Need printer advise

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Allison
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Bob Allison

I have narrowed my printer choices down to 2.
1.Epson R220
2. Epson 1280

The R220 uses dye ink. Is this a "permanent" ink? By that I mean is it
water resistant, or will it smear if it gets wet? I will be printing photos
and CD/DVD's for self I would like to know the ink won't run if it gets
wet (within reason) My HP used to run if you sneezed near it.

The 1280 on the other hand uses pigment ink. Is there a print head clogging
problem with this ink?

Are there any printable CD's or DVD's that I should avoid? Any better than
most?

TIA for your opinion
 
I have narrowed my printer choices down to 2.
1.Epson R220
2. Epson 1280

The R220 uses dye ink. Is this a "permanent" ink? By that I mean is it
water resistant, or will it smear if it gets wet? I will be printing photos
and CD/DVD's for self I would like to know the ink won't run if it gets
wet (within reason) My HP used to run if you sneezed near it.
Click to expand...

No, it's not permanent. It's water resistant on Epson's photo paper,
but not on plain paper or on CDs, though it will become more water
resistant once the CD has dried for a few days.
The 1280 on the other hand uses pigment ink. Is there a print head clogging
problem with this ink?

Are there any printable CD's or DVD's that I should avoid? Any better than
most?

TIA for your opinion
Click to expand...

Pigment ink is more waterproof than dye ink, but the 1280 uses their
photographic pigment inks, and not the 'acrylic enamel' type in the
DuraBrite printers. It may not be as waterproof, and will dry slower,
but will be more water resistant than the R220 ink. It's also probably
less likely to clog up because of this.

I prefer Verbatim printable DVDs more for quality than for the print
surface, but you shouldn't have a problem with any brand with the
Epson printers. The Verbatim Silver Printable CD-Rs are apparently not
compatible with Canon printers.

Office Depot has stopped carrying Verbatim printables, unfortunately.
Now they have Maxell, and I'm not sure about the quality of those. If
you're lucky, you may be able to find the 100 stack of Verbatim
Printable DVD-Rs on clearance at your local Office Depot. Mine put
them down to $45 from $90. I have about 300 now, but when I restock
I'll be more likely to go to BJs Wholesale Club, which has 50 Fuji
printable DVD-Rs in jewel cases for $30.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.
 
certainly asking this in this forum will not yeild a satisfactory
answer. here is the way to find out. call epson tech support or their
800 sales line. ask them to send you prints from the printers you are
interested in on the paper you are interested in. they will send them
to you. then wet them in the manner you are concerned about and see
what happens.
No, it's not permanent. It's water resistant on Epson's photo paper,
but not on plain paper or on CDs, though it will become more water
resistant once the CD has dried for a few days.
Click to expand...
printers that use pigment ink clog easier and the ink usually costs more.
 
measekite said:
certainly asking this in this forum will not yeild a satisfactory
answer. here is the way to find out. call epson tech support or their
800 sales line. ask them to send you prints from the printers you are
interested in on the paper you are interested in. they will send them
to you. then wet them in the manner you are concerned about and see
what happens.
Click to expand...

Will then send you prints on CDs?
 
The 1280 is a dye based photoprinter. It is a very old design by digital
standards but still in the Epson line-up because it gives superb results on
a variety of paper surfaces if you understand color management.
The 1280 is slow, not cheap to run, subject to clogging and the printhead
itself has a limited life expectancy and costs about half the price of a new
printer to replace.
Still I highly value my ancient 1280 and I have not seen any dye based
printer from Canon or HP that compares.
If you want a high quality printer and need to print CDs (why?) consider the
1800. The 1800 is pigment based and yields superb color, better b&w than the
1280 but subject to its own and generic Epson quirks.
 
Pigment ink is more waterproof than dye ink, but the 1280 uses their
photographic pigment inks, and not the 'acrylic enamel' type in the
DuraBrite printers. It may not be as waterproof, and will dry slower,
but will be more water resistant than the R220 ink. It's also probably
less likely to clog up because of this.
Click to expand...

