Fading Test Epson 106 vs. 107 inks

[roditch]

I was running a non-OEM ink somewhat in parallel to the OEM inks; Sudhaus is a 3rd party ink distributor since a long time in Germany, and mgmt and ownership changed several times over time and is now with a French ink distributor; Sudhaus is producing (some) of the inks with their name themselves.
There are two versions of Epson inks offered - a standard type and an 'Ultra' type. I tested the ultra-inks with these results against the 106 inks - the black level is a L=10 instead of a 5 with the 106 ink - that's a dark gray and not a black on a glossy paper to start with, and I stopped the test after a week - the 106 ink is shifting a DeltaE of 0,6 and the Sudhaus black/dark gray is shifting a DeltaE of 10,43 - that's quite a difference - the Sudhaus black ink is about 16x faster than the 106 ink under the same sun - the blacks/dark grays in an image or a print are gone pretty quick.

https://sudhausinkjet.eu/de/startse...ltra-dye-tinte-fur-epson-farbe-nach-wahl.html

I'm not objecting principally 3rd party inks - e.g. printing stuff which I throw away shortly after print - when longevity is not relevant; the problem is that users typically are not aware of such effects and just buy by a low price. The Sudhaus ultra inks are priced at about 50% of the OEM inks, I don't think that is a fare price for this performancehi

There are performance differences between the tested Epson inks, and I'm presenting some data. The 107 inks overall are pretty good, and I would not consider them a reason not to buy the printer. The test data show as well that it is not just the ink defining the fading performance but very much as well the paper you are using. And various tests have shown that OEM papers - at least those I have used - perform better than other no-name/3rd party papers.
A spray improves the performance somewhat but no as much as some vendors are telling you; I was using the gloss optimizer of the P400 printer and as well hairspray. You may use it if you have other reasons to do so - e.g. like a better surface protection - but the overall handling is quite time consuming.

The overall availability of inks and printers will probably improve over time , Epson is running different schedules for the introduction of new products in different business regions - check again in 6 months.

Hi I am thinking about buying an epson Et-18100 are the inks archival enough to sell the prints and can you use epson 106 or 114 black ink instead of the black 107 ink that tests pretty bad. Many thanks

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Et-18100 are the inks archival enough to sell the prints

The discussed inks are pretty good overall but it is out of your control where the buyer places your prints. You may add an info note that the prints should not be placed into direct sunlight and that framing under glass may extend the useful life of the print.

can you use epson 106 or 114 black ink instead of the black 107 ink

Yes, you can swap the black inks, both are dye inks. Do not use the 105 black - that's a pigment ink.

 

[roditch]

The discussed inks are pretty good overall but it is out of your control where the buyer places your prints. You may add an info note that the prints hould not be placed into direct sunlight and that framing under glass may extend the useful life of the print.


Yes, you can swap the black inks, both are dye inks. Do not use the 105 black - that's a pigment ink.

Many thanks. You are a true angel for those of us who can't figure all the tech stuff out. Because of your fade tests, I plan to buy the et18100 and use 107 light cyan, light magenta, and yellow, and then 106 magenta, cyan, and black. How does that sound? Also, I don't like glossy paper. is their a good pearl or semigloss Epson paper that will be archival? Many thanks and blessings Roditch

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

is their a good pearl or semigloss Epson paper

There is an Epson Premium Semigloss paper available - as listed in the user manual on p 26, give it a try.

https://download.epson-europe.com/pub/download/6528/epson652807eu.pdf

 

[roditch]

There is an Epson Premium Semigloss paper available - as listed in the user manual on p 26, give it a try.

https://download.epson-europe.com/pub/download/6528/epson652807eu.pdf

So many thanks. You are the only person I know that can fix my millions of printer problems.