P and C H said:
My 4 year old HP Deskjet C710 has finally decided to go to the nearest dump.
Looking for a cost effective replacement I am considering the Epson C64. at
about UK£65.
I would like to ask .....
Is it any good - I print mainly documents, and some photos, sometimes quite
a lot, then none for ages.
Can the cartridges be refilled by user?
Do they have to be 'chipped'? and if so can I use the existing chipper
available from my local outlet?
ny opinions gladly accepted.
Peter Hayes
Judging from the sales reactions from the JetTec cartridges for the Epson
C64/C84 - where these single cartridges just like the C80/C82 - have rapidly
become a best seller. Firstly why bother with Epson cartridges when quality
compatibles are available.
All Epson's are now chipped. You'll find quite a good bit of good advice on
refilling JetTec designs here
http://www.jettec.co.uk/instructions_jetset.asp?1=810
And with a bit of hunting around the correct inks. Bear in mind that all the
above printers are pigmented inks. There is therefore some astigmatism
possibly dependent on the light and a viewer's eyes but my Photo tests
agreed with most owners opinion that the C84 in particular produces
creditable Photo results: when you use the correct paper as the polymer
coating is adjusted to let the "Lightfast" inks dry instantly and not settle
on the surface. Quite often the Matt and Satin finishes yield preferred
results. Fade resistance is obviously superior to Dye based inks.
The C84 could maybe described as a more robust build and it also takes the
enlarged JetTec C88 Black cartridges which is filled with 32ml Lightfast
ink. The Epson standard cartridges take 8ml and the High capacity comes with
13ml ink. Due to their design refilling cannot be done to full capacity and
they typically only take 5 to 6 ml of ink per refill.
If you are heavier therefore on the Doc's printing side the C84 may be a
better buy for Total cost of ownership say over 2 or more years. All the
latest JetTec C64/C84 and the R300 RX500 cartridges come now with the 30%
extra release patented chips.
On the plus side the C84 mainly does not appear to snatch paper quite so
savagely as the C80. If you don't take the PCPro magazine , they recently
tested some 15 leading Inkjet printers and the C84 in particular was the
leader as regards cost per page at 2.4 pence for mono and 12.1 pence for a
6x4 colour print with cartridges tested for their lifetime (until they ran
out) the mono gave 983 pages and colour 218 with fade resistance stated as
80 years ?? They were around recently for £78 up to £88 from main outlets.
In keeping with all the tested manufacturer's hilariously overstated and
claimed output figures Epson claimed 22 ppm for draft and 12 for colour
prints whereas the PCPro results yielded only 10.4 ppm and 5.2ppm
respectively.
Tony
Inkylink JetTec UK Quality - Wot others wanna-be
Epson C64/ C84 Lighfast (30% more free) pigmented inks.
Canon BCI-3 i560 i750 BCI-6 i865 S-820 / S-900 series.
Specialist ink refill kits...
http://www.inkylink.co.uk
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