refillable 2880 carts

[heningstepfield]

<p>hi - after going through about $400 in ink in a week on my Eposon 2880...ha ha...i'm feeling the pain of my purchase - while I simply love what the 2880 is giving to me in terms of end result...i'm a tad pained by the cost of the exchange</p>

<p>my quest - lower my ink costs</p>

<p>to that end I have a few options</p>

<p>1. Go for a 3800 - they are cheap in comparison to the 2880 (when considering the ink costs!)<br>

2. Go for a refillable system (<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/InkOwl%C2%AE-Refillable-Cartridge-printers-T0961-T0969/dp/B009JOSHNA/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1368901038&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=epson+2880">http://www.amazon.ca/InkOwl%C2%AE-Refillable-Cartridge-printers-T0961-T0969/dp/B009JOSHNA/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1368901038&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=epson+2880</a>)<br>

Question: if I purchased my ink from Epson by way of larger carts - how do I get the ink into the refills - any online 'how to' help would be welcome</p>

<p>3. Go CIS</p>

<p>The printing is fin-art B&W archival....I have about 600 prints left to complete this year 13X19</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p> </p>

[digitaldog]

<p>Go 3800 (or better, 3880). Those cartridges go a LOT longer than the tiny one's you're using. Both my favorite Epson's I've owned (still have a 4900 and kind of dislike it). </p>

[heningstepfield]

<p>thanks - I really feel i'm heading the way of the larger ink carts in the 3000 line (now that the 2880 is a sunk cost I certainly realize that the sooner that I discover and employ a solution, the better off I'll be)- just thought to explore the art of the possible with items like Lyson refill carts and archive ink from the same prior to hitting another printer purchase a month after the 2880....but - keeping the 2880 with the tiny ink carts being feed at the Epson cost is simply falling outside of my desire - again - love the results so I may well stick with Epson al the way and just use a 3000 series printer</p>

[thirteenthumbs]

<p>MIS K4 inks are equal to Epson's K3 inks in every respect.<br>

http://www.inksupply.com/<br>

<br />I used it for a few years in a R2400 and am now starting to use it in a 4800 Pro. I do not trust other brands of inks found on the auction site. Common incompatible ink problems are frequent clogging to killing the print head. </p>

[heningstepfield]

<p>thanks - so far I really like the price - i'll perform some research!</p>

[heningstepfield]

<p>hi - just ordered the 4oz refillable carts from MIS - they were offering a discount - so with shipping it should chime in at around $180 - this will give me a reported 5 carts worth of ink..so about $750 in comparable Epson (ink) dollars...if the quality delivers...well, I may just have to keep my 2880...and smile</p>

<p>currently in shanghai - chatted with a photo paper supplier. just scored 13X19 sheets of unbranded glossy for a great deal, i'll test out some prints when I return to north America...if all works out - then i'm printing onto 13X19 for under $1 a sheet (including K4 ink)<br>

I'll keep you posted</p>

[danny_low]

<p>If you are doing fine art prints, longevity is extremely important. You do not want to do free reprints every 20 years because the inks have faded. The rule of thumb is unless you have actual test data, assume the manufacturer's ink will give the longest life. For actual test data, there two sources.</p>

<p>http://www.wilhelm-research.com/</p>

<p>http://aardenburg-imaging.com/</p>

<p>I would check their sites first before buying any ink other the Epson inks. </p>

<p>Consumer Reports has been periodically testing 3rd party inks and refills for some years now. Their experience is very few are as good as the OEM ink. They also found that some "cheap" 3rd party inks are actually more expensive than OEM ink. The cartridges are cheaper but they have less ink so you end up buying more cartridges to do the same amount of printing. The result is cost per print is more than if you had gotten the OEM cartridges.</p>

<p>Basically the 3rd cartridge ink and refill ink market is still very a caveat emptor market.</p>

<p>Danny Low</p>

 

[heningstepfield]

<p>hi - I realize i'm playing in the danger zone with third party inks and inexpensive inkjet photo paper - but I am attempting to feed two monsters - one fine art, the other, cheap sales under a different (brand) name - I am far less concerned about the durability of the cheaper stuff - hence my excitement at printing 13X19 for under a buck - I'll let you know how it all goes...(fingers crossed) <br>

bottom line - if I think I can cut a cost - I'm certainly willing to give it a try<br>

If I can't source a great cheap ink - then I'll upgrade to a large cart Epson printer - this really is the 2880's last chance, as I will not be going through $400 in ink ever again in a week (ha ha...ouch)</p>

<p>So for the sake of my 2880 I'm giving MIS a good honest try - again, I'll let you know how it goes - back in North America in a month to try out my new ink</p>

[thirteenthumbs]

<p>Wilhelm testing is with manufactures inks on name brand papers. PC World reports (linked from the Wilhelm site) were on bargain inks aimed at the general consumer and state that some third party inks aimed at the Pro Photographer market are close if not equal to manufactures inks but do not mention names or brands.</p>

<p>Mis Associates makes all types of inks and state the fade resistance of their inks compared to the manufactures inks. They state their black ink for the Epson 2200 is not as fade resistant as Epson's ink and having a few prints made with their ink fade after 2 1/2 years and the Epson ink prints not fade after 5 years I believe them. I have some prints made on a R2400 Epson with Mis K4 inks that have been hanging for 6 or 7 years and look as fresh as they did when they came off the printer and are in direct sunlight 2 to 3 hours a day. Will they last 75-100 years? I don't know and won"t be around long enough to find out.</p>

<p>I have not used the enhanced Magenta ink in the 2880 so I do not know about it.<br>

Go to the ink supply.com site linked above, click on the bulk inks tab and read what they have to say about their inks.</p>

<p> </p>

[heningstepfield]

<p>thanks - i'll go for a read (fingers crossed!)</p>

[heningstepfield]

Some 20 months later, would like to report that my 2880 and my mis inks are going strong. I do not regret using either. During a period of

long inactivity, 6 months, I have had nozzle clog. But a cleaning or two, by way of the Epson utility, cured the issue. Mis inks are the

solution to great quality at A lowerprice. I am happy to use both, until my 2880 dies. I have printed way less then I expected.but I have been

very pleased with the over 200 13 x 19 that this combo has realized. Whew..yup, all good.