Jettec Now Available at Staples: How Good is it?

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BobbytheBrain

Looks like Americans can buy it locally without the usual shipping
fees charged by online retailers. Never used Jettec before, so how
does it compare to the bigger names such as Alotofthings, Atlantic,
MIS, Injetgoodies, Mediastreet, Lyson, Weink, and the rest? Thanks.
 
BobbytheBrain said:
Looks like Americans can buy it locally without the usual shipping
fees charged by online retailers. Never used Jettec before, so how
does it compare to the bigger names such as Alotofthings, Atlantic,
MIS, Injetgoodies, Mediastreet, Lyson, Weink, and the rest? Thanks.
Click to expand...


It's the only compatible I use - I've never had an issue with them - and
they contain a third more ink (for a third of the price) of OEMs.
 
BobbytheBrain said:
Looks like Americans can buy it locally without the usual shipping
fees charged by online retailers. Never used Jettec before, so how
does it compare to the bigger names such as Alotofthings, Atlantic,
MIS, Injetgoodies, Mediastreet, Lyson, Weink, and the rest? Thanks.
Click to expand...

The latest Epson 420 JetTec cartridges contain 100% extra usable ink.
We have many happy users USA wide so maybe Staples will widen the appeal ?
Got the picture...Print it. JetTec perfect.
http://www.aah-haa.com 30% more ink
http://www.inkylinkusa.com
 
BobbytheBrain said:
Looks like Americans can buy it locally without the usual shipping
fees charged by online retailers. Never used Jettec before, so how
does it compare to the bigger names such as Alotofthings, Atlantic,
MIS, Injetgoodies, Mediastreet, Lyson, Weink, and the rest? Thanks.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, no one asks the right questions regarding third party
inks. Usually people just want to know about value compared to OEM.
Value, for me, includes more than cost. What you should be asking is:

Q1. Color balance. Will the color balance be the same with brand X
as with Epson
A1. Usually no and Jetec is no exception. The color balance for me
was EXTREMELY different. To be perfectly honest, I did not notice
with my first few prints until I printed some pictures that I had
previously printed with Epson ink and compared them directly. The
Epson color balance looked better to me although without testing I
could not say it was absolutely more accurate. Of course if this is
important to you, color balance can be adjusted if you own color
matching software.

Q2. Longevity. This one is extremely important to me yet I have never
seen anyone else ask about a third party inks longevity. I can not
say whether or not Jetec is better or worse than others in this regard
since I have not seen any test data but most third party inks do not
do well at all in this category when compared to original Epson inks.
I can say that I have not yet noticed any appreciable fade with my
Jetec prints but they are stored out of direct light.

Q3. Clogging. Will brand X be the same as the OEM product?
A3. This one was mixed for me with Jetec. I had some cartridges that
did well while others seemed to want to clog. Mostly I had problems
when changing between from Epson to the Jetec or visa versa. However,
the last black ink cartridge I used from Jetec started showing
incomplete lines in a test print and stopped printing altogether with
the ink level still indicating half full.

Q4. COST. I left this one for last as it is, for me, the place it
belongs compared to everything else considered here. If your needs
are different you might rank them differently.
A4. Jetec is most definitely less expensive but for me it was too
costly in other ways.

Disclaimer
All of the above is based on cartridges bought a while ago with the
last Jetec black cartridge (apparently defective) being removed just
about a month ago. I quit using the color carts a year ago since I
could not get a color balance that matched the Epson ink close enough
to satisfy myself. I am not knocking the Jetec product at all, but I
will say that for me it did not perform as well as Epson ink based on
the above criteria. For others here it obviously meets their needs.
When in doubt, I suggest you try it for yourself. It might meet your
needs perfectly. As always, YMMV.

Richard
 
In my opinion, no one asks the right questions regarding third party
inks. Usually people just want to know about value compared to OEM.
Value, for me, includes more than cost. What you should be asking is:

Q1. Color balance. Will the color balance be the same with brand X
as with Epson
A1. Usually no and Jetec is no exception. The color balance for me
was EXTREMELY different. To be perfectly honest, I did not notice
with my first few prints until I printed some pictures that I had
previously printed with Epson ink and compared them directly. The
Epson color balance looked better to me although without testing I
could not say it was absolutely more accurate. Of course if this is
important to you, color balance can be adjusted if you own color
matching software.
Click to expand...

