Print cost for A3 printers

[tsjcsl]

From the video it looked as if the solution can be very inexpensive. The tubes looked similar to those used by home aquarium air pumps? And if the waste ink tank can be installed then it will remove the inconvenience and trouble of bringing the printer for servicing.

 

[godzilla60]

Seems like quite a number of you are using 3rd party ink.... isn't the original ink the reason for buying those expensive printers? Won't the quality suffer because of the 3rd party ink?:think:

Or is it the A3 size printouts that you (those using 3rd party ink) are more concerned with?

 

[noobieslr]

I used the air pump fish tank tubes

As to the quality of the print outs using third party ink, it is definitely subjective. I tried many different brands and methods (CISS, PUMP, AEROSOL CAN, DRIP FILL) and got more dissapointment than results. So finding a good 3rd party ink is like striking lottery.

Luckily, here in Singapore, we have a refiller chain whose ink quality is good and another compatible ink cartridge/paper supplier whose supplies are close to originals. Honestly when i use their brands, i would say 10 out of 10 people cannot see the difference when i put the photos side by side.

 

[Wilwahabri]

Using third party inks can be disappointing. I have tried several in the past but none came remotely close to the output from the original cartridges. However, the current third party inks I am using from Inksystem are almost spot on.

Actually the change in ink density / hue / saturation can be compensated for and any ink can be made to work correctly within reason by modifying the printer ICC profile to a custom profile for the ink used.

Better ink suppliers will give you the necessary profile or profile the ink for your printer either free or for a very small charge, or if you have access to a Spyder it can be used to profile your own printer and generate a modified ICC profile.

There are differences between each batch of OEM ink anyway which means you should reprofile the ICC after every cartridge change if you want to produce absolutely exactly the same output every time. Very time consuming and expensive in terms of ink!

There are also differences depending on which paper you use which also would then require a separate ICC profile per paper type if you are going to get really really picky!

In general once the ink profile is set up to give the "correct" output in reality it can be left at that setting as long as the same manufacturers inks are being used.

 

[Wilwahabri]

Try http://www.octoink.co.uk/ for waste ink tanks they supply overseas and charge less than $22 per unit postage to Singapore is about $10

 

[hanzohattori]

Hi,

Where did you get your Epson 2400 from ? I don't think Epson have 2xxx series in Singapore right? I was considering to get the HP 9180, but not sure where to get compatible 3rd party inks.

Just to throw in my two penn'orth, I use an Epson R2400 A3+ printer, cost of consumables is about the same, however I cannot purchase cartridges for it here in Singapore, so I bought a continuous ink system for it from Inksystem. The equipment is Korean in manufacture, but they have world wide coverage, my unit was actaully sent from Russia! check out their website at Inksystem.com

I have always had problems with third party cartridges in the past not delivering the correct colour and was expecting similar hassles with setting up this system. It arrived with Ultrachrome inks including the optional matt black ink, 9 colours in all. total cost US$58 for the hardware and US$117 for the 9 inks.

A complete set of cartridges [8] oem, costs about US$125 and has only 8 cartridges of 13ml therfore cost per ml is US$1.20. The Inksystem ultrachrome inks supplied 900ml for US$117 giving a cost per ml of US$0.13. Approximately 1 tenth the cost.

as I said I have previously had bad experiences with third party inks but I fitted the system which took 20 minutes and then ran a test print - astonishingly almost identical to the Epson Original ink output! A minor tweak to the printer ICC using my spyder and the output was spot on.


If your printer was purchased locally in Singapore go to the shops in the HDB block opposite the FU LU SHU (sp?) and OG shopping complexes where there is a specialist CISS supplier, however I have not used the inks he supplies and pigment inks are hard to get here if you use them. The hardware looks very similar, my problem was getting matching hardware for the 2400.
If you are considering doing a lot of prints, or just routine numbers then this is the way to go. Inksystem will mail worldwide for a very reasonable cost and if you really need bulk ink will supply in 1 litre units - that is 9 litres of ink - for US$757 US$0.09 per ml.

I know that this is discussing ink cost only but ink cost is a major component of the running cost of the printer.

The other thing you should invest in is a waste ink tank. this connects to the pipe that drains ink from the sponges under the printhead used for the cleaning cycle which is directed to a sponge inside the printer (cause of the black edges you mentioned) when this reaches capacity it can hold no more ink and leaks all over the printer or in the case of Epson printers after a certain number of cycles the printer shuts down and requests a service to change the ink pad. by using the waste ink tank, fitted externally, this problem then never occurs. A software utility availble on the net is used to reset the printer waste ink counter and then the printer continues normal operation. As the waste ink is being diverted out of the printer there is no more black edge problem too! Note that this does require you to open the printer up to connect a new pipe to the existing drain pipe. Instructions are provided.

 

[Tonistein]

I have been printing A3 for many years using mostly Epson printers lately Photo 1390. Much of the cost comes from the paper used. Canon & Epson paper are equally expensive but their quality are good. Mostly I used Fuji Premium Plus Pro 270g/m2 @ $28 for 20 sheets. it's quality matches Canon PP201 which retail for $38 for 20 sheets.
Recently I bought a Canon IPF5100 A2 printer comes with 12 colours for almost $4000 with one extra set of ink cartridges free. The best thing is the quality - really good even on the cheapest paper I can find & it can print roll paper. One roll of Superior glossy paper 270g - 30M long retails at $102. Each A3 cost slightly more than a dollar. Each ink cartridge cost $79 @ 130ml. My Canon IP4500 A4 printer ink cartridge cost $18.50 each @ 13ml.
Though the initial investment is high but the running cost is low.

