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

[craig carr]

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.

OK that makes sense. Do you think they would be better than the majority of third part inks out there? Just don't want to stretch to the cost of the lyson stuff right now and no way to I have enough cash to get the fujifilm ink yet unfortunately.
I see some of the fujifilm stuff for sale being 2-3 years out of date. Is that even use-able?
Cheers

@craig carr I am in fife what about yourself.

I'm in Perth

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I didn't have problems so far with dye inks a few years out of date as long as the bottle, container, cartridge has not been opened before risking a fungus infection.
Epson is selling tank system printers like the L800, 805, 810, 1800 as 6 color photo printers. The inks for these printers perform better than lots of 3rd party dye inks but not as good as the real Claria inks. These inks come in 70ml bottles and at reasonable prices. These inks can be considered as a good price/performance compromise. I would not recommend 3rd party ink substitutes for these inks. Do not get distracted by the lower performing inks for the L300 and similar printer models, they are different.
Look here for the inks:
https://www.epson.eu/products/printers/inkjet-printers/consumer/epson-l800#accessories

 

[craig carr]

Cool. Thanks for that. I assume the ones on city ink express must be for the L300 and the likes because they are t20*** rather than the t6**** on that link you sent for the L800.
I will certainly be looking into the fujifilm inks. I was thinking of maybe buying the epson bundle of 70ml bottles then purchasing a fujifilm cart now and again when the finances afford me to. Starting with black since I go through about 3 times that than any other colour.
I mean in the long run they would certainly be the best value for money in terms of performance I'm sure.
I'd love to try good pigment inks in the printer but I've got the fear. So much conflicting information about 1. using them in the 1500 and 2. which pigment ink gives good results.

Thanks again

 

[craig carr]

@Ink stained Fingers how do you dilute the cyan and the magenta to light cyan and magenta in regards to the fujifilm dl carts?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Some people use pigment inks in a 1500W, but you would get even better results with a gloss optimizer like the one used in a SC-P400 or in Canon printers, but that's a completely separate subject.
I'm using 2 parts solvent and 1 part M or C ink for the photo/light inks, I don't know whether that's exactly the same ratio Epson is using but I'm doing my own profiles so this doesn't matter so much.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

@Ink stained Fingers just had a good read of all the information regarding a workforce printer and I think it may fit my needs. Do all the printers models use the same print head because I am only interested in photo printing so the cheapest model would do me

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Do all the printers models use the same print head

no, you would need to go into the technical specs which tell you the number of nozzles per color and the type of technology in Epson terms e.g. 'Precision Core' , and different printheads would need different types of cartridges. the Workforce series exists since quite some years with models in different performance classes, but there is always a group of models with the same printhead/cartridges. And since there are always new models coming in this family you need to check whether there are already refill cartridges available which might not be the case for the latest/newest types yet.
And we are talking here about 'printers' in most cases , but most of the workforce models are actually combo models with a scanner etc, and printer only models are rare. I have tested/used/I'm using a small WF-2010W printer only, an entry level printer, it does a good job overall which I have reported in some other threads. And there is a WF-7110DTW, a A3 printer only model, heavy, 2 paper bins, duplex, you get lots of hardware for your money. It's performance ist good as well, is a bargain A3 printer, with one flaw that the pickup roller leaves an impression on photo paper, more or less visible on different types of papers, but when you ask other people they won't see it if you don't point it out directly to them. I'm using different cartridge sets for dye/pigment inks, I don't change ink in the cartridges. And as mentioned before I'm doing my own color profiles to get the best out of the inks when I'm using the printers in a mode they are not really made for. So it is a compromise overall vs. typical photo printers - e.g. P400/600 in terms of handling, cartridge volume, printing speed, but printing output is very good and you are only able to see differences to the other printers if you really know what to look for, with a magnifier.

 

[craig carr]

Hmmm. So a workforce would be a good option if requiring a pigment ink printer on a budget?
I was looking on ebay last night at large cartridges and was thinking, If I was to use pigment ink in the 1500w. The best way to surley do so would be to buy the large epson carts off ebay, Like the ones for the 4880 or the 7600?
The more I look into this the more confused I get haha

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Workforce printers are genuine pigment ink printers, they use Durabrite inks, but these are more tuned for matte paper, copy paper etc. You can use other pigment inks like Ultrachrome and compatibles - the choices are wide, there are quite a number of good ink suppliers for such inks, and yes you can buy larger Epson cartridges and drain them for refill into your printer. There is no reason to get confused, it all starts with what you want to acheive, what are you printing, how much are you printing, which format, which paper type, and there is as well a personal element how much you are willing , able and interested to deviate from the standard route with the standard Epson materials, printer, cartridges, papers and go your own because to want to save, you are interested in testing this and that, getting more out of your printer etc, and all with some risk or surprise that it may work out for you differently - that would be the fun part of it.....The majority of people are rather interested that their printer works and they would not be interested at all in most of the details we are discussing here.

 

[craig carr]

Workforce printers are genuine pigment ink printers, they use Durabrite inks, but these are more tuned for matte paper, copy paper etc. You can use other pigment inks like Ultrachrome and compatibles - the choices are wide, there are quite a number of good ink suppliers for such inks, and yes you can buy larger Epson cartridges and drain them for refill into your printer. There is no reason to get confused, it all starts with what you want to acheive, what are you printing, how much are you printing, which format, which paper type, and there is as well a personal element how much you are willing , able and interested to deviate from the standard route with the standard Epson materials, printer, cartridges, papers and go your own because to want to save, you are interested in testing this and that, getting more out of your printer etc, and all with some risk or surprise that it may work out for you differently - that would be the fun part of it.....The majority of people are rather interested that their printer works and they would not be interested at all in most of the details we are discussing here.

I'm a fiddler. I like things to work but I also love to experiment if it means getting the best performance I can. I Was interested in trying octoink pigment inks in the 1500 but martin appears not to be replying to my messages. So the epson carts may be a good option. I see Joe(jtoolman) swears by using the epson magenta vivid from the large carts in his pigment ink printers because its the only magenta that has a decent gloss so I had a look on ebay and there is these carts available from £10- £25 which is pretty decent I think. I assume they will all be the same inks?
Sorry for barraging you with 3 days worth of questions. I am just patiently waiting on my refund for my pixma pro before I can make my next printer purchase so thought I may as well do as much research as possible and speak to the people in the know.