Where can I buy Refillable Ink for Epson Surecolor 9000?

[Lumgeorge]

I am looking at purchasing a used Epson Surecolor 9000. I am new to these forums and printers in general. Before I purchase this printer I want to know where I can buy ink for this printer. The cartridges beings sold with the printer are refillable. I can’t find the ink in bottles for the colors i need anywhere online except on ebay being sold by “peterinkstore” so I can refill the cartridges which the seller said they are refillable. (Aftermarket I assume) The only place I found a set was on ebay being sold for about as much as the OEM cartridges are being sold for. (I will attach a picture) There are 10 colors for this printer so it is not as if I can just buy C, M, Y, K.

Also the seller told me that the LLK nozzle needs to be cleared. Is that a difficult job and does that impact the sale?

If anyone has any ideas or websites on where i can find bottles ink for the colors I need please let me know. Thank you!

 

[The Hat]

I am looking at purchasing a used Epson Surecolor 9000. I am new to these forums and printers in general.

You’re learning curve will be mightily if you get that printer, my advice is to start small and learn the trade, then upgrade to something larger, inkjet printing is expensive so don’t expect a free lunch.

Your already complaining about ink prices and you don’t own the printer yet, you’re in over your head, so swim ashore before you drown..

P.S. Ask yourself why the current owner wants to sell !

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Also the seller told me that the LLK nozzle needs to be cleared.

I would be pretty reluctant to buy a printer in that condition, everything in the range from an easy cleaning to the replacement of the printhead could be necessary. I think it should be the job of the seller to offer the printer in working condition.

What environment is the printer coming from - a printshop , a poster/arts business - information about the prior use of that printer is very important. Has the printer been serviced already for whatever reason ? Or a regular maintenance been done ? It's like buying a used car - you don't buy it just because the prior owner tells you everything is o.k.

The refill capability depends on your country/Epson business region of residence - the firmware of printers in the European region let you do refill with cartridiges with one-time chips, this does not work with printers in the U.S. business region. Refill inks and cartridges would be available from aliexpress when you search for 'Epson P9000' , local suppliers may be available in your country as well - or not if there is no market due to the blocked firmware.

 

[Lumgeorge]

You’re learning curve will be mightily if you get that printer, my advice is to start small and learn the trade, then upgrade to something larger, inkjet printing is expensive so don’t expect a free lunch.

Your already complaining about ink prices and you don’t own the printer yet, you’re in over your head, so swim ashore before you drown..

P.S. Ask yourself why the current owner wants to sell !

That makes a lot of sense, and I agree, I was thinking maybe the deal was too good to pass up but I am willing to listen to experience.

I am an artist just looking for a printer that is capable of very nice looking prints to sell at art booths or online. I do not need a large scale “44 inch printer but it would be nice to have something that can maybe go to 17” or 22” or a similar size. Is there a printer you recommend for this use case? Also I do not like the idea of cartridges and spending a lot on inks because I do not have a lot of people asking me for prints. So any printer that has a similar use of refillable cartridges or perhaps a cheaper color options like toner for laser? Although I have heard inks are going to have way better color for a printer, so i guess I am stuck with inkjet.

 

[Lumgeorge]

I would be pretty reluctant to buy a printer in that condition, everything in the range from an easy cleaning to the replacement of the printhead could be necessary. I think it should be the job of the seller to offer the printer in working condition.

What environment is the printer coming from - a printshop , a poster/arts business - information about the prior use of that printer is very important. Has the printer been serviced already for whatever reason ? Or a regular maintenance been done ? It's like buying a used car - you don't buy it just because the prior owner tells you everything is o.k.

The refill capability depends on your country/Epson business region of residence - the firmware of printers in the European region let you do refill with cartridiges with one-time chips, this does not work with printers in the U.S. business region. Refill inks and cartridges would be available from aliexpress when you search for 'Epson P9000' , local suppliers may be available in your country as well - or not if there is no market due to the blocked firmware.

