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FOTOSPEED INKFLOW SYSTEM


HFNotts

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I use the Fotospeed Inkflow system in my Epson R3000 printer having bought the system with the printer nearly 2 years ago.

 

Being a mainly monochrome worker I obviously use more of the black inks than the colours.

I have just been refilling the cartridges and realised that there is a 'Use By Date' on the inks which means that even with the black inks I will not use the full bottle before this date is reacher - early in 2016.

 

This means that there is no cost benefit in using the Fotospeed inks over the Epson inks, indeed it is working out a little more expensive, so I shall revert to the Epson originbal inks when the 'Use by Date' of the Fotospeed inks is reached.

 

Before doing so, I just wonder if anyone has used the Fotospeed inks beyond their use-by-date and if so has experienced any deleterious effects?

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I use the Permajet CIS system, and the ink bottles don't have a 'use by' date. In your shoes, I would keep using them until I experienced problems, then either get a new bottle or switch to something else. Difficult to see why pigment inks designed for archive prints might have a limited shelf life, unless they're worried about solvent evaporation.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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Yes, I agree they are not going to be OK today and bad tomorrow.

I posed the question on other forums and the general advice is that even before the 'use by date' to keep shaking the bottles to avoid parts dropping out of suspension.  People say they have used the inks, both Fotospeed and Permajet, long after the expiry date.  This may be so but they don't mention whether there is a gradual loss of quality.

I'm a stickler for the highest quality I can achieve in my prints, which is why I am fretting about this issue.

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If that is the case why bother with 3rd party ink sets and stick with Epson. The cartridges will probably be used before expiry date, the warranty on your printer would not be voided as it is once  3rd party inks have been used and print quality with epson is superb which is why you bought the printer in the first place. The 3rd party inks are very good but you obviously have issues with them so why bother giving yourself the hassle and fretting.

BrianP

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If that is the case why bother with 3rd party ink sets and stick with Epson. The cartridges will probably be used before expiry date, the warranty on your printer would not be voided as it is once  3rd party inks have been used and print quality with epson is superb which is why you bought the printer in the first place. The 3rd party inks are very good but you obviously have issues with them so why bother giving yourself the hassle and fretting.

BrianP

Economics.

Cost of R3000 printer originally: about £600

Cost of Epson inkset: say £150

Cost of alternative CIS kit: say £200

Cost of alternative inkset: about £150, for 5 times as much volume as Epson ink.

Cost of printer, CIS and one set of alt inks: £950

Cost of printer and equivalent quantity of Epson inks: £1350

After another set of alternative inks, you can buy a new printer with the money you've saved!

I'm on my second set of bottles of alternative inks, and my R3000 is still printing fine.

 

Edit: these are approximate, rounded figures, but the savings are clear.

Edit: my guess is that the savings are even greater for a non-continuous, refillable cartridge system.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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Epson inks also have a suggested 'use before' date on the packaging.  

 

Besides usage, environmental conditions (humidity, etc) likely impact ink longevity and quality.  And of course it makes good sense to keep print machines in regular use for best results, regardless of inks used.

 

Another cost factor to consider regarding Epson vs third party continuous ink systems is that Epson cartridges (according to studies conducted by Cone) typically still have 15-20% ink left when the printer stops due to 'empty cartridge'.

 

I'm sure that not all 3rd party systems are created equally.   I know folks who use Cone inks (both b/w Piezography as well as their color inks) in lieu of Epson, and have had great success....Jon Cone knows Epson machines and materials inside and out, literally, and has been in business for a long time.  

 

Of course Epson, who makes their money on the inks, not the machines, doesn't want you to use 3rd party inks and keeps doing things to make it harder (including changing/improving their own inks.....see new SureColor P series printers and inks).

 

Jeff

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Variable - I print a lot of Christmas cards around now, and birthday etc cards at other times. I have around 35 prints hung on the walls at home that I replace from time to time, and I occasionally do framed prints for others. Each new print takes several goes before I get it right. My printer is also used for letters, emailed docs etc, most of which are black ink, but not always.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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Economics.

Cost of R3000 printer originally: about £600

Cost of Epson inkset: say £150

Cost of alternative CIS kit: say £200

Cost of alternative inkset: about £150, for 5 times as much volume as Epson ink.

Cost of printer, CIS and one set of alt inks: £950

Cost of printer and equivalent quantity of Epson inks: £1350

After another set of alternative inks, you can buy a new printer with the money you've saved!

I'm on my second set of bottles of alternative inks, and my R3000 is still printing fine.

 

Edit: these are approximate, rounded figures, but the savings are clear.

