4, 5 or 6-color-systems?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Morgan Ohlson
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M

Morgan Ohlson

Is 5 or 6 color systems really worth the extra investment and the extra
cartridges?

5-colors like i865
6-colors like Epson C84

Advantages?
Disadvantages?

Morgan O.
 
YES! you only need to replace the one that is empty and not have to throw
the whole cartridge away which cost's you money for ink's that you haven't
used..
 
YES! you only need to replace the one that is empty and not have to throw
the whole cartridge away which cost's you money for ink's that you haven't
used..
Click to expand...

That would be true for any separate cartridge system, as opposed to a
two cartridge system.

The question would better be, is having photo black and photo magenta
better than not having them.
 
Morgan Ohlson said:
Is 5 or 6 color systems really worth the extra investment and the extra
cartridges?

5-colors like i865
6-colors like Epson C84

Advantages?
Disadvantages?

Morgan O.
Click to expand...

FYI Epson's C84, CX5400, CX6400 and the C64 are 4 color printers
 
Morgan Ohlson said:
Is 5 or 6 color systems really worth the extra investment and the extra
cartridges?

5-colors like i865
6-colors like Epson C84

Advantages?
Disadvantages?
Click to expand...

Advantages of 6 colors:
- You get better color photos with 6 colors than with 4 or 5. It makes a
bigger difference than dot size or resolution. On the other hand, many 4
and 5 color printers do a good enough job on photos; it just depends how
particular you are.

Disadvantages of 6 colors:
- Most 6 color printers do not do a great job with text. Unlike, say,
the i860, they have no big black tank, no pigment-based black tank, no
extra black nozzles for fast black.

So if you mainly care about photo quality, buy a 6 color printer. If you
want a general purpose printer, you have a tougher decision.

-- Russell
 
Gary Tait said:
That would be true for any separate cartridge system, as opposed to a
two cartridge system.

The question would better be, is having photo black and photo magenta
better than not having them.
Click to expand...

When my Epson 400 (old) clean nozzles it cleans all heads at the same time.

Result: All cartridges slowly drains even if they are never used.


Morgan O.
 
NCHA said:
FYI Epson's C84, CX5400, CX6400 and the C64 are 4 color printers
Click to expand...


Thanks!

Mixed it up whith the high and low capacity ink-tanks.

Eps R300, 830u, 900 are 6-color systems


Morgan O.
 
Russell E. Owen said:
Advantages of 6 colors:
- You get better color photos with 6 colors than with 4 or 5. It makes a
bigger difference than dot size or resolution. On the other hand, many 4
and 5 color printers do a good enough job on photos; it just depends how
particular you are.

Disadvantages of 6 colors:
- Most 6 color printers do not do a great job with text.
Click to expand...

Quality or quantity?
 
Morgan Ohlson said:
Is 5 or 6 color systems really worth the extra investment and the extra
cartridges?

5-colors like i865
6-colors like Epson C84

Advantages?
Disadvantages?
Click to expand...


Shouldn't lighter CMY (as i865 5-color system) increase usage of those
colors and shorter life of the cartridges?
....and aproximately the same for Epson 6-color system?


Morgan O.
 
Morgan Ohlson said:
Shouldn't lighter (brighter) CMY (as i865 5-color system) increase usage of those
colors and shorter life of the cartridges?
...and aproximately the same for Epson 6-color system?


Morgan O.
Click to expand...
 
Morgan Ohlson said:
Quality or quantity?
Click to expand...

The explanation was in the next sentence, but perhaps could have been
clearer...

No big black ink tank means: printing B&W is more expensive
No pigment-based black tank: B&W is less dark
No extra black nozzles for fast black: B&W printing is slower (than a
similar 4-color model from the same company)

Note that this does not apply to *all* 6 color printers:
- Epson, at least, makes some printers that use pigment-based inks for
all colors. Perhaps they print dark text?
- HP and Lexmark make (or made) printers that could be configured to do
a good job with photos *or* business graphics. They hold two cartridges:
one is a 3 color cartridge. The other is either a 3 photo color
cartridge (for good photos) or a black cartridge (for business
graphics). But swapping cartridges is a hassle and cartridges that hold
multiple colors are a very expensive way to print. By now HP or Lexmark
*may* even make a printer that can hold all three cartridges at once.

-- Russell
 
Russell E. Owen said:
Note that this does not apply to *all* 6 color printers:
- Epson, at least, makes some printers that use pigment-based inks for
all colors. Perhaps they print dark text?
- HP and Lexmark make (or made) printers that could be configured to do
a good job with photos *or* business graphics. They hold two cartridges:
one is a 3 color cartridge. The other is either a 3 photo color
cartridge (for good photos) or a black cartridge (for business
graphics). But swapping cartridges is a hassle and cartridges that hold
multiple colors are a very expensive way to print. By now HP or Lexmark
*may* even make a printer that can hold all three cartridges at once.
Click to expand...

Most six color printers use: pigment black ink, magenta, cyan, yellow, light
magenta and light cyan - and mix the colors to make a dye-based black when
printing photos...so text isn't really a problem unless all the inks are
dye-based (which I've yet to see in low-mid range consumer inkjets).

HP has had three cartridge capability since the Photosmart 7550 and continue
to have that feature in their latest generation of higher end Photosmart
printers. I have the Photosmart 7350 which holds two cartridges, but can
take either: tri-color, photo cartridge or pigment-based black. It's
strictly a photo only printer so I don't swap very often; although I might
swap the photo for the black cartridge if I'm printing a more important
document and want the faster speed and better quality of my Photosmart. I
figure having two printers is the easiest way to do it.
 
Advantages of 6 colors:
- You get better color photos with 6 colors than with 4 or 5. It makes a
bigger difference than dot size or resolution. On the other hand, many 4
and 5 color printers do a good enough job on photos; it just depends how
particular you are.

Disadvantages of 6 colors:
- Most 6 color printers do not do a great job with text. Unlike, say,
the i860, they have no big black tank, no pigment-based black tank, no
extra black nozzles for fast black.

So if you mainly care about photo quality, buy a 6 color printer. If you
want a general purpose printer, you have a tougher decision.

-- Russell
Click to expand...
Au contraire.... My 1280 does fabulous text. I just bought a 900
(same basic thing with narrow carriage and the CD thingy. It will now
be the letter and snapshot printer while the 1280 goes over to more
lofty chores.

As for the original question:
Photo quality = 6 colors MINIMUM
**************************
Mark Herring, Pasadena, Calif.
Private e-mail: Just say no to "No".
 
The Epson dye photo printers do not have a pigmented black. I love the text
on my Epsons. I have never had anyone complain about the text using dye
inks.
 
Safetymom123 said:
The Epson dye photo printers do not have a pigmented black. I love the text
on my Epsons. I have never had anyone complain about the text using dye
inks.
Click to expand...

Are there any systematic rule here?

Something like all 5-color systems make bad BW-text ????


Morgan O.
 
Morgan Ohlson said:
When using this bright M and C, are the "dark C and M then darker compared
to 4-color systems?
Click to expand...

No. It's regular cyan and regular magenta plus a lighter version of each.
 
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