philipus Posted May 31, 2013 Share #1 Posted May 31, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) 123inkt.nl here in NL sell Epson's own cartridges but also their own "home brand" Epson-compatible cartridges. See here for the ink for the R1900 which is the printer I own. The home brand cartridges are 4ml larger than the Epson originals and cost roughly 50% of the latter. I realise it's all (or almost all) about the ink and how that corresponds to printer profiles and the like. Bearing that in mind does anyone know how these 3rd party cartridges are - a waste of money or a good deal? Thanks in advance Philip Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 31, 2013 Posted May 31, 2013 Hi philipus, Take a look here What about 3rd party Epson ink cartridges?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
leica dream Posted May 31, 2013 Share #2 Posted May 31, 2013 I too have always stuck with "original" inks and looking at your web link the prices of inks for my Stylus Photo R800 even the originals are very competitively priced at 15 euro (they are over £17 from Epson). Now that the VAT rules from the Channel Islands have changed it is difficult to get good prices for original Epson pigment inks. I do not have any knowledge of the compatibles from this source. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted June 1, 2013 Thanks for the reply Richard. Like you, I have also always stuck to original cartridges but I'm curious what the difference would be, if any. I could just order a set and try but wanted to find out if anyone has already done so. cheers philip Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-St Posted June 2, 2013 Share #4 Posted June 2, 2013 Hi Philip I think the main reasons to be wary of 3rd party inks are (a) possibility you'll get your nozzles clogged, and ( difficulty of ensuring consistency of inks over time. The latter, for me, is the the greater concern. Even Epson don't guarantee that their inks will not be subject to some variance over time (they used to offer regular re-profiling as part of the support package to photographers who leased their Gemini printer package for pro portrait photographers a few years back) I've always used Epson inks in my printers (R800, and now 3800) so I can't really say what your experience might be, but for me, the guarantee of relatively consistent ink is the key factor that keeps me shelling out crazy money fro Epson inks. Re-profiling every couple of years has a;ways been enough for me. I'd ahte to have to do it when I found I'd bought a dodgy cartridge! Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted June 3, 2013 Share #5 Posted June 3, 2013 Cone color inks are interchangeable with Epson K3 inks, in see-through refillable cartridges that are eco-friendly, waste less ink, cost less and are less prone to clogs (the latter based on reports from others, including a friend who uses these as well as the Piezography b/w set). I haven't mentioned them until now on this thread because, unfortunately, they aren't compatible with the OP's Epson model. I plan to switch to Cone color when I eventually add a 4900 to complement my 3800, the latter which I will convert to Cone b/w inks. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted June 3, 2013 Share #6 Posted June 3, 2013 One other thing to consider with house-brand inks is that the store may at some point switch suppliers, forcing you to have to re-calibrate the printer. You can't be quite sure of what you're getting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted June 3, 2013 Share #7 Posted June 3, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) One other thing to consider with house-brand inks is that the store may at some point switch suppliers, forcing you to have to re-calibrate the printer. You can't be quite sure of what you're getting. Cone color inks are one of the few that generally require no new profiles. They know what they're doing and are intimately familiar with Epson inks and gear. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-St Posted June 4, 2013 Share #8 Posted June 4, 2013 Cone color inks are one of the few that generally require no new profiles. They know what they're doing and are intimately familiar with Epson inks and gear. Jeff That's interesting, Jeff - thanks for the HU! Seems their only European outlet is in Italy, and my tourist Italiano is not up to discussing printer technology, yet. So I've emailed Cone direct with my first question: what's the shelf life of their inks? - as I wonder how long it would take me to use up an 8oz/ 240ml bottle of some colours. Their prices are keen, and they do look much more professional than any of the other 3rd party sources I've encountered over the years, so I might just give them a try. I note you say they're "intimately familiar" with Epson inks: are you hinting at something here? We know that Epson doesn't make those inks, after all. So someone else, somewhere, does... Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted June 4, 2013 Share #9 Posted June 4, 2013 I note you say they're "intimately familiar" with Epson inks: are you hinting at something here? We know that Epson doesn't make those inks, after all. So someone else, somewhere, does... Nothing secret. Jon Cone created the first digital print studio and later developed Piezography, which can be used on various Epson printers. He also produces alternative color inks that can be used on Epson. You can do a search to further understand his background beyond the link I provided, but suffice to say he's generally regarded as one of the gurus in the field. So besides selling his products through InkjetMall, he developed lots of stuff, and some of that was done with Epson printers as a platform. He also shares tons of info through his blog, workshops, etc. Brilliant guy, with a dedicated base of followers. The relationship between Jon Cone and Epson went from supportive to confrontative over the years as briefly discussed in this old LuLa article. With Cone's miniscule customer base compared to Epson, it says something that he might be considered a competitor. Unfortunately I can't speak to European access or support, but here in the US they are extremely helpful. BTW, here is how Cone responded on another forum to your shelf life question. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim-St Posted June 4, 2013 Share #10 Posted June 4, 2013 All very interesting - thanks again Jeff S I'll look further into this next time I need to place an order for several carts. For now, though, the Italian stockist only sells 3800 inks in 8oz/ 236ml bottles, and doesn't seem to be geared up for international orders. Jon Cone was very quick to respond to my inquiry (he said "at least two years" shelf life) , though, so I'll contact him direct again about international orders when the time is right Regards Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjefjans Posted June 6, 2013 Share #11 Posted June 6, 2013 I tried 123inkt cartridges on my epson 2100. The colors are fine, but the shape of the cartridges suddenly changed. I had to break off a clip to make them fit the printer. I can not say that they last longer due to more inkt. Hard to measure... Sjef Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted June 6, 2013 Thanks Sjef. Worrying what you say about having to break off a piece to make them fit. I noticed that 123inkt says their cartridges contain (quite a lot) more ink but I'm not sure I'd get them if I have to modify my printer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjefjans Posted June 7, 2013 Share #13 Posted June 7, 2013 You can imagine I was a bit concerned as well. But after finding out what to do, there was no problem. They also offer cleaning cartridges which I ordered and used. Their advice is to do a cleaning run every time you change an inkt cartridge. No reason to modify your printer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted June 7, 2013 Ah cleaning cartridges, very interesting. That may make it possible, then. Thanks for drawing my attention to that Sjef. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjefjans Posted June 7, 2013 Share #15 Posted June 7, 2013 That may make it possible, then. I'm not sure I understand. Do you want to try printing with transparent inkt? I've never tried that .... Could be interesting though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share #16 Posted June 8, 2013 yes that would be interesting indeed! Those cleaning cartridges, are they to be used (or more necessary) if one uses the 3rd party ink? If so, the lower price of the 3rd party ink isn't so low. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjefjans Posted June 10, 2013 Share #17 Posted June 10, 2013 :)Those cleaning cartridges, are they to be used (or more necessary) if one uses the 3rd party ink? If so, the lower price of the 3rd party ink isn't so low. No, they advise to use the cleaning cartridges every now and then to thoroughly flush out the ink heads. To get rid of any dried ink in there. Instead of cleaning the printer heads with ink. There is a explicatory text on their site about it. It's in Dutch though ;=)) 123inkt.nl - 123inkt.nl - Uitleg reinigings cartridges I hope that link works as it is a popup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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