- Joined
- May 29, 2007
- Messages
- 2,567
- Reaction score
- 1,269
- Points
- 313
- Location
- Ghent, Belgium
- Printer Model
- Epson SC-P800,WF-7840,XP-15000
A view years ago I purchased my first pigment based photo printer, the famous Epson Pro 3800. Previously I did had good results with Canon photo printers, like my good old Canon i9950 with dye inks. The problem with dye inks that prints exposed to sun and open air tend to fade quite rapidly, especialy printed on microporous photo papers.
After I had my Epson Pro 3800, I was almost frantically searching for a refillable alternative for this fantastic printer and after tested some prototypes of refillable cartridges, I finally ended with the large Inkrepublic I-refill system.
My first refill ink was the K3 equivalent refill ink from Image Specialists, despite the rather good colour rendition it suffers from two things: almost total lack of gloss and a strong sepia tone in the ABW-mode. My second refill ink was the Inkrepublic IRK4-nano ink, which improves the glossiness significantly, but ABW-mode has a rather strange greenish tone. A second version of the IRK4-nano ink solved the problem with the greenish ABW-mode.
My last ink set I tested on my -now sold- Epson Pro 3800 was the OCP K3 ink set for the R2400 and most know the problems with the Magenta and Light Magenta inks: due to the used pigments, the hue was more a red than a bright magenta, causing a serious gamut drop in the bright reds, blues and purples. I solved this problem by having the magenta replaced with the Octopus T0343 equivalent magenta inks (for the Epson R2100/R2200). The most striking feature of the OCP K3 ink set is the fantastic gloss and the near perfect neutral ABW-mode (slighty warmer, but still very neutral)...except for the strange metamerism on some types of papers. Unfortunately the Octopus T0343 magenta is no longer available.
With the purchase of the Epson Pro 3880, I am now using Inkrepublic's fantastic IRK4-nano vivid magenta ink set. Good colour rendition, satisfactory gloss, very deep black and very neutral ABW-mode: the best I ever had seen, on pair with Original Epson K3 inks. I am hoping Inkrepublic will reformulate their inks to create an even better and more glossy ink for the Epson Pro 3880, because despite the satisfactory gloss, it is still not as good compared to Original Epson K3 Vivid ink. The gloss of the old OCP K3 ink was very good indeed, especially the blacks...but the problem was the magenta.
Thanks to member CLS, I contacted OCP who could provide me with their latest K3 Vivid Magenta compatible ink set for the Epson Pro 3880/R300 printer. Because I had to wait for the refillable cartridges to contain this new type of ink, I could only commence testing today. To purge the ink lines/print head from the previous Inkrepublic IRK4-nano Vivid Magenta ink, I had to execute 5 cleaning cycles to push out the old ink. To prevent the formation of air bubbles I use the following cleaning work flow: 2x normal cleaning from the printer driver + 30 minutes waiting + 2x normal cleaning from the printer driver + 30 mintues waiting + 1 last normal cleaning cycle. In between I did removed the paper towel ball in the maintenance tank, so it remains as clean as possible.
The specific smell of the OCP ink can be used as an indicator whether the printhead is properly primed with the new ink.
My first results of the ink is just fantastic. Finally OCP managed to get the proper pigment raw material to obtain a bright vivid magenta. No longer the old reddish version of the previous normal OCP K3 magenta. The glossiness is just as good as the previous version, but the important thing is that the gloss of the magenta's is now improved significantly as well. Also the strong metamerism on some type of papers seems to have been reduced. Because I am still testing the ink and will create profiles for my papers I will report back later with some pictures.
OCP K3 Vivid ink greatest advantage is the price: far cheaper compared to other contenders in the refill market combined with a more than satisfactory quality and glossiness. Because the reformulated magenta has increased gamut greatly, it is now possible to print the bright reds, blues and purples more accurately.
After I had my Epson Pro 3800, I was almost frantically searching for a refillable alternative for this fantastic printer and after tested some prototypes of refillable cartridges, I finally ended with the large Inkrepublic I-refill system.
My first refill ink was the K3 equivalent refill ink from Image Specialists, despite the rather good colour rendition it suffers from two things: almost total lack of gloss and a strong sepia tone in the ABW-mode. My second refill ink was the Inkrepublic IRK4-nano ink, which improves the glossiness significantly, but ABW-mode has a rather strange greenish tone. A second version of the IRK4-nano ink solved the problem with the greenish ABW-mode.
My last ink set I tested on my -now sold- Epson Pro 3800 was the OCP K3 ink set for the R2400 and most know the problems with the Magenta and Light Magenta inks: due to the used pigments, the hue was more a red than a bright magenta, causing a serious gamut drop in the bright reds, blues and purples. I solved this problem by having the magenta replaced with the Octopus T0343 equivalent magenta inks (for the Epson R2100/R2200). The most striking feature of the OCP K3 ink set is the fantastic gloss and the near perfect neutral ABW-mode (slighty warmer, but still very neutral)...except for the strange metamerism on some types of papers. Unfortunately the Octopus T0343 magenta is no longer available.
With the purchase of the Epson Pro 3880, I am now using Inkrepublic's fantastic IRK4-nano vivid magenta ink set. Good colour rendition, satisfactory gloss, very deep black and very neutral ABW-mode: the best I ever had seen, on pair with Original Epson K3 inks. I am hoping Inkrepublic will reformulate their inks to create an even better and more glossy ink for the Epson Pro 3880, because despite the satisfactory gloss, it is still not as good compared to Original Epson K3 Vivid ink. The gloss of the old OCP K3 ink was very good indeed, especially the blacks...but the problem was the magenta.
Thanks to member CLS, I contacted OCP who could provide me with their latest K3 Vivid Magenta compatible ink set for the Epson Pro 3880/R300 printer. Because I had to wait for the refillable cartridges to contain this new type of ink, I could only commence testing today. To purge the ink lines/print head from the previous Inkrepublic IRK4-nano Vivid Magenta ink, I had to execute 5 cleaning cycles to push out the old ink. To prevent the formation of air bubbles I use the following cleaning work flow: 2x normal cleaning from the printer driver + 30 minutes waiting + 2x normal cleaning from the printer driver + 30 mintues waiting + 1 last normal cleaning cycle. In between I did removed the paper towel ball in the maintenance tank, so it remains as clean as possible.
The specific smell of the OCP ink can be used as an indicator whether the printhead is properly primed with the new ink.
My first results of the ink is just fantastic. Finally OCP managed to get the proper pigment raw material to obtain a bright vivid magenta. No longer the old reddish version of the previous normal OCP K3 magenta. The glossiness is just as good as the previous version, but the important thing is that the gloss of the magenta's is now improved significantly as well. Also the strong metamerism on some type of papers seems to have been reduced. Because I am still testing the ink and will create profiles for my papers I will report back later with some pictures.
OCP K3 Vivid ink greatest advantage is the price: far cheaper compared to other contenders in the refill market combined with a more than satisfactory quality and glossiness. Because the reformulated magenta has increased gamut greatly, it is now possible to print the bright reds, blues and purples more accurately.
