Thinking of buying a Epson 1500w(1430) and not sure what ink to go for

[Ink stained Fingers]

there is a principal conflict to solve - getting budget priced ink at only a few % of the prices of genuine manufacturer's inks but without too much degradation of ink performance - in this case fading stability or you expect best image printing performance - but the printer is not designed for that by the manufacturer, so you would use some tricks to get there - using dye inks instead of pigment inks, using pigment inks instead of dye inks, using other paper selections in the driver, making your own profiles or else . So most of these options and tricks have been discussed at this time.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

The problem as I see it is the xp seems to be the printer for quality but has problems with the cartridges and refill process. The workforce seems to handle the ink problem but does it produce the quality ??

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Please check this thread about Durabrite Workforce printers
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/can-durabrite-printers-be-used-for-photo-printing.10972/

and check here for the dithering and color uniformity - posting #12 comparing an Epson photo printer L800 with a workforce 2010w
https://www.printerknowledge.com/th...-3-vs-5-ink-xp-models.11730/page-2#post-99388

or here postings #8 and #10 with the WF-2010w
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/profiling-and-such-some-observations.11687/#post-98922

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@Ink stained Fingers your advice to me has been invaluable
Thanks

 

[craig carr]

It probably says something like Claria compatible or similar, but I can tell that none of the many dye inks I tested , probably 20 or more , as well those claiming similarity, compatibility, UV resistance etc don't match the genuine Canon, Epson, Fujifilm inks in terms of UV/ozon stability, the Fotonic black is equal, the colors slightly weaker, that's the only 3rd party ink exceeding all those other inks I have seen over quite some time. But you should not ignore the significant price benefit of all those over the original inks.
If you are not planning to specifically test this or that ink rather stay with the Lyson Fotonic ink, if longevity/light/UV staiblity is your concern, there are too many unproven marketing claims out.
You can get as well similar good performing Epson Ultrachrome D6 inks in cartridges for their Surelab photo printers, but they don't have any pricing benefit over the Fujifilm cartridges.

The stuff I lonked isn't 3rd party ink. It is the official ink for the epson ecotank. It says claria.. they sell the owl stuff and the elephant stuff depending what printer you buy. I'm assuming they are just the same? £70 for 70ml of each. It's a decent price

@craig carr Hi craig welcome to the forum. Like yourself i am new to refilling and printing but i cannot recommend this forum enough the members will never let a post go unanswered and will always provide advice and ideas.I am also looking for a good priced printer and ink that will produce good results without the problem of fading. I was surprised to hear that the Canon Pro didn't produced the desired results that was always i my last resort if i could justify the cash. Can you please tell me what is the best printer refill ink combo that you have found to date. Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated.

I love the canon for colour and black and grey photography(without big solid black parts) but unfortunately the stuff i print tends to be illustrations that are mostly black and after 2 weeks solid, 2 pro 100's, 100 sheets of olmec lustre paper and 3 different inks, I just can't get a solid black. I also often get banding when printing a lot. I am going back to epson. I am on a budget so just getting a 1500w and right now, I think I'm going to get the CISS and epson ecotank ink from cityinkexpress. When I very first got the epson xp-860 I got a ciss and epson ink and the results were amazing but I was a cheapskate and bought 500ml of each ink for a combined £50.Now I am going to be selling some prints I need to make sure the print will last beyond next weekend haha.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@craig carr thanks for your thoughts the Epson 1500w looks like an expensive printer but please let me know how get on with this printer and ink

 

[craig carr]

@craig carr thanks for your thoughts the Epson 1500w looks like an expensive printer but please let me know how get on with this printer and ink

I will do. This one will just be a stop gap as I nearly went for a p400 but that would have set me back double once I'd bought the refillable carts and ink so this one will do just now and then it's time to start saving for an upgrade. Maybe aim for the p800. I like the idea of A2.

 

[craig carr]

Oh, And whereabout in Scotland are you if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Epson does not offer Claria inks for their - ET-xxxx or ITS - Lxxxx models - Ecotank or integrated tank system. Epson just says in their product brochures that the printers are coming with genuine Epson ink. And even more - they are selling different inks for different printers - the inks for the L300 perform worse than the inks for the Photo L800/1800 which are not that good as the Claria inks, and 3rd party inks won't be better. Any references to Claria would probably just indicate that it is dye ink. Please don't get confused. I only have seen Claria inks in small cartridges for the photo type printers, P50, XP55, some Expression photo models and the A3 1400/1500W printers, not for Ecotank systems, not for larger format printers in bigger cartridges.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@craig carr I am in fife what about yourself.