Pigment & Dye Ink Epson R1900?

[russellsnr]

Hi, I no that Pigment ink will in the right conditions keep a print like new for up to 200 years but I for one won't be worried by then!
As an amateur and only really wanting prints for the myself mostly, will I be loosing out by using Dye ink?
As I understand it Dye ink actually gives a more vibrant finish to colour images when used with the correct paper and profile. After being let down on a Canon 6560 printer
I just purchased (awaiting arrival) a new Epson R1900 now I no this is not a up to date bells and whistle printer but it is new never used and was a good price, after reading about the small carts and not very long lasting I am looking at a CISS. I can get a Dye CISS for nearly half the price of a Pigment one with the system ready filled from a well known supplier in the UK.
Anyone like to comment on the ink or printer?
I will be using only two papers Epson Premium Gloss and Ilford Satin.
Many Thanks
Russ

[Mark von Kanel]

Russle.

I strongly advise that you use the correct type inks for your printer i have both a r1900 and 3880 and use marrut own brand pigment inks for them they are very cheap if you but larger quantities (50%) over OEM and i have no problems with them, I cant tell you what will happen if you use dye inks because ive never had the gonads to try!

I have however tried pigment ink in a dye printer and had nothing but trouble with clogging.

anyway its up to you, but dont ever say we didnt warn you

Happy printing!

[Shadowman]

Russle.

I strongly advise that you use the correct type inks for your printer i have both a r1900 and 3880 and use marrut own brand pigment inks for them they are very cheap if you but larger quantities (50%) over OEM and i have no problems with them, I cant tell you what will happen if you use dye inks because ive never had the gonads to try!

I have however tried pigment ink in a dye printer and had nothing but trouble with clogging.

anyway its up to you, but dont ever say we didnt warn you

Happy printing!

At least until the warranty expires.

[Manfred M]

Dye inks have completely different characteristics from pigment inks; viscosity, flow, pressure to force them through the nozzles (different diameters), etc. As an aside; Epson printers use piezo electric crystals to do this while Canon (and HP) printers primarily use heat. No, these are not interchangeable and you can't use dye based inks in a printer designed for pigment based inks and expect the unit to work.

The best analogy I can come up with is automobile engines; both gasoline and diesel are fuel used by different types of cars and trucks Putting diesel fuel into a vehicle designed for gasoline or gasoline into a vehicle designed to use diesel will do nothing for you other than get you an expensive repair bill. Try this will the two different types of inks and you will find the same issue.

[James G]

Russel,
+1 and +1 again to Manfred''s reply.
I also would advise strongly sticking to the ink type the printer is designed for. Like Mark I used Marrutt inks in my R3000 and when it is possible will get a Marrutt equivalent for my SC P600 (not available yet

Marrutt is along with a number of other companies (Peremajet, Tettenall...) provide reasonable alternatives to Epson inks. I estimate I have reduced my ink costs by 70-75%.

I am not sure that I would agree that Dye inks are necessarily more vibrant than Pigment. I have use both types over the years, and my perception is that it is the no of inks that has made the greatest difference. Essentially 8 ink sets compared to the older 4 ink sets enable a wider printable tonal range. Final print quality is much more dependent on a properly managed end to end production process that involves calibration of (camera), Monitor, and printer. In my experience 'vibrance' is as much due to paper selections.... i.e. paper colour (creamy, white.. etc), and paper texture,( High gloss, Matte).

If you were to switch inks the way you propose, you would almost certainly have to create your own print/paper profiles.

Realistically though, I suspect the biggest risk is significant issues with the printer due to clogging.

One final thought... if you do switch inks, you will invalidate any warranty on the printer making any subsequent repair potentially uneconomic.

[russellsnr]

Hi, Many thanks for all the help.
Pigment it is then.
I looked at Marrutt & Lyson but to be honest could not afford either so thinking this one http://www.cityinkexpress.co.uk/ciss...es/pigment-ink
Thanks again
Russ

[DanK]

Russ,

Yet another voice echoing Manfred: you can't switch between pigment and dye.

I have no information on those inks. I looked on the Wihlelm imaging site (http://wilhelm-research.com/) but didn't find any information there. However, not all inks are created equal. The fact that a company claims their inks are appropriate for a given printer is no guarantee that they will give good results. I would hunt for reviews of those inks. You might be able to find some online.

Dan

[James G]

Russell,
I can't comment on the inkset you are considering, maybe another member can.
But, are you considering a continuous ink system over the rechargeable cartridge system?

I do my own printing, but not do enough to 'justify' the ciss. The refillable cartridge option works perfectly well for my smaller volume of work. As I said in my earlier post, my ink costs have reduced by about 70%.

[russellsnr]

Russell,
I can't comment on the inkset you are considering, maybe another member can.
But, are you considering a continuous ink system over the rechargeable cartridge system?

I do my own printing, but not do enough to 'justify' the ciss. The refillable cartridge option works perfectly well for my smaller volume of work. As I said in my earlier post, my ink costs have reduced by about 70%.

Hi, I did try the re-fill cartridge option a few years back but found I ended up with more ink on my fingers than in the carts I don't do a lot of printing really as I said in the OP just for personal home use really.
Maybe give the re-fill carts another first.
Many Thanks

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Russel,

I can unfortunatly comment on city ink exspress as these were the people who sold me the pigment inks for my dye ink printer, they said that they would be fine but were nothing of the sort. They started out ok but after a few weeks the clogging started.... Support was awful, i did an early review which was favorable but was unable to edit it after the clogging problems....

[IzzieK]

Russell I use CISS on my Epson as this is the printer I use more for the images that I process. I use the archival ink with UV. My ink cost is very minimal. OEM ink is very costly in comparison.