New ConeColor or Precision Color Inks for 3800

[Jorginho]

Hi,

I am new here so this is my first post.

I bought a Pro3800 5 years ago (used of course) and it did not want to print photo black. I did the glassex thing, ammonia etc. everything worked but that. Since it only costed 200 euro's I was not angry at all. Last week I decided to buy a second Pro 3800. Now blue did not work (cyan). Gave the guy half of what he asked and took it home. Now I got it to work to 80% until...the Cyan cartridge was suddenly no longer recognised. Grabbed the cyan of my old 3800..not recognised. This took me many hours altogether and in a last ditch attempt I thought I give it a try to revive my old 3800...And guess what: after some Glassex (or windex) ALL channels worked. Well..now magenta is 80% clogged (but it was fully clogged at first) so I guess a powerclean will have to do the trick. Can't do it though since my maintenance cartridge will be filled up and I want to reset it with a resetter I ordered. Prints look nice though...

I use Inkrepublic 3rd party ink and their inkcartridge replacementsystem...Now: I can't get it to reset them anymore. Why god knows, I follow the description, contacted them (got one reply and then ZIP after I said it didn't help)...The cartridge is seen as 0% (without the tape you need to put over a contact it is 31%). All other cartrdiges are not recognised but at times 4 are recognised. May be one of their own chips (out of two) is damaged? I cleaned them and dried them as they recommend, to no avail.

So I ordered autoresetting cartridges from Hong Kong but now I wonder (so here is finally my question):
1) ConeCOlor says they now have encapsulated ink etcetc with especially better blacks. Gives you a better Dmax. Some seem to confirm this when using the appropriate paper and compare to epson Ink, albeit on the Surecolor 600 I think...
2) Others have subjectively compared this to Precision Colors ink and say these two (Cone and Precision) seem to be moreless on par.

What is your take on this. Will these better inks (I think mostly better black) also help a 3800 significantly? Cone now says something like "don't buy a new printer, buy better ink" which I can imagine to be a good angle if you cannot sell ink for that new printer anymore since it blocks 3rd party incartrdiges out in some continent...But he could still be very right and initial comparisons do indicate they are not telling us stories...

Is the latest version of Precision Colors indeed very good and approxiamtely as good and are there any reviews?

Any clue as to how long these inks will last. I once visisted Pharmacist (forummember here) who has a good scientific approach to these things and I remember he had four cards hanging at a wall facing the sun to see which one were affected most. I think Ink republic was easily the best here but that was january 2012...Has anyone done any similar tests with the inks mentioned above??

The main reason for this comparison is that the price difference between the two is quite substantial so...

Sorry for a lengthy first mail, hope some will take some time to answer (some of) my question. Thx in advance for reading!

J.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I tested quite some inks in a R800, mainly to use them with GO which would not be available on a 3800/3880. But some of the comments relate to the inks as well without GO overprint.
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/gloss-optimizer-epson.11174/page-9#post-96854
The release of the improved Epson P800 inks gave 3rd party ink suppliers a challenge to come out as well with 'better' inks and they did. But please be aware it is not just the inks but the black level is very much dependent on the paper you are using , so only the ink/paper combination counts at the end. There are several companies claiming to be the only one using encapsulated pigments - o.k. - just test the inks and see which one suits you best, on your papers of choice, don't pay a premium if you don't see a difference.
Inks fade , a vast range of tests can be found at Aardenburg-imaging, including the effects of the yellow inks fading faster than other colors of pigment inks.

 

[Jorginho]

Hi ISF, thanks for your swift and thorough reponse. Yes, I am aware of all what you on yellow being vulnerable and blacks being more or less black etc.
It seems that a lot is focussed on black and with the exception of Epson themselves (AFAIK) yellow which they seemed to have replaced and I think Aardenburg confirmed it. At least they confirmed P800 lifetime to be doubled (which of course is not the same as just yellow, I know).
Do you know if those new inks are also enhanced ike Cyan etc?

I am not going to try out ink after ink after ink, since that is a bit too time and cost consuming for the little amount I print which is why I asked. It seems like Precision Coolor is a good way to go. There is one slight nag I have, which they can answer for sure. On their site on one hand they seem to suggest that the PC3KHD or what it is called is not suited for the Pro 3800 whereas when I want to order the name is exactly the same...?

Mfg nach Deutschland.

J.