Can DURABrite printers be used for photo printing?

[CarecaIII]

Hi. I have come a long way from last post and wanted to update you.

I send you a scan of a photo printed using Inktec pigment inks.

The card is the PPD-47 Matte.
I calibrated printer and display with X-rite i1 Studio.

Unfortunately, the scanner that is the Epson wf7720 is not calibrated, but the printed colors are close enough to the original ones. What do you think?

For the moment I am satisfied and the search ends here: the colors are very similar to the original inks.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Bye.

 

[mikling]

While you can print photos with Durabrite pigment ink. There is one aspect you should take note of. The most important is the level of expectation not from a standpoint of color but from the finished look especially from Glossy papers.
Since all dark colors and dark tones will primarily be a mixture of Cyan Magenta and Yellow, there will be very heavy ink loads placed on the paper. If all you print are lighter colors, then the problem is not that important. However, when it comes to the dark colors and shadows, you will instantly note the difference in the appearance in reflectivity relative to the lighter colors and this is because of the amount of ink that was used to print that area. This is unavoidable.
Next area is the grain aspect. In lighter, graduated tone you may also notice a slight amount of grain. Again this depends on the tolerance of the viewer.
Then there is speed. For the casual user, this is hardly an issue.
Finally in the dark gray areas, you might notice some changing of the color depending on what angle it is viewed at. Again, this is viewer dependent and what is needed for the final product.
Even if you were to use a perfect ICC profile to gain correct color, the aspects posed will appear and is unavoidable, whether it is of significance it is up to the viewer and their tolerance. For some it fulfills the function and is good enough.
But does it double as a good photo printer. Not really, the Durabrite inkset is meant to be used primarily for charts and general illustrations and yes, it can print photographs. However, we have sporty minivans that are meant to double for the sports car the driver left behind after forming a family. A little bit of a stretch....but it does the job for the driver under the circumstances.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Your printout looks pretty good indeed, you are getting the most the printer can deliver with these inks.
Please be aware that you are printing onto a matte paper which gives you some adavantages - you won't see any adverse effects of pigment inks on glossy papers like bronzing and gloss differentials, and your driver prints with all available inks incl. black which is only selected for normal and matte/inkjet papers. Such black typically looks pretty dark and has about a neutral color tone. The dark black level let you perceive an overall good contrast.
Be aware of the mentioned limitations as soon as you switch to a glossy paper - the black gets mixed from CMY which creates a pretty dull looking black mostly with a color cast in the blueish/violett range, a profile cannot fix that. And you'll see particular surface effects as mentioned. You can experiment with these options, and it is ultimately you as the user who accepts it, likes it - or not so much