Refill oem carts Epson 277xl for the XP-970

[flypaul]

Hi All. I'm a novice also with an XP 970 and am trying to decide which way to go for refills and cheaper printing. I will be doing a bit of everything but mostly photos.
I've decided on Rihac (I'm also in Australia) refillable cartridges as the company's been around a while and seems reputable.
My indecision lies with both Lt Magenta and Lt Cyan. I will be using 512 (7750) but can't work out if best to mix with some type of clear ink or simply try Rihacs version of these - they of course say their ink is excellent. Can you mix with genuine Epson in the other cartridges?
I'm also not sure about what clear ink is available if I chose to go that way.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm at the other side of the globe in Germany, I'm using this rinse solution, a soft cleaner without more aggressive additives like ammonia, I'm using this one since years to mix dye and pigment inks to the light color inks for the L805, 1800, Pro 7600
www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/printer-ink/nozzle-cleaner-cartridge-cleaner/4250/cleaner-rsl-rinse-solution-for-the-inside-of-printer-cartridges?number=ON002002

I was using this clear ink before I found the rinse solution
www.farbenwerk.com/navi.php?qs=clear+ink&search=

You may find something similar in your country I hope,
you otherwise may use the bottled light inks for the L805 or L1800 as a last resort. The inks for the L1800 are not identical with the inks for the ET7750, they are slightly weaker in regards to longevity but still better than most 3rd party refill inks and better as well than the dye inks for the lower end ET... and L.... models like the 664 ink (in Europe). Epson is complicating the visibility /comparability of products and accessories since they rename identical products with different numbers in different sales regions around the world.

And there is another hidden source for genuine Epson light inks - look for the Ultrachrome D6 inks which are dye inks used in photo printers like the D700 and similar, they use a 6 color inkset in cartridges, and you can drain these cartridges and re-use those inks in your printer.
I tested about 20 - 30 different inks for their fading performance several years ago - or more - I don't remember - including specialty inks like Fotonic by Lyson claimed to have the best fading performance, but no Rihac ink so far.
The results are clear - no ink comes close to the performance of OEM inks - Epson Claria or Canon Chromalife or Fujifilm Drylab or Epson Ultrachrome D6

 

[flypaul]

Thanks for your reply, advice and ideas Ink Stained fingers. Rihac sell a couple of print head cleaning agents - including one called enzyme cleaner. I may try mixing with one of them. I'll chat with them when I purchase the refillable cartridges. Hopefully one of the cleaners won't contain ammonia. I'd imagine it won't hurt the printer and if all else fails I'll go the D6 route. My previous printer was a lowly TX 110, but I managed to print some fine photos with it. It used Durabrite ink which is what I think is in the D6 cartridges in Australia. Those cartridges are larger and more expensive than the Epson 512 (7750) bottles though.
The XP 970 has only one black cart. but the 512 ink (7750) has both Photo Black and plain Black. I'll be mostly printing Photos over documents and so won't swap carts - I'm thinking I'll stick with Photo black.
Thanks again.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Please be aware that the Ultrachrome D6 inks are dye inks - 6 of them - 'Ultrachrome' denotes inks for professional use - not just pigment inks but dye inks for the D700 printer or inks for direct printing on textiles or inks for the sublimation process and more for various large format printers, they all are called 'Ultrachrome'.
Only a few inkjet/nozzle cleaners contain ammonia which decomposits inks over time, and I wouldn't go with enzymes either because of their unkown longer term effects e.g. getting active at higher moisture levels.
I would not recommend to switch to Durabrite or Durabrite compatibles to print photos, you cannot control the effects of bronzing and gloss differentials.
I wouldn't leave out the bottled light inks for the L805/1800 printers yet depending on availability in your country.

 

[Phill ODonoghue]

Hi Flypaul,
My method to-date is to use the T512 bottle inks for the ET7750 printer and I use original OEM for the LM and LC. From a cost perspective I am happy with this although I go through twice as many LM&LC carts as M+Y+C and the black carts seem to last double that again.

