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digitalfailure

digitalfailure

Staff Bog Cleaner 2015
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Brian
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Hi

I've got round to installing my printer again on my main PC......it's only taken a year

Last time I used it, the status screens were telling me that one of the ink carts was almost empty, so in true lazy **** fashion I decided to look at that another day :doh:

Well, the installation was a breeze, but as you'd expect from a printer thats stood lifeless for so long, the nozzles were choked. I cleaned them as best I could and then headed down to my local pc world for replacement carts (2 black, cyan and a yellow) i'll install the blacks and cyan when they run out....about 1/4 left in them

I almost hit the floor at the cost! :eek2:

£45 later I have a printer which will be fine after it's knocked off a few letters (black is a little smudgey still)

Still awake?

I noticed a small device that will reset the chip on Epson branded carts and allow refilling of them, but does anyone know what the quality of the aftermarket inks are like?

I used compatable cartridges years ago on another epson and the results were awful, the ink took much longer to dry on the paper and the feed rollers took great pleasure is letting you know about it.

I've also seen adverts for continuous inkingsystems, where by small bottles of ink are retro fitted outside the printer and plumbed into the print head. example

So after a lot of waffle...........:dizzy:

have you used or know anyone who's refilled epson cartridges?
Have you found a decent compat that works well with epson photo glossy paper and epson printers?

what about experiences with the CIS ?

i'm really hoping to print ore images this year instead of archiving them to disk all the time......but at almost 11 quid ago for carts it's a little off puting.

BTW, it's an Epson photo stylus 950, which has 6 carts.
in it's day it was a great printer too :D
 
Third-party inks are a bit hit-and-miss, in my opinion.

I've had some good re-filled cartridges in the past and never had too many problems, until the latest one. Its about 90% full still, yet anything I print in black comes out all stripy, and no amount of cleaning has helped.

Think I'll go with genuine HP ones in future and save myself the hassle.

Oh, and you might find that using third-part ink will void your warranty.
 
ive had similar issues, third party inks are not as good as they could be, especially the really cheap ones, its like someones rinsed out the sponges and filled them with that

Not used refils though
 
No worries about warranty, the 950 was discontinued about 2 years ago :laugh2:

I know all about the hit and mis side to compats, my previous epson had to find a new home in the skip because every print it made with those compats came out looking like one of Arkady's tanks had driven over it.

And the greens it produced :eek2:

That was almost 4 years ago......surely the main players in the compat world (jet tec seem to be the big player) have raised their game :confused:
 
I've never really worked out why the damn things are so expensive in the first place, if I'm being really honest about it.
 
your not the only one m8!

17ml of ink must cost a couple of pence max
the chip on them is nothing special.....heck everything has a chip now doesn't it!

and the plastic used to make the cartridge body is made from recycled materials...so i've probably already paid for it's production once :banghead:

it's getting to the point where it's cheaper to buy a new printer each time you replace all the carts.....but you won't do that because they never run out togther, it's always 1 or 2 at a time :hissyfit:
 
i get my ink from a place onlin called MX2.org ,
they do OEM and compat inks, both of which are great value, i have an epson R300, but b4 that an Epson photo 890 and an Epson photo 700 , both of which worked great on the compats

the children have now inherited those machines

MyPix
 
Glad you got it working again..... my printer went into storage when I moved down here. I had to buy a new print head for it because no manner of cleaning/purging would unclog the nozzles :shock:
 
If your using your printer for photos, the only ink you should be using is Epson Ink.

The cheap alternatives fade very quickly, and after seeing a test on manufacturers inks, the only ones that didn't fade, were the Epson Durabrite inks.

You pay your money, you make your choice.
 
'm not so sure that my inks are the durabrite ones, again I think they are only used on the current printers.

Interested to hear about the test prints you've seen Matt
 
When my Canon Photo printer ran dry & I saw the £60 replacement cost for ink, I made a decision that day it's probably cheaper to get my photo's printed elsewhere ;)
 
The tests were done on 'The gadget show'.

They used four Photo printers, one from the following of each of these manufacturers: Lexmark, Canon, HP, Epson.

Each printer used printed off the same set of images.
The Pictures were then covered with a mask to cover part of the image, and then they were placed in a window for a couple of weeks to catch the rays from the sun.

When the test images were viewed after the masks were removed, the parts that weren't covered by the masks had faded (apart from the Epson Prints).

Lexmark came of worse, with Canon and HP being nearly identical.
The bleaching was very noticeable.
 
I was thinking that myself.

For the last year, any letters i've needed to send, or stuff i've needed to print, i've sent it to my work PC......colour laser printers are sooooo much better when they're free :D

But I'm missing not having anything at home I can print a picture on, in all the time I had a 300D, i don't think I have 1 print from it :eek2: and the same is true from this 20d at the moment.

I also have a family wedding coming up this year, so I want to be able to control and print the images myself.......just to see if I can do it :)
 
Matt

i've just had a look at Epson's site, it would appear that only 4 printers in their range use it at the moment....must be new technology.

Can't see them using that ink in an old printer :(
 
Always buy original ink if you want the quality - for photo printers it's a must IMHO, but for printing unimportant stuff then refills are ok
 
tho the colour fast thing is important , dont forget, that once faded you can always print of another when needed,

thats the advantage to digital images, the printed picture is almost temporary compared to the electronically stored image

i use epson inks for some pics i print, but use compats for every day docs etc, and cuz the carts have chips on, there is always a way to know how much ink is left, and also easy to store in small airtight ziplok food bags

MyPix
 
I'm not sure which printers were used for the test. I'll try to find out and feed back.

