Ink republic & Epson C88+

[expertmagician]

I bought an Epson C88+ and an ink republic CIS with the intention of using a dye/alcohol based ink which is a lighter transparent ink.

1) I originally found that the ink did not flow well with the jars sitting on the same table as the printer.

2) I finally got an answer from ink republic and I was told that I needed to raise the jars by 1-2 inches.

3) i did this and the ink flowed better. If I raised the jars by 2 inches the flow was too strong and I saw the printer drip extra into onto the pages, making a mess.

4) I tried a 1 inch raise and the flow was better...BUT, the printer flow was inconsistant.

PROBLEM I am trying to solve:

When the printer starts printing a page and the jar is raised 1 inch, the letters near the top of the page are darker than the letters lower down the page. It almost appears as if the print is a "gradient" with most of the gradient's darker image near the top of the page and the bottom of the page is lighter in color.

Is this normal for a CIS system ? Does the ink jets shoot out more ink near when it starts and the flow become inconsistant as the page continues ?

Thoughts ?

Is there a better CIS for an Epson C88+ printer for alcohol based, dye inks (remember my ink is transparent (almost like water color, but, it is alcohol based...I doubt that makes a difference. But, I thought I would incldue the details). The ink flows like water because it is not a pigment.

Help ?

 

[printfan1138]

I have several C-88+ printers and like them. Two have the cartridges installed and one is set up for dye based ink in a cis system. They all work fine and the dye based one prints a bit dark on Photo gloss paper but I get good prints when I set the tint control on my software to more green. I want to learn to use the color profiling software next. I didn't see any comment on this but I suppose your aware that the C-88+ is sold as a Pigment based printer? When reading your post I was thinking that a thin ink would be apt to run through a printer way too easy . The ink I am using at the moment in the cis is water based and it seems to do just fine. My bottles have always been set on the same level as the printer and seem to do well. Another thing I think really makes a difference is my cis has "Dampers" rather than modified inkjet refillable carts. Dampers hold very little ink and it seems to lend itself to more control over the flow of the ink through the head. One thing I have noticed using these c-88+ printers is that the yellow seems to slow and not flow as smoothly at times so I have occasionally used a damper feed head cleaning tool with a syringe just on the yellow "post" and that helps. I have no idea why that is just the case with yellow. Perhaps it's the chemical used to get the color? If anyone knows please post the answer. But do check out "damper" systems ad I think that might work for you best! Good printing. PrintFan1138

 

[pharmacist]

@printfan1138: both Inkrepublic and Inkjetcarts.us sells the same systems, based on dampers. Actually my Epson Pro 3800 refillable cartridges purchased at Inkrepublic.com are exactly the same as the ones from inkjetcarts.us. I think Inkrepublic.com produces them and resells them to both Inkjetcarts.us and Conecolor.com. I tried several refillable cartridges for my Epson Pro 3800, but the Inkrepublic.com's I-Refill system is by far the best one (see my review on this forum). One can purchase them at Inkrepublic.com or at Inkjetcarts.us or Conecolor.com: these are exactly the same, so one should look at the service and the best price.

The damper system is by far the most reliable CISS-system for Epson cartridges. For Canon one should stick with original cartridges, because these are the best.

 

[printfan1138]

Pharmacist

Thanks for the good information. I just viewed a long tutorial on Ross Hardies web-site( Inkjetcarts) about the Epson 3800 and It was very informative with a lot of detail.
I'm just a rookie printer myself, still a lot to learn so my printers are not in the same league with yours but who knows? If it makes economic sense down the road I may acquire a printer of that type so I can print on large canvas. That is one road I may have to explore simply because my wife is a fine artist and that would be a wonderful use of my printing hobby!
For now I'm learning about the cis systems as well as the refillable damper kits offered online and how to balance inks with papers and set up a printer for the best photo prints possible. I recently ordered a sample pack of printer paper from Red River paper company. I really like their products and they are affordable as well. Based on the results I put in a second order for some of their glossy-matte papers in 8 1/2 x11 and 13x19 inch sizes to try out and I'm still experimenting with their other papers. Their sampler kits give a cross section of the type of paper for either pigment inks or dye based and I think the cost was a tad under $7.00 so it's a great way to see what the results will be using a good cross section of papers.
May I ask what you use your Epson 3800 for? Are you in a business or just a hobbyist like me? That is one fine printer that is perfect for cis systems and using cis sure saves a ton of money given the size and cost of the OEM carts for that model. But, of course you already know that better than I. One way I have also saved money is to watch for the refurbished printers offered by Epson on occasion. I have an Epson 1400 that I really like that was a refurbished printer from Epson and it cost just $149.00. I could not tell it from new and it's printed several hundred full size Photo prints for us already. The quality is excellent to my untrained eye and we love to send pictures we take to friends and family!
I just recently joined this venue and it is so good to be able to compare notes about inkjet printing with so many people that have the same love of printing. I hope all your experiences with printing are good ones and happy printing. Regards.....Printfan1138!