Experiences with 3rd party inks

[aaron_w.]

I've long been a staunch believer and user of OEM inks in my inkjet

printers (Epson and Canon). However, according to my calculations,

my cost of ink is about $.20/print (after taking proofs and mistakes

into account), so I'm strongly considering 3rd party inks which

would reduce this cost by 50 -70%.

 

Naturally, I would like to benefit from your experiences with 3rd

party (dye-based) inks... So let's hear the good, bad and ugly.

[maureen_m]

There was <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111767,pg,1,00.asp">an article in PC World </a> a few months back explaining the benefits(?)/drawbacks of 3rd party ink.<p>Benefits: price.<p>Drawbacks: clogged printheads, lower quality appearance of prints, and most importantly: Wilhelm Imaging Research shows that prints from 3rd party inks last for <i>significantly</i> shorter periods of time.

[david_f._stein]

If you can get prints at 20 cents ink cost, I think you are doing well. GOOD LUCK ......

[p._neil_ralley]

David, whether 20c/per is good or bad rather depends on the size of prints doesn't it?

 

Aaron, I had to print 100 18" x 12" prints on my Epson 1160 and saved a huge amount of money by buying a cartridge refill kit from Costco for less than $20. The colours were great, I had to do no special profiling, BUT the clogging was a real headache and eventually I reverted to Epson cartridges. I did still save a bunch of money though.

[aaron_w.]

Maureen: I read that article - I believe it only tested inks from three 3rd parties (and none from the 'major players'), so I don't consider that a valid test, do you?

 

David/Neil: I should have qualified my ink-costs of $.20/print as representing an average of all sizes I print, which are part 5 x 7, 8 x 10 and 8.5 x 11 (nothing over letter-size).

 

Actually, I'd like to hear specific experiences from forum members who have used / are using 3rd party inks!

[mark_herring]

I'm just getting started with MIS inks in my Epsons (Photo 900 and 1280).

1280: MIS original archival pigment--excellent results. About to try a cartridge with their "perpetual" archival pigment--slight variation on the original.

900: Will be set up with the MIS "Epson-equivalent" dye ink.

 

(One nice feature of this setup is that the 900 and 1280 use the same cartridges)

 

My limited research says that MIS is among the best 3rd party ink suppliers.

 

BTW--in re another post in this thread: I very seriously question a blanket statement that 3rd party inks fade more quickly. Every combo of ink and paper has a set of attributes, including fade resistance.

 

I am currently refilling. Counting my labor, I doubt if am saving huge bucks. If you really want to same money AND time, get a continuous feed system

[steve_barnett2]

There are third party inks out there that are at least as good, and sometimes better than OEM. Typically these are not marketed as 'cheap' alternatives, but they do work out cheaper, particularly if you also have one of their continous ink systems linked to your printer. Check companies like Lyson and Permajet etc.

[john_houghton]

Yes, there are good 3rd party inks and the not-so-good inks, and it is the commbination of paper and ink that is important too, not just the ink. I have used a CIS on my 1290 for over two years and found it vastly more reliable in terms of clogging than any brand of cartridges. The Lyson Fotonic inks in the CIS at the moment have more fade resistance than OEM inks but the gamut is not as good - the reds are poor. I used Plug & Play dye inks (Media Street, I think) for over year without any clogging but they are not very fade resistant. If I could get an exact clone of Epson ink in bulk form in the UK I would be happy. I reckoned using a CIS reduces my ink costs to about one-sixth of OEM cartridges.

[maureen_m]

Aaron, I assumed from your question that you were only interested in savings by using the cheapie 3rd party ink cartridges, not the quality 3rd party inks (which offer savings if one invests in a relatively expensive continuous ink system).<p>The PC World article stated that they actually tested 9 different 3rd party brands.<p>As far as personal experience, I used cheapie inks in the Epson printer I had before my 1280, and almost immediately had clogging problems. Then I switched back to Epson ink, and the problem remained. I have since been told that bouncing between the printer's brand inks and generic inks is actually worse than just using 3rd party inks, as the different inks don't mix well, and can increase the clogging problems. Now that I use a 1280, I won't take a chance on the cheapie inks again. If I save a few bucks or even a few hundred bucks with cheap ink, then ruin a $400 printer, I haven't saved anything.

[jon_austin]

For my money, the best way to save on printer ink is to buy OEM cartridges from low-price distributors.

 

On the tip from a recent thread on this same topic, I checked out www.atlex.com, who sells the Canon "6" cartridges I use for less than $10 each; about 16% off retail. They carry a wide variety of inks and papers for all the popular printer brands.

 

I bought a couple hundred dollars' worth from their web site, and was quite satisfied with the transaction, speed of delivery, condition of package/contents, etc. I won't hesitate to buy from them again.

[jordan2240]

Aaron,

 

I once purchased some 3rd party inks for my Canon S600 by mistake (ordered off the internet and didn't look closely enough), and they seemed fine initially, then started to clog after a couple of weeks. I replaced them with Canon cartridges, and the printer has worked fine since. That was my first and last experience with 3rd party inks.

 

Bill

[mark_herring]

Good point from John Houghton in re clogging and CIS. The CIS keeps ink in the head at all times with no air bubbles---this has got to be the best solution. (I have had issues installing freshly refilled carts---acted like clogs, but were probably trapped air)