Filling T18XX cartrige with OEM ink from another EPSON series

[bembe]

Hi.

I have Epson XP-202 and I'm using refillable cartriges bought on eBay with auto-reset chips. However, the bottled ink supplied with those cartriges is poor quality, the colors are washed out and that especially goes for black that is far from deep black.
Buying original 18/18XL catriges is too expensive but the quality of the ink is excellent.
I don't use printer much but I need top quality inks because my prints (printed on Tecco Satin Production Paper, 250gsm) are for graphic design presentations.
So my question is, can I buy original bottled ink from EPSON but from some other model that uses ink tank system - for exampe black color "T7741" (price for 140ml is acceptable) and fill it in my T1801 refillable cartrige? Or do you recommend some other Epson bottled ink that has same quality as original 18 colors?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Ionlab]

The T7741 is pigment ink. I think you would be better with using the L800 dye inks since the Claria inks are dye as well (unless I am mistaken).

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

It is my understanding that the T18 black ink is a pigment ink for normal paper, and the other colors are dye inks.
If you print with a paper selection photo paper the black ink is not used anyway, and you may use L300 Epson original bottled inks for the L300 printer which may be available in your country, or other ink suppliers are as well able to deliver L300 compatible inks. If you really want a black pigment ink, you can look for a Durabrite compatible black ink which is an Epson pigment ink.
It is recommended for a correct color representation to create a icc-color profile or get is created by a company doing such service, typically ink suppliers offer that.

 

[bembe]

Many thanks for giving me suggestions.
It appears that Ink stained Fingers is right that T18 black is pigment ink and CMY are dye inks.. but why then use L300 ink? If I look, for example, on octoink's web site they sell BLACK PIGMENT ink for XP series (including my XP-202), and for L300 printer black is listed as EcoTank compatible DYE ink!

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

you have the choice which ink you want to use - dye or pigment. The L300 is based on a WF-2010W which uses pigment inks for all colors, the L300 dye for all colors. Epson printers can handle both ink types in most cases, so it depends what you want to print, e.g. if you want to keep the pigment black for a (slightly) more precise text print, and you buy dye color inks - L300 or compatibles for CMY.

 

[bembe]

I use my printer for printing (maxdpi) delivering graphic design presentations (mixed vectors and photos), on semi-gloss 250gsm paper and sharp text is very important to me as well as saturated colors.
So if I understood correctly I can use L300 colors inks (T6642, T6643, T6644) - but I'm not sure which black ink is best for my needs? I guess using T7741 pigment black with T664x color inks) is not the best idea?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

if you are using (semi)glossy paper in the driver then the black is not used anyway since the driver assumes black as the (matte) pigment ink, and that does not print well on glossy papers, the driver is mixing black from the colors in this case. If you use a matte/inkjet paper setting then the black ink is used by the driver, and you can print as well on glossy paper with this setting. So you have the choice - you use the L300 black dye ink with the matte paper setting and print on (semi)glossy paper with a good result, or you use a glossy paper setting, and may use a pigment black for text printing. Blacks mixed from colors tend to show some color cast under particular light conditions, a real black ink looks more neutral in those cases. And it is always recommended when using 3rd party inks with non-Epson papers to get an icm-color profile made for color-correct printout.

 

[bembe]

I will definitely buy orginal Epson CMY T6642, T6643, T6644 and for K give a try with black pigment ink T7741.
Thank you very much for your tips and explanation!!

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

You should know that dye inks, all those have a characteristic how they perform under sunlight, how they fade over time, and this fade resistance varies very much between different inks - Epson OEM and third party inks. L300 inks do not perform very well in this respect, inks for another printer model L800 perform better in this respect. Availability may depend of your country of residence, and pigment inks perform significantly better than dye inks in this respect. The problem is that suppliers won't give you detailed information about this so that you are not able to buy the best ink you need for your intentions