please help with CISS system/printer recommendation

[bluetulip]

hi! i'm a newbie. i have a side biz of crafting wedding invitations, and the time has come to deal with my printing issues. i'm hoping you guys can offer some help?

i currently use a canon ip4500 that i bought used from our company when they changed models. i've been using it to print the invites, which are mostly text but also graphics. i HATE that the edges of the printing are slightly blurry. no one notices but me, but i hate that it's not crisp and clear. so i researched a lot online, and thought that laser printing was the way to go for crisp clear printing and also to save on ink. i go thru a lot of ink. bought a good one, but it won't feed 90% of the cardstock i use, so that's not going to work. sighed. held head in hands. returned it. the ones that WILL feed my stock start at about $1000US, which is over my budget at this point.

then i found CISS systems, which seem to be great at least for solving my ink problems. but i've been reading on your threads about all the headaches associated with canons and CISS, and trying to find the perfect placement to avoid siphoning the ink, or having it all leak out and riun things, etc.

so my question is this: do you think it will be wise to get a CSS for this printer, or should I purchase an epson (or other brand?) and a CISS for it. i like the 4500, and it is ok. but i'm only invested in it for $15, so it's not a big deal if it gets put on the backburner. i emailed a couple of you,and thanks for your help. one told me that the 4500 does have pretty good resolution, does anyone know of an epson that would be better? i print from photoshop. in a perfect world, i'd like to find a printer that gives me clear text and graphics, and i can hook up to a CISS that won't leak and ruin my stock or have to be fiddled with constantly.<--- yeah, that's not too much to ask for, right?

any help is appreciated! thanks, and nice to meet everyone!

martha

 

[Tin Ho]

Canon ip4500 is one of the best inkjet black text printer. You did not mention which part of your printing is blurry. Black text? or color text? ip4500 can print very crispy black text if you use a right paper to print on. But this kind of paper generally is not very good for printing color graphics. The paper good for printing colors are coated paper specifically for inkjet color printing. They are not great for black text printed with black pigment ink.

Don't use a CIS on your Canon printer. You will run into problems and possibly damage your print head.

 

[bluetulip]

thanks for your reply. i print mostly black, and i can see slight fuzziness at the edges of the text. It is not bad with the graphics, except for one drawing that is done in a more line style, not filled in/colored. i print ona lot of 80lb cardstocks, which it feeds fine. i've also printed on 107# stardream and similair pearlescent metallics, and it is alright. but becauew it's inkjet, if i touch the ink on those with a moist finger, it will smudge. but the laser printer wouldn't even feed it, so..

ona stationery forum, they are all ga-ga over a xerox phaser 8560 (?) a solid ink printer. but it can be scratched of fthe pearlescent paper, so i don't know what is preferrable. and it's about $800-1000, so i don't think tha's worth it when it still has significant problems. i heard mention of a "sealant spray" you can use to seal inkjet ink, does anyone know anything about this or has tried it?

thanks for the input on the CISS. you're right, i can get clear text on regular paper, unfortunately it isn't "high quality" enough for wedding invites, you know?

martha

 

[fotofreek]

Pigment ink works poorly on glossy photo paper, but it may work ok on coated matte photo paper. I've done invitations and greeting cards on double sided photo supreme Staples matte paper with great results. Your printer only uses the pigmented ink when you select plain paper. In addition, if you are refilling carts some of the "pigment-based" bulk ink that is available is, unfortunately, not pigment based at all. If you are not using the plain paper setting you will be printing everything with dye-bsed inks which don't perform that well on standard card stock. If you are in the US or Canada and near a Staples store, buy a pack of the photo supreme double sided matte paper and try it. It is a reasonable weight for greeting cards and may work well for your purposes. Colors come up much more vivid than on plain uncoated paper or card stock. The CIS question is a totally diferent subject.

 

[bluetulip]

thanks for the paper suggestion. i am printing with "plain paper" selected. so that part's ok, right? i do have a staples around, i can try out that paper. teh downside i am expecting with that is i will probably be serverly limited color-wise, right? and it is only smooth, not laid or linen? so that wouldn't be ideal. but the popular invite i have with a sketch-like drawing IS printed on smooth white paper, so if i could at least improve that, it would be better. i have found with the laid and linen stock that the edge fuzziness is all but hidden, and as no one has ever commented on it, it must only be noticeable to me and other printers or someone who would have a reason to peer very closely at it. i do have matte coated greeting cards i print directly on, and you're right, the colors and quality of the printing is better.

right now, i am having the cartridges filled at cartridge world. i haven't had major issues, except for my pigment black cartridge won't read. i tried 2 "new" oem carts and the printer wouldn't recognisethem at all, so i ended up havign my old one refilled. of course it reads as emtpy, so i have to keep an eye on it. but the $11 a pop for refills is goign to kill me, since if i have a design with a heavy black damask or something, it goes thru those fairly easily. hence the interest in CISS. i can see that turning into a nightmare tho. i have considered a litttle bit going the syringe route and getting a chip resetter, but the hands-off approach to the CISS seemed more appealing. with syringes, i'd still be refilling as often as i am now.

thanks for your help! it's frustrating, because i can't even seem to nail down "the" printer that i can save for, the one that's going to do it all. every one that i find can handle 1 or 2 aspects of what i need, but not others.


martha

 

[fotofreek]

I would bet that the black ink for the larger black cart is NOT pigmented ink as advertised. pigmented ink tends to sit on top of the paper instead of sinking in, but I'm sure that paper texture does make a difference. The textured papers you are using can definitely be a problem. There are web sites that sell inkjet-compatable art papers. They aren't cheap, however.

My first attempts to print greeting cards, including photos, with inexpensive card stock didn't work out well. The colors were muted and the photos looked lousy. That is when I experimented with the matte surface inkjet papers and found the one I mentioned to be the best from the standpoint of weight, feel, and picture quality. Periodically, the Staples paper (be sure it is photo supreme double sided matte) goes on sale as a buy one and get one free. I did hit a sale for $2 per package and bought a dozen packs - an absolute great buy. I haven't seen that repeated since.

If you decide to refill you can verify with the vendor that you are getting pigmented ink for that cart. Since it is a large capacity cart you shouldn't run out that rapidly. If I were you I would start refilling and buy a chip resetter. I don't know if the one for sale at MIS is the same as the others I've seen reported, but it is only $29 - available on their web site. Refilling is a bit daunting the first time or two, but once you get the routine down you can do it very easily. I've been refilling canon carts for more than five years.

For refilling you can check with Precision Colors that sells Image Specialist inks to be certain that the pigmented ink is as it should be. In addition, Hobbicolors can be contacte to verify the same. Those are the two inks that I've seen reported on with good results. Formulabs inks also have a good reputation, but the vendor who sold it just went out of the ink business.

There are participants on this forum that are very knowledgeable with CIS systems. From what I've read of years of posts, CIS systems are not without their problems, but others can tell you much more than I about them.