It looks like I was incorrect here, another poster who has one posted
elsewhere in this thread that it's dyebased. I got it confused with
Epson's newer pigment printers, I was thinking of a different model
number.

The R1800 as the other poster suggested is probably better for what
you want to do. I'm not sure about the waterfastness of Ultrachrome vs
Durabrite ink, as it's not designed with that in mind. Pigment ink is
generally more waterproof than dye, though.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.
 
The R1800 has produced some beautiful prints in the year I've owned it.
There has been no tendency for clogging even when I've let as much as a
month go by without using it. My biggest annoyance is the expense of its
cartridges and the fact that they are not particularly large. I intend to
remedy that soon, as the OEM ink runs out by using refillable spongeless
cartridges, which are easy and quick to refill, and compatible ink from MIS.
Though some may find my decision to go that route wrong I find the
evidence of using other MIS ink incontrovertibly positive to achieving
excellent printing results with cost effective savings.
 
Jan said:
The R1800 has produced some beautiful prints in the year I've owned it.
There has been no tendency for clogging even when I've let as much as a
month go by without using it. My biggest annoyance is the expense of its
cartridges and the fact that they are not particularly large. I intend to
remedy that soon, as the OEM ink runs out by using refillable spongeless
cartridges, which are easy and quick to refill, and compatible ink from MIS.
Click to expand...
they will not disclose what they are selling. no clogging now but just
wait. and the fact it is pigmented ink makes clogging more probable
 
Jan said:
The R1800 has produced some beautiful prints in the year I've owned it.
There has been no tendency for clogging even when I've let as much as a
month go by without using it. My biggest annoyance is the expense of its
cartridges and the fact that they are not particularly large. I intend to
remedy that soon, as the OEM ink runs out by using refillable spongeless
cartridges, which are easy and quick to refill, and compatible ink from MIS.
Though some may find my decision to go that route wrong I find the
evidence of using other MIS ink incontrovertibly positive to achieving
excellent printing results with cost effective savings.
Click to expand...

The only difference you'll probably see will be in the cost of your
printing...which will be far less than you're currently paying.
Frank
 
Jan said:
The R1800 has produced some beautiful prints in the year I've owned it.
There has been no tendency for clogging even when I've let as much as a
month go by without using it. My biggest annoyance is the expense of its
cartridges and the fact that they are not particularly large. I intend to
remedy that soon, as the OEM ink runs out by using refillable spongeless
cartridges, which are easy and quick to refill, and compatible ink from MIS.
Though some may find my decision to go that route wrong I find the
evidence of using other MIS ink incontrovertibly positive to achieving
excellent printing results with cost effective savings.

--
Jan Alter
(e-mail address removed)
or
(e-mail address removed)12.pa.us
Click to expand...

What is an R1800? Mfg?

Lou
 
The R1800 as the other poster suggested is probably better for what
you want to do. I'm not sure about the waterfastness of Ultrachrome vs
Durabrite ink, as it's not designed with that in mind. Pigment ink is
generally more waterproof than dye, though.
Click to expand...

OP here;

The 1280 is disappearing off the shelves. It looks like the R800 is
replacing it pricewise. I'd love to have the wider format of the R1800,
but at least I can do panoramas. The R800 seems to be a basic non-wide
format version of the R1800, which was mentioned. I think this is the one
I'll go with.

Can anyone comment on the waterfastness of UltraChrome Ink?
 
if you are bent on epson then better consider the more versatile R1800
and be sure to use epson ink or you will certainly get a print head clog
sooner or later.
 
The inks that come from the factory with the 1280 are not pigment inks,
but standard dye inks very similar to those used in the R220.

The only Epson printers that use Pigment ink from the factory are:

Ultrachrome (slow drying)

R1800
R800
R2100/2200/2400


Durabrite:

Most C and CX series printers (although not all).

Art
 
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