2 things:
- Color Balance can be adjusted in the printer driver unless you use ICC
profiles (I do as I want better colors than Epson will give me as default).
- Your old photos might have gone through a color change. The canon picts
on my fridge have faded a lot.
Q2. Longevity. This one is extremely important to me yet I have never
seen anyone else ask about a third party inks longevity. I can not
say whether or not Jetec is better or worse than others in this regard
since I have not seen any test data but most third party inks do not
do well at all in this category when compared to original Epson inks.
I can say that I have not yet noticed any appreciable fade with my
Jetec prints but they are stored out of direct light.
Click to expand...

From what I have heard, they are good. But I do not know if better than
the original ink or not.
Q3. Clogging. Will brand X be the same as the OEM product?
A3. This one was mixed for me with Jetec. I had some cartridges that
did well while others seemed to want to clog. Mostly I had problems
when changing between from Epson to the Jetec or visa versa. However,
the last black ink cartridge I used from Jetec started showing
incomplete lines in a test print and stopped printing altogether with
the ink level still indicating half full.
Click to expand...

2 of my first Epson tanks had problems with 5-6 missing lines each
when around 20% left, took some local Windex clone to clear them.
And JetTec will repair clogged printheads.
Q4. COST. I left this one for last as it is, for me, the place it
belongs compared to everything else considered here. If your needs
are different you might rank them differently.
A4. Jetec is most definitely less expensive but for me it was too
costly in other ways.
Click to expand...

I think cost is a parameter to consider together with the other paramters.
Disclaimer
All of the above is based on cartridges bought a while ago with the
last Jetec black cartridge (apparently defective) being removed just
about a month ago. I quit using the color carts a year ago since I
could not get a color balance that matched the Epson ink close enough
to satisfy myself. I am not knocking the Jetec product at all, but I
will say that for me it did not perform as well as Epson ink based on
the above criteria. For others here it obviously meets their needs.
When in doubt, I suggest you try it for yourself. It might meet your
needs perfectly. As always, YMMV.
Click to expand...

Doing printer profiling with Profile Prism, I get better results
using JetTec than Epson. And a more consistent reflectiveness.
With Epson the cyan seems more reflective.
 
My responses are imbedded below.



2 things:
- Color Balance can be adjusted in the printer driver unless you use ICC
profiles (I do as I want better colors than Epson will give me as default).
- Your old photos might have gone through a color change. The canon picts
on my fridge have faded a lot.
Click to expand...

Actually, I have reprinted a sample and find the results look the same
as the original so they had not faded or changed perceptibly. As to
the Canon fading, yes some have this problem with them as do some with
Epson. I, fortunately, do not have this problem in my location with
my Epson prints.
From what I have heard, they are good. But I do not know if better than
the original ink or not.
Click to expand...

As I reported, I have personally not seen a change yet, but I am
curious as to where you have heard that longevity of Jetec inks is
good? Other than anecdotal comments here, I can find no published
authoritative evidence either way. Since I know what may be expected
from Epson, advantage goes to Epson.
2 of my first Epson tanks had problems with 5-6 missing lines each
when around 20% left, took some local Windex clone to clear them.
And JetTec will repair clogged printheads.
Click to expand...
I never had a problem that a few cleaning runs would mot fix until I
mixed ink carts. It happened several times when switching between
Jetec and Epson inks. It is nice to know Jetec will fix a clogged
print head, but why would they need to do so if their ink did not
clog? Interesting! I am also curious as to how they achieve this
service since they are in Europe and I am in America?
I think cost is a parameter to consider together with the other paramters.
Click to expand...

As per my original comments on this we completely agree. I just
happen to think we must be careful to balance cost and quality.
Doing printer profiling with Profile Prism, I get better results
using JetTec than Epson. And a more consistent reflectiveness.
With Epson the cyan seems more reflective.
Click to expand...


Profile Prism is what I use for print profiling but I never found a
_completely_ satisfactory profile. Maybe I am just too picky or
perhaps I simply do not have the knack for such things. I would be
interested to try one of your Premium Glossy or Matt profiles for
Epson if you care to share though. In fact, if positive longevity
results are ever published for Jetec ink along with a good color
profile, I might even re-consider using their ink! ;^)

Richard
 
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