 

[Wilwahabri]

My 2400 was purchased in Abu Dhabi, I was working there before I came to Singapore and shipped it with me. Not available here and I think it has now been replaced with another model.

 

[tsjcsl]

Just want to update that I have installed my own DIY waste in tank on my R1800. Bought a 1-m tube for fish tank air pump from the local shop, $2.90. Got two empty plastic bottles. Follow the video from Youtube and in 30 mintues it was done.

I would like to thank Wilwahabri for the suggestion and the effort he took to find the UK supplier.

 

[Wilwahabri]

Bear in mind that your R1800 printer will have a head clean counter, when it reaches a certain number of times, calculated to fill the waste ink pad, it will shut the printer down and request a service, even with external waste ink tanks fitted. The printer will not print until reset. A software reset tool is availabe from SSC at http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml which will allow you to reset the head clean count and clear the service request. It also has a superior head cleaning routine to the one supplied by Epson. Oter printer manufacturers are supported with similar software by other sites. this software works with the R1800 and R2400 printers and about 100 other Epson printers too.

 

[hanzohattori]

My 2400 was purchased in Abu Dhabi, I was working there before I came to Singapore and shipped it with me. Not available here and I think it has now been replaced with another model.

Just curious, any maintenance/support issues with Epson Sg so far ?
I'm thinking to give myself R2880 as a Christmas gift this year :bsmilie:

 

[njmingz]

ehh...dun think they sell the R2880 in singapore..if u wanna buy A3 B&W photo printer...only Canon 9500 Mark II available...btw..according to the HP reseller.the HP 9180 had stopped production..so think u cant get that in Singapore too..

 

[hanzohattori]

ehh...dun think they sell the R2880 in singapore..if u wanna buy A3 B&W photo printer...only Canon 9500 Mark II available...btw..according to the HP reseller.the HP 9180 had stopped production..so think u cant get that in Singapore too..

Thats why I asked about R2400 support in Sg. If you see B&H price, and can get the $300 rebate, the total cost include shipping is about the same with R1900 price in Sg.
Enticing, no ? :think:

 

[Wilwahabri]

Cartridges are not avilable here for this printer neither is support. I have resorted to fitting a continuous ink system and waste ink tank to keep it operational, other than problems with supply of consumables the printer is excellent. Bulk ink is only availble in dye form here in Singapore, if you want photochrome pigment inks then you need to import them.

I bought mine 2 years ago and it is running well. The images were outstanding when I bought mine they may have been bettered since but very very good.

 

[njmingz]

I have been printing A3 for many years using mostly Epson printers lately Photo 1390. Much of the cost comes from the paper used. Canon & Epson paper are equally expensive but their quality are good. Mostly I used Fuji Premium Plus Pro 270g/m2 @ $28 for 20 sheets. it's quality matches Canon PP201 which retail for $38 for 20 sheets.
Recently I bought a Canon IPF5100 A2 printer comes with 12 colours for almost $4000 with one extra set of ink cartridges free. The best thing is the quality - really good even on the cheapest paper I can find & it can print roll paper. One roll of Superior glossy paper 270g - 30M long retails at $102. Each A3 cost slightly more than a dollar. Each ink cartridge cost $79 @ 130ml. My Canon IP4500 A4 printer ink cartridge cost $18.50 each @ 13ml.
Though the initial investment is high but the running cost is low.

hello...where u get the fuji papers??..ruby??...think of getting A3 papers but canon and epson quite exp..:cry:

Thats why I asked about R2400 support in Sg. If you see B&H price, and can get the $300 rebate, the total cost include shipping is about the same with R1900 price in Sg.
Enticing, no ? :think:

ehhh...i thought of it too...i asked epson singapore about support...they said...no...and...1 problem i thought of..is the voltage of US and singapore...don't know whether does it affect the appliances..cos we are talking about plugging it into the mains...not too sure whether u will need to source for a transformer to be able to use the printer in singapore...and btw...the rebate should be mail in right???...think it is only for people residing in US...hope this helps..

 

[hanzohattori]

I have been printing A3 for many years using mostly Epson printers lately Photo 1390. Much of the cost comes from the paper used. Canon & Epson paper are equally expensive but their quality are good. Mostly I used Fuji Premium Plus Pro 270g/m2 @ $28 for 20 sheets. it's quality matches Canon PP201 which retail for $38 for 20 sheets.
Recently I bought a Canon IPF5100 A2 printer comes with 12 colours for almost $4000 with one extra set of ink cartridges free. The best thing is the quality - really good even on the cheapest paper I can find & it can print roll paper. One roll of Superior glossy paper 270g - 30M long retails at $102. Each A3 cost slightly more than a dollar. Each ink cartridge cost $79 @ 130ml. My Canon IP4500 A4 printer ink cartridge cost $18.50 each @ 13ml.
Though the initial investment is high but the running cost is low.

Any noticeable quality difference in terms of color and tone between 1390 and epson 5100 ?