Compatible ink cartridges

[Keitht]

The price for Epson original ink cartridges seems to have gone through the roof so I am thinking the unthinkable - compatibles! Does anybody have any positive experience with them or should I just bite the bullet and get the proper ones?
Any thoughts on who currently has the best prices on originals?

[michael.488]

what printer do you have?. i have the rx560 and i use a continuous ink system that works out very cheap maybe worth a thought.

something like this click here (http://www.continuous-ink-systems.co.uk/)

[Kenny]

Hiya

Mines an Epson R1800 and I use Jettec compatible carts.The ink in them is pigment ink and is manufactured by OCP-one of the finniest ink manufacturers in the world-and they supply ink to ALL the major printer companies.I have printed lots out with the carts and could'nt spot the difference.

I would be careful with ink replacement kits(CIS) though.I used to be a firm advocate of using them until one I used wrecked my first R1800.If you dont watch them you get air locks in the tubes and these can kill a printer stone dead.Plus you need to make sure that you use the same ink supplier at all times.If you swop and change suppliers you run the risk of getting sub standard ink that ruins your shots and your printer.

Bessy regs

Kenny

[Keitht]

what printer do you have?.

Sorry, I should have said I use Epson Stylus Photo 950.

[michael.488]

Hiya

Mines an Epson R1800 and I use Jettec compatible carts.The ink in them is pigment ink and is manufactured by OCP-one of the finniest ink manufacturers in the world-and they supply ink to ALL the major printer companies.I have printed lots out with the carts and could'nt spot the difference.

I would be careful with ink replacement kits(CIS) though.I used to be a firm advocate of using them until one I used wrecked my first R1800.If you dont watch them you get air locks in the tubes and these can kill a printer stone dead.Plus you need to make sure that you use the same ink supplier at all times.If you swop and change suppliers you run the risk of getting sub standard ink that ruins your shots and your printer.

Bessy regs

Kenny

sorry kenny forgive me here but how does an airlock kill a printer all i do is run a clean cycle and they are gone

[Kenny]

Hi Michael

its simple how an airlock can kill a printer.At the bottom of the printer head are small piezo electric nozzles.if there is an airlock what can happen is that the ink is prevented from getting to the nozzles.part of the ink's makeup is a carrier liquid which prevents the nozzles from burning out or overheating when printing.Suppose the airlock is half way up one of the tubes and is about an inch long...you have to then clean cycle a few times to get rid of the air blockage.On an R1800 it tells you not to repeatedly clean the heads over and over because it ruins them.This is the case for any printer.Its fine to run a clean cycle once or twice but if you have to do it four or five times every time there is an air lock( which happens regularly on Continuous ink systems-particulaly the cheap crap ones from hong kong found on ebay with the air balancing valves) you run the risk of damaging your printer heads.On an R1800 the heads rush at 260 quid each to replace.

One other thing to be aware of with ink kits is that if you continually have air locks and you dont use the kit that often,the ink dries in the tubes and can block the heads.Also,do not use an ink replacement kit if your printer is near a radiator or form of continuous ink as this also dries the ink both in the kit and in the ink delivery tubes within the printer which supply the heads.

Of course this does not apply to HP type printers where the ink kits are actually modified HP carts where the print head is actually IN the cart and is replaced when you put a new cart in. In HP CIS kits they use converted hp carts or clones of them with built in heads so this never happens.

Bessy regs

Kenny

[michael.488]

ahh i see what your saying kenny lucky for me i have a decent kit and only get an airlock when i refill it at the same time as multi coloured fingers lol

[Kenny]

ahh i see what your saying kenny lucky for me i have a decent kit and only get an airlock when i refill it at the same time as multi coloured fingers lol

another sign of a CIS user LOL!!! going out looking like your fingers are a Hironemous Bosche painting:laugh1:

You know,there is an alternative to a CIS kit now.Ive seen a cracking set of refillable carts for mine and for most canon and Epson printers.If you look on the net you can also buy ink direct from OCP albeit in half litre bottles.But...think on how much carts cost...a half a litre is a lot of carts worth...

[michael.488]

another sign of a CIS user LOL!!! going out looking like your fingers are a Hironemous Bosche painting:laugh1:

You know,there is an alternative to a CIS kit now.Ive seen a cracking set of refillable carts for mine and for most canon and Epson printers.If you look on the net you can also buy ink direct from OCP albeit in half litre bottles.But...think on how much carts cost...a half a litre is a lot of carts worth...

you got a link?

[Kenny]

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/__refillable-ink-cartridges_W0QQ_nkwZrefillableQ20inkQ20cartridgesQ 20QQ_cqrZtrueQQ_nkwuscZrefillableQ20inkQQ_nkwuscZc artridgers?_rdc=1

theres hundreds of them on there.!

[tphilly]

I only buy genuine ones for my RX585. I tried compatible ones and I was not impressed with the quality. For a pack of 6 in the shops they are about £50 so i usually bug off Ebay for about £25. Haven't had a problem yet!