Epson XP series

[Flying Scotsman]

As my Epson DX is on it's way out can anyone give me some information on this series of printer.
I am looking for one that uses pigment ink and gives the best image quality.
I know some use four five or six ink cartridges please tell me which one is best suited to my needs

Thanks

 

[apetitphoto]

What are your needs?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@apetitphoto I am looking for a good pigment ink printer scanner at a reasonable price

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

When you look to Epson printers Epson has several model ranges - Expression-...with dye inks, and Workforce models with Durabrite pigment inks, more oriented to letter printing, copying etc, and you'll find lots of different models within these ranges - with or w/o fax, single scanner, batch scanner, duplex printing, duplex scanning , a larger or a second paper bin etc. And when it comes to a good price you may look as well to special actions of electronic stores etc heavily discounting this or that model today or next week. You may as well look to Canon Maxify models printing with pigment inks, but not borderless which may be a limitation when it comes to photo printing, and I'm not familiar with refill options for these models.

 

[The Hat]

I am looking for a good pigment ink printer scanner at a reasonable price

One of the many Maxify range, there’s a model in there to suite everyone’s needs, it won’t do gallery quality pictures but who needs that type of photo quality for everyday use, if that’s the case then a Pro model printer would be the only option...

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Thanks for your help
I thought the xp 760 used claira hd ink which was pigment ink designed for photography.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Claria ink is the Epson dye ink with the best fading performance, Ultrachrome K3, HD are the pigment inks for larger format printers - posters - photos and all that, and Durabrite inks are the pigment inks more oriented for printing on matte papers, are supposed to dry somewhat faster to spread less ink when printing duplex. The Durabrite black is not used on glossy papers, black is mixed in this case with the typical paper selections in the driver.

 

[mikling]

The XP series is a mish mash of different models and different nomenclatures especially when it comes to the inks.
In the PAST all Claria was dye. However, in the XP series models Epson has now chosen to put the Claria nomenclature even on the Text Black cartridge. Why? Because anything else would become confusing to the consumer. So as Ink Stained Fingers has demonstrated even a knowledgeable ink person, would not have caught on.
The Claria cartridges that are NOT labelled as Photo Black is a Matte Black pigment ink. The PhotoBlack Claria cartridges in the XP series is dye ink. Got that?

OK, it gets more interesting......because it would appear that most people associate a costlier printer with pigment ink. Well the less costly XP series are actually Durabrite pigment ink. In the Durabrite series......all black cartridges are Matte Black Pigment ink meant for use on plain paper and Matte Photo Paper and NOT on photopapers.

Here's the more important takeaway. Generally the XP series should be avoided if you are thinking of refilling....especially the models that have the two black cartridges. Why? Epson has done a fine job of designing carts and ink delivery systems which will easily frustrate the refiller. These XP series machines waste a lot of ink due to their small size carts and its designed in inescapable requirement to flush heads after each cart change of any color AND puny waste ink tanks/reservoirs. If you look inside an encyclopaedia ( Before Google) you will see an XP 610 as the ultimate definition of ink change domino effect. These machines are MONSTERS when it comes to clearing the printhead of air if it and when it gets in.

Take a look at this thread going back over 3-4 years ago. I've gone through 5 samples of the XP series ( 3 of them returned to Epson) and they are possibly some of the worse printers that have gone through my hands as a refiller. ( I've been through over 50 printers over the years)
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/epson-xp-600-and-800-series.7932/page-16#post-70359
Now if you are able to stick and able to pay for OEM ink, their rating improves significantly but not top of the heap. That is why Epson has done a fine job of this printer series but the benefactors are the shareholders of Epson and not really the user.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Oh well - those 5 color Epson printers, mostly dye but we didn't progress that far yet...

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@mikling thanks for your help
What is your recommendation for a good refillable pigment ink printer.