Epson Ecotank L1800 alternative Ink considerations & other thoughts

[Javier Evan]

Hello,
I´m setting everything for Quality photo printing with the tools that I can find here in Argentina... which is very difficult because lack of options with inks, paper, and printers... so I want to share my ideas with you and see if someone can help to fill the missing part of the project with knowledge.
I have two Epson L1800, one working perfectly and still with the original 673 inkset that I will refill with Fujifilm DX 6 color Vividia inks for color printing, and a second one with a failing printhead that I have to replace and will become a dedicated B&W printer.

For the dedicated monochrome inkset I have only two option that I think has enough quality, the OCP or Inktec "Ultrachrome K3 Like" pigments Photo Black, Matte Black, LK and LLK... so:
1- Wich one of the two do you think that will give me the best results for achieving archival characteristics printed in a good paper... or if you think that any of those reach that level.
2- Do you think that the Fujifilm Dx 6 color Vividia inks have enough quality to be considered Archival in the proper substrate?
3- Because I want to print semigloss/Luster and Matte B&W photos; I was thinking of adding one extra tank filled with the Matte black whit its own tubing and dumper that I will connect/disconnect from the printhead depending on the paper, obviously not after every print... I will organize in packs.
4- An option for the above is to use only 5 channels with shades and the 6° filled with Matte Black and use one or another via software... It´s possible to do that with a RIP??

I will appreciate any comments, as you see the most important thing is to print good quality whit the best permanence possible with the resources at my disposal... Thanks in advance.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm running a L1800 with dye inks, I'm using the inks which come with the Epson ET7700/7750 Ecotank printer, these Epson 106 inks perform equivalent to the Claria inks in regards to fading/longevity. Epson may call the inks differently in your country, they do that with various products around the world - different type numbers for the same product. I'm using a dilutant - a clear ink - to mix up the light inks LC and LM. These are the preferred inks for me at this time, they have a low price and are easily available in Germany. I was using other dye inks years ago before the ET7700 with the 106 inks hit the market, I was using the dye inks for the Fujifilm Frontier DX100 Drylab photo printers, or you can use the inks for the Epson Surelab photo printers D700/800 running an Ultrachrome D6 dye inkset , both the Fujifilm and the Epson inks come in larger cartridges which you have to drain. You need to compare pricing and availability in your country.

I'm not aware of any afordable RIP software which allows you to reassign inks to nozzle rows, you find some special software with modified printers for direct garment printing - DTG , some offer an option to run a white ink on such printer, but all that would be out of reach for you.

I'm not very convinced about the quality of the Inktec pigment inks, I have seen quite some bronzing effects and gloss differentials, and the photo black shows a pretty strong metallic sheen under particular viewing angles.

If you want to go for high level B/W printing you may have a look here

https://shop.inkjetmall.com/Piezography
https://shop.inkjetmall.com/UV45

I have not used their B/W special inks, I cannot comment on their actual performance and how they work in a printer running dye inks otherwise. I'm aware that people have switched from dye to pigment inks on other Epson printers like the Photo 1400/Artisan (A3), and I did it as well on an old R265, it worked fine for me for quite a long time.

Converting the L1800 to a printer running pigment inks is at your own risk, it may work - or not , I hope you are capable to do some maintenance acctions like replacing the dampers or the printhead in case of need.

 

[Javier Evan]

I'm running a L1800 with dye inks, I'm using the inks which come with the Epson ET7700/7750 Ecotank printer, these Epson 106 inks perform equivalent to the Claria inks in regards to fading/longevity. Epson may call the inks differently in your country, they do that with various products around the world - different type numbers for the same product. I'm using a dilutant - a clear ink - to mix up the light inks LC and LM. These are the preferred inks for me at this time, they have a low price and are easily available in Germany. I was using other dye inks years ago before the ET7700 with the 106 inks hit the market, I was using the dye inks for the Fujifilm Frontier DX100 Drylab photo printers, or you can use the inks for the Epson Surelab photo printers D700/800 running an Ultrachrome D6 dye inkset , both the Fujifilm and the Epson inks come in larger cartridges which you have to drain. You need to compare pricing and availability in your country.

Thank for your insight, I´ve made a lot of research about the different options available and already read much of the material that you and the other members have posted here about those inks... the 106 are call 512 by Epson here in the "American" market but not possible to get it in Argentina at a reasonable price... (all imported goods have to pay %50 taxes plus to the price you´ve paid... + shipping), same with the Ultrachrome D6... If not I will not hesitate to go straight with those options.
The dilutant is another problem... all the companies selling inks that I consulted have any product that they think will work properly... only one suggested a cupping station cleaning product, so I prefer to make minimum dilution possible in order to maintain the characteristics of the ink (with the PK-LK-LLK mix, only one of the channel need dilutant and is the lighter one)

I'm not very convinced about the quality of the Inktec pigment inks, I have seen quite some bronzing effects and gloss differentials, and the photo black shows a pretty strong metallic sheen under particular viewing angles.

Do you mean that even that you will prefer Inktec over OCP´s if you have no other option...? or that you discard Inktec?