I've used 3rd party inks before, and on a certain picture I've printed of my daughter, the paper is now nearly white again.
 
MyPix said:
tho the colour fast thing is important , dont forget, that once faded you can always print of another when needed,
Click to expand...

But what if your planning on selling the images as fine art?
Your client wouldn't be very happy if after a few weeks, the print had lost is vibrance.
 
Matt said:
But what if your planning on selling the images as fine art?
Your client wouldn't be very happy if after a few weeks, the print had lost is vibrance.
Click to expand...

well, if its fine art like the Lawrence Coulsons i have hanging on the wall,then i expect the best possible materials

but , i aint no pro, and i deffo dont sell any pics as fine art,

this is turning into another home use amature versus the pro augument again aint it

MyPix:)
 
this is turning into another home use amature versus the pro augument again aint it
Click to expand...

As I'm not a pro I can't answer that question.:D
But its something people might want to take into consideration when they purchase their next printer / Ink.
 
lol,
i have several Limited Edition Giclee Prints that are around 1mtr long , as far as i know these are the latest printing format for reproducing fine art , with an expected colourfast life of over 100 years ,
but are not cheap or available commercially as yet, but things change fast,

i agree that you always want to print the best quality you can for your images, be it for quality or colourfast, but again , todays technology will get left behind very soon, so you would look at reproducing the same images again in the future with even better quality,

just my thoughts
MyPix:)
 
It's actually a good topic, and one which I'm glad to see too.

I'm hoping to blitz my sister in laws wedding this coming may, so the colour fastness is a potential issue, although i'm sure album based prints will stay fineas their out of the Uv. I still have some a4 prints done on my old finepix 302z which look like new in their album after a wee while. :)

Anythey want to frame or hang though will need to be outsourced I think to G/T their fade resistance.
I seem to remember Epson saying that prints from the 950 were good for 25 years +
 
oh, and i would just like to throw this one in the ring to.....

' Real ' photographs ( C41 processing lets call it ) Fade to !!!:suspect1:

its something the industry hasnt mastered....yet


MyPix:)
 
Matt said:
Thats why I used Slide film. ;)
Click to expand...


:hand: i'm afraid i cant allow that answer:)

we are talking about physical ' prints ' to hang on the wall etc,

MyPix:whistle2:
 
I used to project them onto a large sheet of paper, and draw the image out.

Does that count?:p
 
:suspect1:

sounds a bit fishy to me

did the projector use compatable bulbs or genuine brand items :whistle2:
 
It still has the genuine bulb in it.
I'm unaware of compatible bulbs, and would probably not use them.
The last thing I want is a daffodil sprouting out of the top of it.:D
 
ah, a man after my own electrical heart

u put a bulb in the ground , you use a lamp for illumination,

originally taken from the gas lamps, but then used to describe electical lamps, originally perfected by Thomas Eddison, who invented the ES lamp, or Eddison Screw, now replaced by the Bayonet fit,

think about it, you dont call em street-bulbs or head-bulbs do you.......

or is all this a bit anal, lmfao

MyPix
 
digitalfailure said:
It's actually a good topic, and one which I'm glad to see too.

I'm hoping to blitz my sister in laws wedding this coming may, so the colour fastness is a potential issue, although i'm sure album based prints will stay fineas their out of the Uv. I still have some a4 prints done on my old finepix 302z which look like new in their album after a wee while. :)

Anythey want to frame or hang though will need to be outsourced I think to G/T their fade resistance.
I seem to remember Epson saying that prints from the 950 were good for 25 years +
Click to expand...

A good resource for all this is http://www.wilhelm-research.com/ - when kept under glass, most printers (when used with decent paper) have a life of over 100 years
 
You think that's bad - costs me £80 to fill mine...
That's why I never print anything at all...
 
Now we're back on topic :whistle2:

Rob, it's not printing that causes the problems.

I've just printed off a few letter, and the black ink is flowing correctly now :clap:

I just need to set up photoshop with a proper colour profile and then get hold of an icc profile for epson photo glossy paper. before I can churn out a few A4 snaps again!
 
digitalfailure said:
Now we're back on topic :whistle2:

Rob, it's not printing that causes the problems.

I've just printed off a few letter, and the black ink is flowing correctly now :clap:

I just need to set up photoshop with a proper colour profile and then get hold of an icc profile for epson photo glossy paper. before I can churn out a few A4 snaps again!
Click to expand...

My dear man, I feel I may be able to help you there. Grab me by the wotsits and prod my ribs on MSN and I'll sort yer aaaarrtt.
 
If you ever got on msn, i'd be able to contact you....

Anyone got a spyder 2 sitting on their desk doing nothing for a few days?
 
digitalfailure said:
If you ever got on msn, i'd be able to contact you....

Anyone got a spyder 2 sitting on their desk doing nothing for a few days?
Click to expand...

*ahem*, points to the MSN that is signed in almost 24/7 ;) (Only barring reboots and MSN crashes :p)

So ner.
I've got 2 spiders sat under my desk doing nothing.....any good to ya?
 
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