Pigment ink printer

[Ink stained Fingers]

for which format do you need the borderless option - 10 x 15 cm or A4 ? This narrrows down the
model options pretty much. You may look to an Epson WF-2010W or WF-2110W as the successor, it's a printer with cartridges and pigment ink. Refill is easily possible with refill cartdridges with auto reset chips.
The ET-1810 is pretty much the same printer hardware as an ecotank model, but runs with dye inks and does borderless only for 10x15 cm. You may run this printer with pigment inks as well.

Borderlless printing a typical feature of photo printers at the high-end range like the Canon Pro 300 or Epson P700.

 

[Emt]

Thanks for the replies, i purchased the Epson wf 7310. Fairly cheap, does a3 and borderless and uses the dura bright ink although its cartridges. Not sure if i can get refillable ones as I haven’t really looked into it much yet but hopefully it’ll do for now

 

[thebestcpu]

That is one of the few "office-type" printers that meet your needs at a lower starting point with higher cost cartridges.

I was curious to understand why pigment ink with borderless was few and far between. Apparently, pigment ink is much more difficult to manage at the edges of the paper technically (not just a marketing restriction)

However, very important to know that there are restrictions on paper size and paper type for this to work reasonably, and you can create problems for your prints and printers if you venture outside certain types of papers. e.g. the largest paper size is not supported on that printer)

Here is a summary of what works OK and which ones you run risks with. I thought it was worth giving you a heads-up. Hope this helps
John Wheeler

Epson-approved papers for borderless (WF-7840)​

From the official Epson user guide (“Genuine Epson Paper for Borderless Printing”):

Epson lists these specific paper types:​

• Epson Business Paper
• Epson Bright White Paper
• Epson Bright White Ink Jet Paper
• Epson Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper
• Epson Double-Sided Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper
• Epson Matte Paper – Heavyweight
• Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte (implied from supported media list)
• Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy
• Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy
• Epson Premium Photo Paper Semi-Gloss
• Epson Photo Paper Glossy

Source (Epson user guide):

• “Genuine Epson Paper… for borderless printing”

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Critical notes Epson includes (very important)​

1. Plain/business papers are technically allowed—but risky​

Epson flags these with a warning:

“may scuff the print head causing printouts to be smeared”

Translation:

• Borderless on plain paper = not recommended
• Risk of:
  • Edge smearing
  • Internal ink contamination

---

2. Photo and matte papers are the intended use​

The safe / intended borderless papers are:

• Matte (especially heavyweight)
• Glossy / semi-gloss photo papers

These:

• Control ink better
• Reduce edge buildup
• Avoid smearing

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Practical grouping (what actually works best)​

Best choices (recommended by Epson behavior)​

• Premium Photo Paper Glossy
• Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy
• Premium Photo Paper Semi-Gloss
• Matte Paper – Heavyweight

These give:

• Clean edges
• Minimal smearing
• Reliable borderless results

---

Acceptable but not ideal​

• Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper
• Double-sided Photo Quality Paper

Works, but:

• Lower coating quality
• Slightly more edge variability

---

Technically supported but discouraged​

• Bright White Paper
• Business Paper

Epson warning applies:

• Smearing risk
• Head contamination possible

---

Why this list matters​

This ties directly to what we discussed earlier:


Pigment ink + borderless requires:

• Controlled absorption
• Coated surfaces

That’s why Epson’s list heavily favors:

• Photo papers
• Matte coated papers

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Bottom line​

For the WF-7840 borderless printing, Epson officially supports:

✔ Works best:​

• Glossy / semi-gloss photo papers
• Matte heavyweight papers

Allowed but risky:​

• Plain / office papers (smearing warning)

Not supported:​

• Arbitrary third-party or uncoated media (unpredictable)

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Borderless printing needs some provision to catch the overspray; there is a piece of absorbant
underneath the print path . That's the technical reason, and the waste ink counter does a second count of the overspray, you'll find 2 separate values when you do a readout. This overspray counter typically increases much slower than the regular waste ink counter, but will stop the printer as well once a limit is reached. And Epson marketing wants to keep (home) office printers separate from the photo printers with their features and does not spend some few cents for this absorbant for the
non-photoprinters. And there is another differentiator - some Epson printers only support the borderless mode for 4 x 6 inch papers but not for A4 size .