Need info on Epson 8550 as a midlevel art printer using 3rd party pigment ink please!

[Verity]

Hello!

I'm a digital artist looking at buying an A3+ art printer for my art. My art is highly detailed with lots of subtle shading. You can see it at veritysvisions . com if you need. Do you think it could manage the subtle shading and vibrant colors in my art?

I want to print on thick matte cotton paper with pigment inks.
My housemate might want to print photographs occasionally on glossy photo paper that has already been purchased.

I'd like a printer that has a good quality build and will last me for a while with reasonable production costs.

During my research, I came across the Epson ET 8550 and the pigment inks for it at Precision Colors and am highly intrigued. But I have quite a few questions I'd love to have answered before I spend the money on this thing.

The page for the ink on Precision Colors says they've been using their pigment ink in it for over 2 years and it's been working great. https://www.precisioncolors.com/ET8550.html

Some concerns I've come across that I'd like answers for are:

Can this printer perform well enough to replicate my art to a reasonable degree?

I've looked at the Red River paper Precision Colors recommends and those look nice, but I'm not an expert on this stuff. Can you offer opinions on these? Or recommend other third party papers that are reasonably priced?

What kind of maintenance will it need and can it be performed at home? I've seen references to 'waste ink tanks/pads' being full and meaning end of life for printers and page counters that need reset. Does this printer have issues like this?

Specific questions for the pigment ink:

I've read some stuff that says pigment ink needs agitated to stay mixed and not settle or precipitate. Is this true of Precision Colors ink? What would be the best way of accomplishing this in the ET 8550? The recommended process for agitation in the ink tank was to disconnect the tubes somewhere along the line to the print head and use a syringe to suck ink in and out of the tank. Does this seem like a reasonable process?

What is the shelf life of the ink? Storage requirements?

How often to print to keep clogs from happening?

How can I clean it if it does clog?

Can I do borderless printing with pigments? Does it need cleaning afterwards and how do I perform that?

How often should I be printing to keep the print head from clogging?

What is the real issue with printing pigment on glossy surfaces? Is it just gloss differential or is smearing an issue or something else?

Are there other questions I should be asking?

What are your general opinions for this printer?

Thanks for your time!

 

[Simon Knight]

I surprised no one has answered these questions so I will have a try.

I'm a digital artist looking at buying an A3+ art printer for my art. My art is highly detailed with lots of subtle shading. You can see it at veritysvisions . com if you need. Do you think it could manage the subtle shading and vibrant colors in my art?

Yes see Keith Coopers video at Northlight images where he prints cards. see

I want to print on thick matte cotton paper with pigment inks.
Why pigment inks. Two possible reasons 1) print longevity 2) Printing Black and White.
Claria ET is suppose to have a very long life. If you buy 3rd party pigments then you have no idea how they resist fading; just because they are pigment based does not mean they will out last Claria ET dye inks.
My housemate might want to print photographs occasionally on glossy photo paper that has already been purchased.
The stock ET-8550 prints very good colour images and good black and whites on gloss / semi gloss papers

I'd like a printer that has a good quality build and will last me for a while with reasonable production costs.
Epson offer an extended five year warrantee.

During my research, I came across the Epson ET 8550 and the pigment inks for it at Precision Colors and am highly intrigued. But I have quite a few questions I'd love to have answered before I spend the money on this thing.

The page for the ink on Precision Colors says they've been using their pigment ink in it for over 2 years and it's been working great. https://www.precisioncolors.com/ET8550.html

Some concerns I've come across that I'd like answers for are:

Can this printer perform well enough to replicate my art to a reasonable degree?
Only you can decide. No printer has the colour gamut of the real world but ink jets have been printing photographs for decades. These days they are really good.

I've looked at the Red River paper Precision Colors recommends and those look nice, but I'm not an expert on this stuff. Can you offer opinions on these? Or recommend other third party papers that are reasonably priced?
No idea as I am on the east side of the pond.

What kind of maintenance will it need and can it be performed at home? I've seen references to 'waste ink tanks/pads' being full and meaning end of life for printers and page counters that need reset. Does this printer have issues like this?
The ET-8550 has a waste ink tank that is user replaceable.

Specific questions for the pigment ink:

I've read some stuff that says pigment ink needs agitated to stay mixed and not settle or precipitate. Is this true of Precision Colors ink? What would be the best way of accomplishing this in the ET 8550? The recommended process for agitation in the ink tank was to disconnect the tubes somewhere along the line to the print head and use a syringe to suck ink in and out of the tank. Does this seem like a reasonable process?
No idea if agitation is required but the process you describe seems likely to cause mess and probably introduce air into the print lines. Another reason to stay with the stock inks.

What is the shelf life of the ink? Storage requirements?
Only the supplier can answer this question. I would guess at several years if stored at a reasonable temperature and away from strong light sources.

How often to print to keep clogs from happening?
As often as you can but once every couple of weeks depending on the temperature and humidity of the printers environment.

How can I clean it if it does clog?
Use the inbuilt cleaning cycles.

Can I do borderless printing with pigments? Does it need cleaning afterwards and how do I perform that?
Borderless printing creates a mess inside any printer. You can clean some of it up with a moist kitchen towel. The ink type will not change the amount of mess, remember this printer has one pigment channel as standard.

How often should I be printing to keep the print head from clogging?
You asked this already.

What is the real issue with printing pigment on glossy surfaces? Is it just gloss differential or is smearing an issue or something else?
You may have no issues or you may have loads depending on the ink set and the paper.

Are there other questions I should be asking?
No you should be searching for answers as there is a large amount of information published on the web about this printer.

What are your general opinions for this printer?
Its a good piece of kit in stock form, i.e. with the Claria-ET ink set.