Ink pl?

[alexandereci]

Whoa, thanks for the heads up on that one! I always thought that it reads as black pigment but dye for CYM. What effect does using dye on pigment-based printers have? IIRC, using dye instead of pigment is ok, but using pigment instead of dye means increased chance of clogging since pigment is "thicker" and a designed-for-dye-use printhead has smaller nozzles.

The only route available for me that I can afford is either the Canon or the Epson, and even the Epson is stretching it a bit. There is a Canon iP3000 available here but getting OEM or even 3rd party carts for it is a pain, not to mention getting inks for it (though I have some already).

 

[ghwellsjr]

After a bad experience a year or two ago trying to refill cartridges for an HP printer, I decided to buy a printer with individual cartridges for each color. I walked into a Staples store and told the salesman I wanted a printer with separate cartridges for each color that would be easy to refill. He pointed me to the Epson Stylus CX4600, an all-in-one for just $80 after rebate! I also bought some special photo paper for Durabrite inks.

I went on-line to order a refill kit that cost over $100 because you need a chip resetter which only works with some special cartridges that I had to buy also. Later, I learned that the supplied ink was dye-based and the Durabrite inks were pigment. At that point, I decided to return everything because it didn't make sense to buy a printer optimized for pigment ink and then use dye-based inks. It was very hard to find a supplier of pigment color inks although I did find one, but in talking with the suppliers, I learned that the Epsons have a tendency to clog their built-in head if not used and that was one of the main reasons they use dye.

Somewhere along the line, I read Neil Slade's website and decided to go with Canon. I purchased an MP760 all-in-one for $300 and started refilling the same cartridges that came in the printer. Later, I bought an iP3000 and an iP4000. The latter has the same print head as the MP760. The iP3000 lacks the photo black which is only used on photo paper. It's a great printer which I would highly recommend you get. Where are you that you can't get cartridges for it? What about ink for doing your own refills?

In my opinion, Epson's Durabrite inks are great for printing on plain paper because the colors won't run if they get wet. This is a serious drawback to the dye-based inks when printing on plain paper. When you print dye on photo paper, it also will not run when it gets wet. Also, you can't use the Durabrite inks on most photo paper, you have to use Epson's special paper designed for Durabrite ink--at least that's what Epson says. So these are the main reasons I advise against Epson's Durabrite ink. I would only recommend it if you plan on doing a lot of color printing on plain paper and you will never let the printer sit idle for more than a week or two and you don't mind paying the premium price of OEM cartridges and photo paper.

The printers that have heads built into the cartridges are also excellent but very expensive to operate which is why I would not recommend the Canon iP1200.

Especially if you already have ink designed for the iP3000, I would highly recommend that you go with that printer. Where in the world do you live that has iP3000's still available but not BCI 3e and BCI 6 cartridges?

 

[alexandereci]

I'm in the Philippines, and while some stores DO stock up on 3e and 6 carts, it is rare to go to a store and be able to buy a complete set.

I got fed up with getting my iP1000 to work, so I went out and bought a Canon iP1200 (the upgrade to iP1000). I would've like to get the Epson printer but getting proper pigment inks for it would be very expensive as I have to order it overseas --- all retailers stock here is dye-based ink. So far I'm happy with Canon's lower pl (2pl vs my older printer's 5pl!) and high dpi, and since I've still got lots of Canon-compatible ink, I've saved a lot there already.

Thanks again for the help!