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Old 03-10-2021, 06:23 AM
Foute Man Foute Man is offline
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Inktank printers - yes or no?

I need to replace my printer as I have not been able to print for ages as the printfunction does not work anymore.
As I'm very limited in my budget I wonder if it's a good idea to buy myself an inktank printer out of the Epson Ecotank line. These printers are a bit more expensive to buy, but cheaper to use.
Does anybody have any experience with these type of printers and are they any good to print paper models?
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Old 03-10-2021, 07:37 AM
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After all my recent woes (fool me twice, shame on me), I couldn't recommend anything Epson.



I was wanting to get a Brother Inkvestment printer myself.
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Old 03-10-2021, 09:37 PM
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After all my recent woes (fool me twice, shame on me), I couldn't recommend anything Epson.
I was wanting to get a Brother Inkvestment printer myself.
Have same thing to say about Epson.

Have a Brother all-in-one 11x17 that is working okay. Ink is just as expensive as HP printers. Always heard Brother ink was cheaper, that is not the case anymore. Model is MFC-J6530DW.

Mike
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Old 03-11-2021, 09:25 AM
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Brother ink is just as expensive as HP printers. Always heard Brother ink was cheaper, that is not the case anymore. Mike
Just to pick up on Mike's point ... I have been running a Brother MFC-J6510DW for a few years now. I bought an IRIS CISS unit to go with it but I've never bothered to fit it ... Why? Because I find the Brother ink cartridges so easy to refill with cheap bulk supply ink, and I have found that the printer doesn't know the difference. So I've not noticed whether Brother ink is as dear as the other OEM inks or the print quality is lower.

I do also have a cheapo Canon MG2450 hooked up to a different PC out in the conservatory. I bought the printer simply to access the Canon Premium models which (at the time) were only accessible using a Canon Pixma printer and the Canon Image Garden app that comes with it. The supplied starter ink cartridges ran out after printing five models ... ... so I bought some "Compatible" carts, which the printer refused to recognise ... So a quick Google came up with a U-tube vid on how to refill the OEM Canon carts and it's been running fine on Jet-Tec inks ever since. Not that it has been used much since I successfully printed off the sixty-odd Premium models I was after, but it does act as a convenient copier for the Mrs as it is permanently plugged in. A prod on the start button brings it into play as a photocopier without having to boot up the PC and it goes back to sleep again if not used for more than two minutes.
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Old 03-11-2021, 03:29 PM
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Just to pick up on Mike's point ... I have been running a Brother MFC-J6510DW for a few years now. I bought an IRIS CISS unit to go with it but I've never bothered to fit it ... Why? Because I find the Brother ink cartridges so easy to refill with cheap bulk supply ink, and I have found that the printer doesn't know the difference. So I've not noticed whether Brother ink is as dear as the other OEM inks or the print quality is lower.
Hi John,

What brand of ink bottle refills do you prefer?

Thinking of trying some.

Mike
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Old 03-11-2021, 07:33 PM
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Hi John,

What brand of ink bottle refills do you prefer?

Thinking of trying some.

Mike
I use Jet-Tec inks. However, I must admit that I bought my current set of four colours in 250ml bottles several years ago through an online store (CPC UK | Electronic Parts & Components, Raspberry Pi) that no longer stocks them. There is a website shown on the bottles which is still live ( Jet Tec - Refill Kit Instructions ) but I haven't attempted to contact them directly yet as I'm still half full. I believe they were Isle-of-Man based.

I also use a waste ink capture device on my main printer and re-use this mixed ink (50/50 with fresh) to top up the black cartridge, so my supply of black ink lasts even longer. It's never noticeably greyed on me yet.

I inject the ink with a set of blunt needled hypodermic syringes that were originally supplied with a Jet-tec refill kit, but they are cheaply available from wish.com. Syringes and needles are supplied separately though. Of course, exactly where to drill the refill holes and resealing them is a trade secret, but U-tube usually supplies the info for most makes.
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Old 03-10-2021, 08:12 AM
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Dave's concerns are certainly worth considering, he has a lot of experience with printing models and his warning against Epson products should be taken seriously, but I have been very happy with my Epson ET-4650. A bottle of ink is expensive, but each one lasts about a year (before, I was replacing cartridges weekly). I rarely have lines appear in my printed products (a frequent occurrence before) and a few cleaning cycles clears up the problem when it happens. I have had no maintenance problems.

On the other hand, I am not a good judge of print quality. It seems satisfactory to me, but I would defer to the judgment of others with more experience and knowledge.

Don
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Old 03-10-2021, 09:52 AM
Foute Man Foute Man is offline
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The purchase price will be an important factor in my choice, as my budget is limited. Epson seems to be very cheap to buy compared with Canon or HP. Previously I was limited in my actions by the price of the ink cartridges, so for me it's very attractive that I won't need to worry about the amount of available ink and to print as much as I would like.
I do read in the reviews that all colors except black can fade quickly, how do you handle this? Do you print on photo paper or do you treat the models with varnish afterwards?
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Old 03-10-2021, 10:15 AM
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A Canon printer with six color ink for photo printing is a good solution for papermen.
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Old 03-10-2021, 11:23 AM
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Don, what type of printer did you have before?


I guess Brother had me spoiled. Great printing, quiet, very low maintenance, longevity. But when they die, they are well and truly dead.


With the Epson, 43 days in, I have had to replace all four of the extended cartridges I bought at the time of purchase. Clean the heads frequently to try to clear up the print issues. Aligning the heads doesn't seem to help either. Psychedelic Lines which I never had with the Brother printers. And now I have frequent paper jams in spite of upgrading my paper.


Third Epson (counting the one I got my son), and I haven't been happy with any of them. Since Curt seems happy with his Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3720, my bad experiences with it may be out of the ordinary.


I better stop writing because I think my blood pressure is rising
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