Got an Epson 1280 for 20$ :) What compatible cartridges can I use?

[crenedecotret]

Hello,
I needed a wide format printer so that my wife could print from AutoCAD. Nothing she will give clients, more like drafts for herself. Previously, she used a Brother MFC-5890CN, but it didn't last very long, none of the nozzles are firing anymore.
I found a used Epson 1280. It's a very old printer, but the previous owner kept it real clean and had always used Epson carts in it. I'm just happy I was able to find a wide printer for such a low price.

Now all my printers are refilled using good inks (MIS for Epson, Hobbicolors for Canon). However, this printer won't be seeing a ton of use. It will be used for everyday printing from my wife's PC, and from AutoCAD. I might print out the occasional larger-format picture from it providing the quality of this 2001 printer is good enough for that (any comments on that anyone?)

I was thinking of simply buying a couple of sets of compatible cartridges and not bother with refilling. The color match does not need to be perfectly matched to OEM as I'm equiped to profile the printer, but I want to avoid clogging issues.

Can anyone recommend a place to buy decent carts for a decent price? I am in Canada.

Thank you!

Charles

 

[santer]

These are the genuine inks

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/BuyInkResults.jsp?cookies=no&oid=28907797

One option for compatibles

http://www.inkowl.com/index.php?S=20&B=3&product=1726&p=product

http://www.inkowl.com/index.php?p=product&q=T009201&product=1737

 

[crenedecotret]

Thank you santer, thanks for the inkowl suggestion. I have dealt with them before for a Canon chip resetter a couple of years ago, and I could not for the life of me remember their name. I'll give them a call, they are pretty close to home to I could probably avoid shipping. I also found another place "piloshop.ca" which has generic carts 65% off (5$ for both color and Black carts) and a block away from the office - I wonder how bad they are for that price, but it's cheap i'll try them out

 

[santer]

Could be worth getting a couple of the cheap sets to use when the dreaded head cleans need doing. Swap them for the inkowl ones, run the head cleans until the nozzle check is OK then take them out and put them in a sealed plastic bag, then carry on using the inkowl ones for printing.

 

[jtoolman]

Sure as long as you don't introduce air during this exchange and have to then do another head clean withthe Inkowl carts.

Joe

 

[crenedecotret]

So I got the printer.. the seller gave me a 150 pack of Kirkland paper he wasnt using, so it's like buying paper and getting a free printer lol.
It was not used in a long time, and needed about 2 cleans to get a good nozzle check.

It's has a bit of a weird behavior.. If I turn it OFF for a while, I need to do a cleaning again to get the nozzle check looking good. I think I will just leave it on and print a purge pattern every week or so.

I'm going to hold on the carts for now (the ones in there are 75% full). Hopefully it won't need a clean every other day

 

[Lucas28]

Not long ago I owned an Epson 1290 so I can say it's a good choice. I like the fact that printers of that generation only need two cartridges, which is less costly than a set of 6.

You might invest in a set of cleaning cartridges, to keep the nozzles clean. No big costs, for you only need two cartridges.

 

[crenedecotret]

I ended up pulling out the carts that were in the printer and replacing them with new compatible ones. I haven't had a single issue with the printer since. I'm thinking maybe the previous owner was getting bad nozzle checks frequently because of the carts and felt it was time to let it go. (his loss, my gain!).

It gives out really really nice prints, it's just not extremely fast.