Q: Recommended ink for HP #88 / Officejet L7xxx ?

[matsolsson]

I am about to buy a CISS for my dad's HP OfficeJet L7480 which used HP #88 carts.

I have not yet decided on a CISS yet, and since many CISS are sold empty I figured I will also need a place to buy the ink from. I have seen recommendations on this forum for Canon-inks, but not for HP-inks. But I read that black ink is an issue with the HP88 printers. And I don't want problems with ruined print heads.

The original carts have pigment based black ink, and dye based color inks. I have seen that it is possible to buy this setup, as well as all pigment and all dye ink. I lean towards pigment inks, but only if the result is good.

Any recommendations regarding ink suppliers, preferably in Europe as I live in Sweden, but I don't mind buying from Asia/US if shipping is reasonable.

When I Google for CISS I mostly find Chinese manufacturers. And the European companies often emphasize that they are using ink made in the western europe, or in the US. Is Chinese ink still bad, or is this history? The Chinese have come a long way the last few years, perhaps also in refill ink technology?

Most CISS are of the traditional setup with external tanks and tubes to the carts. But I have also found large volume carts that seem like a good idea. No need for external tanks. But I don't know if it would work well. Anyone tried this?
http://www.doit-cmy.com/sdp/492025/4/pd-2653415/4590425-1297953.html

In any case I need some good ink to go with whatever carts/CISS I end up with.

Here are some of the CISS I have found:
http://continuous-ink-system.co.uk/...jet_pro_L7580_ciss_continuous_ink_system.html
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bulk-Ink-CIS-...286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:15|39:1|240:1318
http://www.doit-cmy.com/sdp/492025/4/pd-2653415/3591714-1297953.html

I am grateful for any help! Both on ink and CISS for my dad's printer. Cost is an issue, but performance is more important. I have seen CISS for $200+ and that is too much for me. I am looking for something in the range $50-100

/Mats

 

[websnail]

I have to hit the hay so this is going to be short but couple of suggestions.

I've worked with both Image Specialists and OCP inks and they work ok with the L7000 series MFD's but if you opt for dyebase instead of pigment inks bear in mind you'll get a little ink bleed on the black... I'm playing with mixing dye and pigment from Image Specialists to see how that works out and so far it's going ok.

One thing that's very clear with the pigment black though is that it does not react well to dry, hot environments so areas where there's a lot of air conditioning drying things out or near radiators is generally going to get it failing sooner than later.

As to the CIS's themselves I have to say that really the clone CIS options available are pretty cr*p with poor quality cartridges that completely side-step the pump mechanism in the OEM cartridges and thus have insufficient positive pressure (because the HP systems break the rules on pressure) to keep the printheads fed properly.

Probably the most important aspect is that these printers are already CIS equipped... Any CIS for these printers just provides an expanded reservoir compared to the cartridges so in some ways you're almost better off looking for refillable cartridges but ones that still retain the bulb/pump design. To that end converting some OEM cartridges so you can refill them is definitely worth a look.

Why is the pump important.. well basically it's this that the printer uses to determine if the ink is still being fed. If there's a kink in the tube, leak or whatever the printer won't stop feeding air which blows the printhead.


I'm afraid my brain is fried at the moment after a long day but if you're interested I'd be happy to let you have one of my kits (at cost) if you'll provide me with some measurements and intel on the L7480 so I can fix up the container to sit properly on your printer.