Edit: my guess is that the savings are even greater for a non-continuous, refillable cartridge system.

 

Based on what you have written above there are many ways to save money on inks and the various systems available.However I was influenced by your comment :

I'm a stickler for the highest quality I can achieve in my prints, which is why I am fretting about this issue.

Sorry for wasting your time and mine.
BrianP
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Based on what you have written above there are many ways to save money on inks and the various systems available.However I was influenced by your comment :

I'm a stickler for the highest quality I can achieve in my prints, which is why I am fretting about this issue.

Sorry for wasting your time and mine.
BrianP

 

Brian, that was HFNotts comment, not mine (though I'm not saying he's wrong). You weren't wasting my time!

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  • 3 months later...

I've recently started using an Epson R3000 printer with a Fotospeed ink system - all acquired secondhand and not used for 3 years. The part-used bottles of  Fotospeed Ultra 4K inks have an 04/2014 'use-by' date - but the prints are fine. When the cartridges were topped up I gave them and the ink bottles a gentle shake. The only problem I'm experiencing is three cartridges not being permanently recognised - they're only temporarily recognised thus have to reinsert them frequently. However, after explaining the problem to Fotospeed they've advised that three new replacement cartridges will be sent to me today.

 

The printer's print head and purge pad required a good clean after laying idle for 3 years but now I look forward to continued Fotospeed ink system use - and have no reservations about using the remaining 'passed use-by date' bottles of ink. Furthermore, the ink from the three old cartridges will be syringed out and loaded into the new replacement cartridges when they arrive. 

 

The cartridges have a lifetime guarantee and after several toppings-up will always have a small % of old ink present which is highly unlikely to compromise print quality. 

 

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

Edited by dkCambridgeshire
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I had a similar problem with 3 of Permajet's cartridges not being recognised, but Permajet shipped replacement chips within a day.

 

After getting a couple of blotches and reading about the purge pad, I opened up my R3000 and was horrified by the quantity of wet ink in and around the pad. I stripped it out and refitted with a plumbed-in purge tank (bought on ebay, cheap and easy to fit).

My only concern now is that I read that sometime in the future the printer is likely to decide for itself that the pad has absorbed enough ink and needs to be replaced - in the factory. And apparently this is not something you can ignore, or reset yourself.

 

What is it with Epson? I don't buy a car and expect to be told I must buy only Ford petrol - or that it will refuse to go unless you get it serviced by a Ford agent.

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Yes I'm expecting the printer's actuation counter to advise the inevitable eventually but by that time hope to have graduated to an Epson printer with a user replaceable maintenance cartridge and which automatically resets the internal chip. The replaceable maintenance cartridges can also be user-serviced if the correct type of absorbent pad material is obtained - but the old cartridge will not reset the printer's internal chip - it has to be reset by a new or part-used cartridge before the recycled old cartridge can be reused. 'YouTube' video shows how. 

 

dunk

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I remember having similar dreadful problems with an Epson R1800. I was able to reset the counter using http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml utility. I bypassed the soaked ink cartridges by diverting the plastic drain pipes to an external tank, actually a transparent 35mm film canister. The quantity of wasted ink was amazing.

 

After endless mess and waste I gave up and bought a Canon printer, which has had its own problems. 

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I've recently started using an Epson R3000 printer with a Fotospeed ink system - all acquired secondhand and not used for 3 years. The part-used bottles of  Fotospeed Ultra 4K inks have an 04/2014 'use-by' date - but the prints are fine. When the cartridges were topped up I gave them and the ink bottles a gentle shake. The only problem I'm experiencing is three cartridges not being permanently recognised - they're only temporarily recognised thus have to reinsert them frequently. However, after explaining the problem to Fotospeed they've advised that three new replacement cartridges will be sent to me today.

 

The printer's print head and purge pad required a good clean after laying idle for 3 years but now I look forward to continued Fotospeed ink system use - and have no reservations about using the remaining 'passed use-by date' bottles of ink. Furthermore, the ink from the three old cartridges will be syringed out and loaded into the new replacement cartridges when they arrive. 

 

The cartridges have a lifetime guarantee and after several toppings-up will always have a small % of old ink present which is highly unlikely to compromise print quality. 

 

 

Best wishes

 

dunk

 

 

 

My previous post is misleading because only the 'chips' fitted to the cartridges required replacement . Three gratis replacement chips arrived today from Fotospeed and after fitting them to the Fotospeed Y, VM and LK cartridges all is well and they are recognised. Workflow will now speed up because the cartridges will not require pulling and refitting each time the printer is used. 

 

dunk

Edited by dkCambridgeshire
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