a CIB, with pigment inks as well so might that be worth trying too?

I have the XP-15000 and refillable carts waiting for me to play so perhaps I'll give it a shot... Not to find that missing ingredient... Ah yes, spare time... where'd I put that?!!