Fading Test Epson 106 107 114 T54C bottled inks

[Ink stained Fingers]

Epson is offering a wide range of tanksystem/ Ecotank printers with bottled inks, but it is quite difficult - not so say impossible to understand which inks perform better in terms of longterm/fading stability beyond a vague statement that prints will last for generations to come. So there is a simple question whether all the inks for these printers are alike or how (much) they differ. I'm currently running a test with inks of rather new Epson printers

- 107 inks of the new ET18100 - a A3+ photo printer
- 114 inks of the recently announced ET-8550 - a combo printer with photo capability
- T54C inks for the SL-500 - a new photo station printer for 4x6 inch prints, this printer is
not labelled as an Ecotank printer although it uses the same 70 ml ink bottles
- 106 inks are available since several years for the ET-7750

Only the inks for the ET-8550 are called 'Claria ET' inks, the 'Claria' name for a high quality inkset is not used for the other inks. Are you getting confused ? - printer model and ink names may vary in other Epson business regions around the world to make it more confusing.

I'm just running a fading test with these 4 inks listed above - and only on one paper - the Epson premium glossy photo paper , and I only can give you some preliminary information after 10 days of test at this time.
The 107 inks are somewhat weaker overall, this corresponds to the same findings in the previous test a few weeks ago.
The total averaged DeltaE values over 96 color patches are these at this time:

3.92 for the 106 ink
4.53 for the 114 ink
3,87 for the T54C ink

These numbers may change if you would use other papers , as shown in the last test and earlier tests years ago.

The stability of the black is of specific interest since it creates an overall impression of contrast of an image , and a black ink which fades to brown faster than the other colors creates a strong color shift. These are the current values:

2.10 for the 106 ink
1.40 for the 114 ink
0.81 for the T54C ink

The 114 inks are about 40% more expensive than the 106 inks in Germany, and the T54C inks are about twice the price (this may vary from country to country)

 

[nertog]

- 107 inks of the new ET18100 - a A3+ photo printer
- 114 inks of the recently announced ET-8550 - a combo printer with photo capability
- T54C inks for the SL-500 - a new photo station printer for 4x6 inch prints, this printer is
not labelled as an Ecotank printer although it uses the same 70 ml ink bottles
- 106 inks are available since several years for the ET-7750

Looking forward to see the results. Would it be possible to mention the before-after L-values for the black inks as well? Keith Cooper was impressed with the deep black produced bz the ET18100...I wonder if all those inks reach the same DMAX.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Would it be possible to mention the before-after L-values for the black inks as well?

Yes, those black point L-values are hiding somewhere

The ET18100 with the 107 inks - incl. light colors - is claimed as the Ecotank successor of the 1400/1500W photoprinters with the same 6 color inkset. There is a long history of Epson photo printers with 6 inks going back more than 20 years to the R265 with the Clkaria inks in cartridges. This was the time the Canon Chromalife inks showed up as well. The 1400/1500W already had a tank system printer model companion - the L800/805 for A4 and the L1800 for the A3 format - models which were not marketed officially in Western Europe. The L1800/805 were using the 673 inkset which was not named as a Claria ink, the 673 ink fading performance was below the performance of the 106 inkset already, and Epson is continuing this with the 107 inks , only the ET-8550 is coming with the 114 inkset named as the Claria ET inks which perform better than these 107 inks as current and previous tests show. I consider this a kind of irritating that Epson is using inks with different fading performance for their dedicated photo printers.

 

[anazoolik]

I didn't even notice the new SureLab D500 (and D1000).
I'm using the UltraChrome D6-S light inks, because i got banding with (Octopus) diluted inks (every Epson printer: L805, L1300, 1500W and ET-18100).
Maybe it is the same ink like T54 (D6r-S), but in bottles instead of cartridges. I can't find any Epson statement what is better to previous SureLab-Inks.

But there are some price differences for price sensitive users:
T54 70 ml 19,03 EUR (272 EUR/L)
DSr-6 for D1000 250ml 58,01 EUR (195 EUR/L) same ink like T54
DS-6 for D700 200 ml 48,73 EUR (244 EUR/L)
I'm using an old 107 bottle without bottom as hopper.

 

[anazoolik]

Colormatch.org means, that the SureLab D1000 has the same inks like the D700.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I can't find any Epson statement what is better to previous SureLab-Inks.

Epson typically does not publisch such information, end Canon does not either - nor HP. Statements about ink properties are pretty vague in most cases .

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

3 weeks are gone of the current fading test for 4 inks - on the Epson Premium Glossy. I regret that there was a problem with the black 114 ink - the black point Lab value was off - I don't know why - problably some handling problem when willing the refill cartrdiges - the problem is gone and I started another test.
The 107 inks perform as well in this test below the other inks which I consider a kind of dissappointing.

Please observe that the averages as shown are higher than the DeltaE's of the individual CMY ink colors - there is a simplre reason - darker mixed colors like dark brown carry much more ink volume than the primary colors, so there are more dye molecules the sun can destroy over time. The DeltaE of these colors goes up to 20 - 25 for the inks under test. and the DeltaE for lighter colors is smaller which compensate the high DeltaE's for the darker colors. These variances are hiding in the numbers before the average is calculated.
I have added the Lab values of the black inks before the test started and after the mentioned 3 weeks. It's not just the L value which changes but the a and b color values as well. But it is - as always - a matter of the ink / paper combination and not just a property of the ink alone.
I think Epson users can be quite happy with the type of inks which can be used easily for refill beyond the printer they are meant for. Prices and performance vary - by country - a decision is necessary, the gamuts of these inks don't really vary that much that I would use the gamut as a purchasing criteria

P.S. Please see remarks in posting #23

 

[nertog]

T54C black seems to significantly outperform the others, both on density and fading metrics. A basic question: how are these targets printed? Highest quality mode & no color management like a profile chart?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

A basic question: how are these targets printed? Highest quality mode & no color management like a profile chart?

All these patches for testing are printed with a WF2010W since years, cartridge and ink swapping is easy, and that printer has seen lots of different inks over time - dye and pigment. I'm always using the matte paper setting - quality normal/standard, there is no relevant difference in the gamuts if you create profiles with normal or high quality . Color mgmt/adjustments are off, and I have created a specific job in Qimage to print the patch sheets. The matte paper setting activates the black ink channel, the glossy paper settings block it and create a fake color mix for black. So - yes - matte paper setting for all papers incl. glossy papers since I'm running dye inks for the current tests.

The T54C black appears to be quite a good black ink - very stable and a good black level, I'll run another test with that ink shortly on some different papers

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I mentioned in the above comments to the fading test in posting #7

https://www.printerknowledge.com/th...6-107-114-t54c-bottled-inks.16040/post-139425

that there was a mishap with some data for the 114 inkset; I started another test with the 114 inks directly after that finding a week ago - it's too early to publish data at this time but I have the impression that the 114 black performs quite well - better in some cases than the 106 black.

Epson users are getting in a more and more comfortable position with the extended availability of various newer inksets - and light inks are available now as well with the T54C inks in bottles (or T46K in bags) for those who do not want to mix and dilute. And this at quite affordable prices compared to ink in cartridges. I started a test as well with the T54C inks, and with a budget level cast coated glossy paper 'Logic Seek', so there are easy ways to reduce the fading performance of an ink/paper combination with the choice of the cheapest no-name inks and papers.