Inks for the Epsons ET models and ET-7700 Series Maintenance Box.

[CapoKees]

Hello Forummembers,

Anybody of you know the differences of the Ecotank inks for the printers ET-2650; ET-2750 and ET-7700 ?
I know that the connection of the bottles is different prevending to put the wrong colours in the tanks but only at the newer models.

I am wondering if the colours maybe are of the same formulas for ie Yellow for the ET-2650 and Yellow for the ET-2750 and ET-7700 and for the other colours etc.

Only for the ET-7700 and ET-7750 they added a black photoink.
And I am wondering if you can use the ET inks in refillable cartridges for older Epson XP models like my XP-422.
I now use Inktec inks in the XP-422 but that inks fade quite rapidly at photos.

By searching at the Epson webside I saw a ET-7700 Series Maintenance Box for only € 10,49.

Do any of you know what the function of this box is?

These were quite a lot of questions but I know that this forum knows very very much of these matters!

Thanks in advance,

Kees.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Hello @CapoKees,

you are addressing a particular performance deficit of 3rd party refill inks - InkTec or other - they all let your prints fade rather quickly, and bad enough - this applies as well to the Epson inks available for the lower priced Ecotank models ET-2650 and similar - these are not the well regarded Claria inks used in Epson photo printers.
Epson offers a different type of ink for the ET-7700/7750 - Epson 106 - and only these inks perform as good as the Claria inks - much better than the ET-2650 inks, you could use the Epson 106 inks in an ET-2650 - you may need to open the bottles and exchange the top or refill directly, but that's not difficult.
The maintenance tank in the ET-7700/7750 is a user replacable waste ink container, not very big, but easy to handle - no dismantling of the printer necessary.

 

[CapoKees]

Hello Ink Stained fingers,

Thanks very much for you quick and very clear answer.

I now am thinking to buy the ET-7700 and sale the XP-422 with two sets of refillable carts and some 40 ml of each colour.

Thanks again,

Kees

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

You may look for the differences between the ET-7700 and 7750, there are not many, the 7750 gives you the A3 format - once you start printing that format you will like it, and you can afford it with the budget level priced Epson 106 inks. It is not just the A4/3 difference, the 7700 has a rear paper feed, but only for one sheet and slightly cumbersome to handle , you are better off with the 7750 which has a kind of rear paper bin, it does not take much but about 10 sheets of photo paper, and you don't need to handle every sheet individually. If you use heavier and more special types of papers you are better off this way, as well for A4. Bottom feeding thicker papers can always cause some problem - with some paper on some printer, that is not specific to the 7700. The 7750 is slightly larger but not that much, both models are quite voluminous because of the duplexer at the rear.

 

[CapoKees]

Hello Ink Stained Fingers,



I am in a luxury position having also an Epson R3000 which means that I can already print even A3 +.

But I will think about your repeat concerning the ET-7750, there should even be the possibility to sell both the XP-422 as well as the R3000.

But I can imaging that the photoquality of the R3000 will be better than the ET-7750 or ET-7700.

My intention with the 7700 is to print photos 10x15 cm and up to A4 of better quality than the XP-422, and for greater formats using the R3000.

Doing so the printcosts wiil be low, but the newprice of either ET-7700 or ET-7750 spoils that a lot of course.



Thanks again for your usefull answers,



Kees.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

The R3000 runs with pigment inks, the ET 7750 with dye inks - would you see a difference ? I most likely would since the gloss and bronzing effects are different and not visible with dye ink prints on glossy papers. It looks different on matte papers if you use them, they don't show those effects.
You can relate some part of the high purchase price of the ET-7750 to the huge amount of ink to get with it, you get 2x70ml per CMYK color , that makes 4x140ml=640ml dye inks, and you get as well 2x 140 ml bottles of black pigment ink for prints on normal paper - so that could last for years. It is a prinicpal matter whether you need pigment inks for longevity, or whether the Claria like dye inks would suffice.

 

[CapoKees]

Thanks Inkstained fingers,
You are right concerning the amount of ink, in total 920ml.
I bougt two years ago a set of pigment refill ink for the R3000, in total 900ml for about € 120 the colours were almost fine, only a small refinement in the settings was necessary but the bronzing was notebly worse than the Original Epson ink.
I am wondering how the Claria like inks behave for longevity, is there any information about that?

Thanks again,

Kees

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Yes, pigment inks can cause such problems - you have to test, there are wide variances between inks - I tested lots of them on a R800 some time ago. The best fix for bronzing and gloss differentials is an overprint with a gloss otpimizer, actually two overprints for the best result. But GO, R3000 pigment inks and all that should be a subject separate from the dye inks - ET7750 - alternatives etc. You may search for 'R800' and look up my contributions to such threads, as well about the gloss optimizer.

How are you currently supporting your XP-422 with inks - Epson or 3rd party cartridges or refill or ...??
I would make you a proposal for a test before you spend any money for a new printer.
Get a set of refill cartridges and use a dye ink - including black - for all 4 cartridges,
you select matte/inkjet paper in the driver, with the highest quality setting , and print on glossy paper, you are using all 4 colors including the black ink this way, and you'll be surprised how good that those prints are looking - you get a good and neutral black this way, and not the mix of CMY when you select Glossy paper in the driver. It makes a visible difference.
When you compare prices of the Epson 106 inks you rather may compare them with the price you would pay for the
Claria inks in cartridges for your printer - about €16 recommended for 6.6 ml in the XL cartridges - that makes €2400/litre... and the Epson 106 inks are as good , that's the only ones - all other Ecotank inks are worse in respect to fading.
I did a fading test with these Epson 106 inks here
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/brother-bottled-ink-bt5000-6000.12359/page-4#post-107473
and some more comments here in this thread
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/epson-et-7700-inks.12030/page-2



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[CapoKees]

I use for the XP-422 already two sets of refillable carts with Inktec dye inks including the black.
So this morning I printed a A4 photo of the skyline of Rotterdam using your trick of printing on glossy paper but the driver set at matte paper.
First I performed some tests at 10x15 cm
to find the optimal settings.
There were at the first small prints some strikes at one end, and I had to clean the printheads 3 times.
But now there is an almost perfect A4 photo.
So when buying Epson 106 inks the XP-422 can print photos which satisfy my needs.
That costs me only € 80 for two sets of ink instead of € 549 for an ET-7700 with the same amount of ink.
Can I fill the carts with 106 inks when there will be still a small amount of the Inktec ink which I think is very difficult to remove?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Make sure you use a dye black ink for the black cartridge if you want to print photos this way. It's fine if you can make the adjustments via the driver. The InkTec ink is performing pretty bad, it belongs to the category of a fast fade ink. I get the Epson 106 inks for about €10/bottle as well, you need to use some force to turn off the top. You may start with one set first. And sure you need a perfect nozzle check, and the printing will take a while. You directly can fill this ink on top of the other inks, just be cautious with yellow , rinse the yellow cartridge with a cleaner , or even water and pull the ink/water out with a syringe at the ink outlet. It happens in rare cases that
different yellow inks are not compatible, they flocculate or react into a milky state. Do some test prints and check over time whether you can live with this approach and whether the print quality is o.k. for you.
Are you printing both on glossy and matte paper with the R3000, and switch inks for that purpose ?

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