I´ve checked the Piezography inkset as an option... but it will be expensive to bring in to the country, to make it worth I will need to buy more mls, and with no guarantee that the dedicated printer will work ... that´s why I want to try first with the stuff I have at disposal.

Converting the L1800 to a printer running pigment inks is at your own risk, it may work - or not , I hope you are capable to do some maintenance acctions like replacing the dampers or the printhead in case of need.

I´m aware of that and learning... and for that, I bought a second-hand L1800 to make all the experimentation... I think it will be possible for me to make all the maintenance that´s required. I have to replace the printhead so it will be brand new, and I read many people that make the conversion of Epson printers from DYE to Pigments... why do you think that in this case, may not work... something related whit the CISS of this particular model or the 6 channel piezo head?

Thank´s again for taking the time to answer.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I don't have an idea how how restricted the refill market is in your country for you; I don't like both the OCP or Inktec K3 or similar compatibles, it's their look on glossy papers - bronzing and gloss differentials which I don't like. I was testing some Canon inks - e.g. PFI105 cyan or magenta - Lucia or Lucia EX, they are available as expired versions at quite a low price in Germany - many more Canon cartridges than Epson cartridges in that condition for some reason, and Canon inks run fine in (my) Epson printers, not the other way around.
I had a case that the switch from dye to pigment inks didn't work on a L800 some time ago, I think it was the ink causing it , even the filters in the dampers, the cartridge like inserts into the printhead carriage were clogged, and it was pretty difficult to flush the ink reservoirs and the tubing, I reverted back to dye inks but the black channel was causing problems for a long time. I don't remember anymore which ink it was probably causing the problems. I'm running dye and pigment inks for testing on a WF2010W with frequent changes - that without problems in this case.

 

[Javier Evan]

I don't have an idea how how restricted the refill market is in your country for you; I don't like both the OCP or Inktec K3 or similar compatibles, it's their look on glossy papers - bronzing and gloss differentials which I don't like. I was testing some Canon inks - e.g. PFI105 cyan or magenta - Lucia or Lucia EX, they are available as expired versions at quite a low price in Germany - many more Canon cartridges than Epson cartridges in that condition for some reason, and Canon inks run fine in (my) Epson printers, not the other way around.

Ok, I will check the Canon option that I didn´t...
Do you think, considering that third-party ink options are not good enough... that if I can buy an original Epson Ultrachrome K3 Photo Black 200ml cartridge and make the dilution of the rest 5 shades with the original Epson GO, that will give me a better result? that can be a not so expensive way to go too...

I had a case that the switch from dye to pigment inks didn't work on a L800 some time ago, I think it was the ink causing it , even the filters in the dampers, the cartridge like inserts into the printhead carriage were clogged, and it was pretty difficult to flush the ink reservoirs and the tubing, I reverted back to dye inks but the black channel was causing problems for a long time. I don't remember anymore which ink it was probably causing the problems. I'm running dye and pigment inks for testing on a WF2010W with frequent changes - that without problems in this case.

I will take into count your experience and be aware... the company that sells the OCP pigment ink, says that is mandatory to flush the entire ink sistem all the way from the tanks to the head and properly clean out any trace of DYE before refilling with the pigment ink... if not the new ink will react and produce clogs.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Members here are typically referring to OCP inks, OCP inks are sold by octopus-office.de in Germany, but they offer as well inks by other companies as visible in their top banner of the starting page.
I'm using a cleaning/rinse solution by octopus-office to dilute the dye and pigment inks I'm using

https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/search/index/sSearch/rinse+solution

Flushing cartridges, tubes etc before switching to another ink is recommended but not always necessary, I have not seen that many clogging problems from mixing inks, I'm using an L310 to print the daily internet stuff, and I'm using this printer to print up left over inks of all types, I'm mixing them as available, dye, pigment, Canon, HP, but I only can warn you - don't do it - I won't like to be responsible for clogs in your printer.......it's all your risk.

Black inks are not really neutral, you can see it when you start diluting them; you either accept that or you try to compensate it with some drops of magenta etc and with a spectro you can use for spot readings of printed patches with such diluted inks. All this is experimental, I'm not aware of any general guidelines about this.
And when it comes to judge some black inks - you need to do that , it's not just a matter of the inks, you need to include the paper(s) you plan to use into your tests, a (black) ink may look o.k. on one type of glossy paper but shows strange reflections on a lustre type paper, and it's the opposite with another ink. So I just cannot say that a genuine Epson ink would deliver better results than other inks - you need to test it.

 

[Javier Evan]

Members here are typically referring to OCP inks, OCP inks are sold by octopus-office.de in Germany, but they offer as well inks by other companies as visible in their top banner of the starting page.
I'm using a cleaning/rinse solution by octopus-office to dilute the dye and pigment inks I'm using

https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/search/index/sSearch/rinse+solution

Thanks for the link! I´m just looking at the web page of the OCP´s local distributor, and I think they have the exact same thing with a slightly different label... so that's fantastic news because now I can make tests with something that I already know is not going to make a mess inside the ink system.