Thanks for your reply. I like your car buying comparison. I work on my vehicle and have looked at a lot of cars and not purchased them so I can really identify with this. I dont know the use case or life this printer had but I do not think I will pursue after hearing the feedback on this forum.

Just out of curiosity though can you change the firmware version of the printer through a computer? Would that make it easier to use the refillable cartridges?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I would not generally tell you not to buy a used printer, but you would need to do it with some knowledge and care since it is some larger investment than a typical desktop printer. I bought a 24" Epson P7600 long time ago, I went to the seller - with a notebook and the driver installed and the maintenance program to check for various usage data and the error log, so I did a nozzle check and a print of some smaller prints ; it turned out that the printer was backup unit and barely used so I got it as a bargain since nobody else was bidding.

If you can 'live' with a 24 inch printer I may direct your attention to the Canon TC-20 which is a tank system printer with pigment inks. I just have installed it myself. There is a somewhat comparable Ecotank printer by Epson - the SC-T3100X which uses as well bottled inks - but this one with dye inks with less longevity of the prints. Both Canon and Epson offer more similar models , as well wider ones, but all of them with cartridges , and I'm afraid that refill won't be possible on those or only with other tricks like one-time chips which would need to be replaced after each refill.
Have a look to the Canon TC-20 , the 24" width may suffice your needs, it comes with a very affordable price and gives you the opportunity to collect experience with such printer. The inks for this printer come in refill bottles, but at a pretty high price, But there are alternate offers available - you either buy Canon compatible inks or bottled inks by a 3rd party. Filling up the ink bottles is easy with a syringe and a long needle, and there are no chips or whatever restricting the use of 3rd party inks.

The quality and the look of a print is never a matter of the inks alone nor the papers, it is always the combination of both which deliver a print which you like , so this means that you need to experiment and test this and that combination. Or you find out that you cannot use this printer for this or that reason - e.g. paper thickness - missing light colors - gamut not large enough etc.

You can find a very detailed review of the TC-20 here

https://www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-tc-20m-printer-review/

(The TC-20M is just a model variation with a scanner which you may not need)

 

[Lumgeorge]

I would not generally tell you not to buy a used printer, but you would need to do it with some knowledge and care since it is some larger investment than a typical desktop printer. I bought a 24" Epson P7600 long time ago, I went to the seller - with a notebook and the driver installed and the maintenance program to check for various usage data and the error log, so I did a nozzle check and a print of some smaller prints ; it turned out that the printer was backup unit and barely used so I got it as a bargain since nobody else was bidding.

If you can 'live' with a 24 inch printer I may direct your attention to the Canon TC-20 which is a tank system printer with pigment inks. I just have installed it myself. There is a somewhat comparable Megatank printer by Epson - the SC-T3100X which uses as well bottled inks - but this one with dye inks with less longevity of the prints. Both Canon and Epson offer more similar models , as well wider ones, but all of them with cartridges , and I'm afraid that refill won't be possible on those or only with other tricks like one-time chips which would need to be replaced after each refill.
Have a look to the Canon TC-20 , the 24" width may suffice your needs, it comes with a very affordable price and gives you the opportunity to collect experience with such printer. The inks for this printer come in refill bottles, but at a pretty high price, But there are alternate offers available - you either buy Canon compatible inks or bottled inks by a 3rd party. Filling up the ink bottles is easy with a syringe and along needle, and there are no chips or whatever restricting the use of 3rd party inks.

The quality and the look of a print is never a matter of the inks alone nor the papers, it is always the combination of both which deliver a print which you like , so this means that you need to experiment and test this and that combination. Or you find out that youd cannot use this printer for this or that reason - e.g. paper thickness - missing light colors - gamut not large enough etc.

You can find a very detailed review of the TC-20 here

https://www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-tc-20m-printer-review/

(The TC-20M is just a model variation with a scanner which you may not need)

Thank you! I will research this one!