After experimenting with a few methods I have settled on refilling the original BK,M,Y,C carts from the bottom outlet using a bottle drip method. For these carts I have removed the Epson chips and super-glued chips from the refillable Rihac empty carts. I have also purchased a set of Rihac auto rest chips and interestingly they have a different pattern than the chips they use on their refillable carts.

Just be aware that the printer will sometimes bark at the refilled carts and you have to re-clip them.

As to the ink I would not mix brands of Rihac ink. I have tried Rihac ink and I do not think that it is anywhere near the quality of Epson. I am no expert but looking at both Epson T512 ink and Rihak ink in a clear bottle the Epson ink is a translucent formula. The Rihac ink is much more of a solid color. In dripping the Yellow T512 Ink onto a piece of paper towel and comparing this to the OEM Yellow I can not see the difference. On dropping the Rihac next to these there is a huge difference and I can only assume that this would impact on Icc profiles.

If you choose to use Rihac inks I would use a complete set of them and not attempt to mix colors.

I will try to source the UltraChrome D6 inks sometime in the near future.

Regards
Phill

Again I am new to experimenting with printer inks and just provide the above insights as part of my experience so far.

 

[mikling]

7 Years ago!

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/epson-xp-600-and-800-series.7932/

To this day, these machines are all targeted by Epson for firmware wars. I simply avoid headaches and simply remove myself from this arena. Not worth the headache of incompatible chips, newer firmware etc etc etc. and on it goes. Epson is always at least a generation ahead of Canon in firmware/chip wars and the aftermarket chip makers are losing badly. It is always easier to create the maze than it is to solve it.

Epson will be like - "ET" phone home.

 

[Phill ODonoghue]

Not doubting your sentiment but hopefully somethings might have changed.

Part of the thread noted back then that:
"The trick may not be the cartridge so much as the chip. We need to remember that there's no history of Epson providing a "continue without warranty" option. Quite the opposite."

Epson do now provide a "continue without warranty" function however they will take ownership of your first born child or grandson if you press the continue button.

Regards Phill

 

[flypaul]

Hi Phill, Thanks for your thoughts. I'm going to try Rihac refillable carts and T512 ink. The D6 inks are available from Kayell Aust. They are about 3 times the cost of 277XL cartridges, but are 200ml. I may try them in light Magenta and Light Cyan. I also read the article on Head cleaner clear base ink/cleaner by Pharmacist and am considering mixing/diluting with that but will likely chicken out. I'd like to print about 20-30 A4, 10 A3 Photos and possibly 100 A4 brochures and a few other things per annum. I'm guessing stickin OEM inks seems smart/safest. I'm still unsure wether to go BK or Photo BK in the T512. Any thoughts.

Thanks Flypaul

 

[Phill ODonoghue]

Thanks Flypaul,

I should have thought about Kayell and will give the D6 a try when I can afford them.

You might be interested in the sale that CR Kennedy (Ilford Distributor in Au) is having a great promotion sale on paper. The 12x12 Lustre Duo and the Heavyweight Matte are a huge bargain.

I have tried the Rihac refillable carts on the xp-970 and it worked well but it leak a little through the sponge breather hole. The sponge comes all the way up to the hole and I think the hole is too big. Two options are to make a smaller hole in a plug and use that in the hole and or do not fill the cart above 95%.

It might pay to talk to Rihac (they are always helpful) and ask their advice if you get any leaks.

Good luck with your printing.

 

[flypaul]

Hi again fellows. Phill you've now got me wondering if Rihac's refillable cartridges are ok now and I'm wondering if refilling OEM 277XL cartridges is the better way to go. Also has anyone tried a chip resetter for these - they seem to be available?
I too will try OEM cartridges for LM and LC. Then depending on their longevity, I'll switch to the UltraChrome D6 inks if that appears most economical.
I set up using usb and will try to keep the printer offline as that seems best if your modifying a little.

Fly paul.