Supertank printers with replaceable ink absorbers?

[macattack]

Does anyone know of a supertank style printer that has a replaceable ink absorber pad? The pad seems so cheap and basic, but most printers just stop working in their software once it fills up and make it hard to replace and near impossible to reset their internal counters. Like this epson ecotank after 3 years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA3wOmujZHA&feature=emb_title

Or any desktop inkjet that lets you replace the pad? It seems like the 3 consumables of inkjets are the ink, the print heads and the pads.

I've seen one huge HP large format printer (The Designjet Z6200 ) that has a replaceable pad, but it seems like it's not a supertank style, so the ink for them costs a lot still, not mention it being huge.

I mostly want this for on demand impulse printing of color images, so cheap is what I'm going for. I don't really care if my print offs last for decades or not since I will have digital copies. I don't want to screw with amazon prime photos and wait for shipments either. But on principle I don't want to buy something that kills itself after a couple of years over a $10 sponge.

I was also thinking of going for a color laser printer, but according to rtings.com reviews, a color laser has about a $0.20/photo cost in toner while a supertank is more like $0.02/photo

I also posted the above in the dpreview.com forums, but you guys seem more knowledgeable.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

The ET-7700/7750 models come with a user replaceable waste ink tank, and pad replacement is quite easy for a range of lower end ET models - it is a matter of one screw on the back side at the bottom edge holding a box with the waste ink pads. You can replace them with kitchen paper towels , and you need the WicReset utility to do the counter reset - against a charge.
I would recommend you to look for the ET7750 which does very good photo prints if you are looking for an ink tank printer. Printheads are not user replaceable on Epson printers , and there is no need to replace the head as long as you keep your printer going - even at a low rate.

 

[phl1365]

Just a shame the ET-77xx is so expensive. Can probably purchase two ET-27xx printers and have a brand new replacement once the first waste tank gets full. Yeah it probably produces much better photos, but that's not a priority for many users.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

it probably produces much better photos,

The ET27.. series printers don't - they run with 4 inks - a pigment black only which is not used for printing on glossy papers so blacks get a tint since they are mixed with the other inks. And the droplet size is larger than on the ET7700. Epson is offering a range of Ecotank printers so you have a choice.

 

[phl1365]

You are correct. I was referring to the ET-77xx producing better photos than the 27xx. I was attempting to state that the quality of the 27xx was sufficient for many users such as myself.

 

[websnail]

Quick tip... Do a web search for any Epson model you are interested in with the keywords "maintenance box" added..
eg: 7710 maintenance box

Look for an Epson official site page for the appropriate maintenance box. If one exists you can be sure that the model you're interested in has the unit... If you get random other stuff, chances are it's porous pads and a reset only.

Worth noting that this stuff is my bread and butter so drop me a line (preferably via the octoink contact us form though as I'm *ahem* rather lax on here of late) and I'll be happy to advise on compatibility and options.


FYI: The ET-2710 are porous pad + reset, ET-2750 do have a maintenance box (with chip).

Oh and Epson are pushing almost all of their newer models to have maintenance boxes which I'm actually really pleased about. About ruddy time!

 

[macattack]

In the end, I got an Epson ET-7750 from the clearance center ~$450 and so far so good. It even came with an extra maintenance tank. Thanks for the advice! I ended up figuring out that same trick you mentioned websnail.

I find it kind of weird they don't sell the L1800 in the USA. I wonder how different the quality is.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

You won't see a difference to prints with the L1800, and the L1800 does not have a user replaceable maintenance box.

 

[websnail]

I find it kind of weird they don't sell the L1800 in the USA. I wonder how different the quality is.

To be honest, the build quality of the L1800 we purchased in here, years back, was surprisingly poor compared to the Photo 1500W (The Artisan 1430 equivalent). The printhead and overall chassis is much the same but the quality of the plastic moulding, finish, etc... really was pretty naff so I'm not sure what was going on. That may have changed in the intervening years but from what I could see, it was just an overpriced unit. Epson have a habit of pricing their A3 Ecotank models stupidly high to the point that I wonder if it's worth considering a 1500W/1430 and replacing the mainboard with a replacement L1800 board from aliexpress or similar. Not tried it but I suspect it would work.

As to maintenance boxes, the L1300, ET14000 and L1800 are all accessible to fit external waste ink tanks plus they're supported by WICReset so the waste ink side of things is easily resolved.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Epson have a habit of pricing their A3 Ecotank models stupidly high

Yes, and we can assume that this intentional, but let's have a look to the ink pricing, T0793 cartridges for the 1500W run at about 16€ per 11.1ml at Amazon which makes about 1440€/litre. The L1800 comes with T673 70ml bottles which run at 9,15€ per bottle or 130,40€/l .
The L1800 comes with 6 bottles of 70ml = 420ml total which makes 605€ at cartridge ink prices. And now it's getting difficult - the 1500W inks are Claria inks , the 673 bottled inks are not, they perform somewhat weaker in regards to UV/ozone performance. And the L1800 has an integral CISS already built in which you would need to install into the 1500W and to make the firmware chipless (if that option would exist at all)