Maintaining Epson photo printer

[Jeff]

I just bought an Epson Stylus Photo R320 printer. It will be used to only
print photos about once a month or so.

I have heard there could be ink clogging problems. Do I have to print
something once a week to keep this from happening? Is there any precaution
one could take?

Is it OK to use generic ink cartridges instead of Epson's?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

I just bought an Epson Stylus Photo R320 printer. It will be used to only
print photos about once a month or so.

I have heard there could be ink clogging problems. Do I have to print
something once a week to keep this from happening? Is there any precaution
one could take?

The clogging issue is more with the Epson C-series that take the
Durabrite ink cartridges. I have the successor to the R320, the R340,
and I only use it once a week, if that, and have never had any
clogging. The printer uses ink to clean the head every time you turn
it on, so if you're worried about it, you can just turn the printer on
and off every so often. I leave mine on all the time specifically to
/stop/ it from using all that ink.

Also, if you don't know about this yet:

http://www.epsonsettlement.com

I think the cutoff date was May 8th, though, so if you just bought it
yesterday, I don't think you can get the refund.

Is it OK to use generic ink cartridges instead of Epson's?

Thanks in advance.

Personally, I would get refillable blanks (the Epson cartridges are
difficult to refill) and get ink from a reputable refiller such as MIS
rather than getting generic cartridges. Good refill suppliers have ink
formulated specifically for each printer. Those 'generic' refill kits
that 'work with all printers' are generally not very good. Many people
on this group have had good luck with buying pre-filled cartridges, so
you might want to wait for some more replies before you decide, but my
thought is that you don't know what they're using in them. I bought
the printer specifically for CD/DVD printing but find myself using it
more for photos than for that, so I'm sticking with OEM cartridges for
now. I have about four extra sets I got with gift cards from buying
the printer. Since it's a dyebased printer, however, the print
longevity isn't going to be that great even with Epson inks and Ultra
Premium photo paper.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[measekite]

there are definately ink clogging problems if you use generic ink. but
if you use epson branded ink carts and print at least every couple of
weeks you should be ok. epson r320 does more cleaning cycles and
generally speaking gets worse ink mileage than canon.

 

[measekite]

I just bought an Epson Stylus Photo R320 printer. It will be used to only
print photos about once a month or so.

I have heard there could be ink clogging problems. Do I have to print
something once a week to keep this from happening? Is there any precaution
one could take?

precautions should be:

1 print every couple of weeks at least a color sheet like a web page
2 only use epson ink in your printer

Is it OK to use generic ink cartridges instead of Epson's?

absolutely not. the only place to get them is from relabelers who will
not disclose to you what they are selling. it is easy to buy some
unbranded crap from one relabeler and then after having trouble get the
same junk from another.

this months popular photography said that some aftermarket ink can be
used by artists but it may cost the same or more than oem ink. they
further say that buying low priced ink just to save some money can lead
to clogging and in the case of epson's permanent printhead can lead to
loss of the printer.

some people (very few) who have very heavy print loads have gotten a
number of refills before they have had a problem so in essence they
printed enough to warrant using it but the actual visual results and
longevity are suspect.

by asking your question it appears you do not print enough to even
bother using something where you do not know what you are getting and
subsidizing a bunch of unprofessionals.

keep in mind that there is a church aka cult aka generic ink club making
many posts here. they have about a dozen regular members of this
loosely knit decentralized group and some of them either work for a
relabeler or have some interest in them. there are also a couple of
people who own business who have admitted they were in the printer
business and another person who very recently retired from hp. he has
not weighed in heavily on generic ink (working for hp) but his views are
and reasonable slanted toward hp.

i use both hp and canon. i prefer the canon for photos and paper
handling like envelopes and invitations but i think the results from
text and graphics and general business documents are better with the
hp. i also advise people to stay away from multifunction devices for a
lot of reasons unless the primary criteria is for an auto sheet feeder
and space.

 

[Zitty]

there are definately ink clogging problems if you use generic ink. but if
you use epson branded ink carts and print at least every couple of weeks
you should be ok. epson r320 does more cleaning cycles and generally
speaking gets worse ink mileage than canon.

Not that you would actually know of course, seeing as you've never used an
Epson printer or generic ink.

[snip]

 

[Frank]

I just bought an Epson Stylus Photo R320 printer. It will be used to only
print photos about once a month or so.

I have heard there could be ink clogging problems. Do I have to print
something once a week to keep this from happening? Is there any precaution
one could take?

Is it OK to use generic ink cartridges instead of Epson's?

Thanks in advance.

I've been doing it for over 10 years now with excellent results. Epson
pigment ink tends to clog easier than dye based inks. If you don't print
very often just print one page of test once or twice a week and you
should be good to go.
BTW, don't believe a word that lying scumbag meashershithead post! He's
mentally demented and a known liar.
Frank

 

[Hendo]

Hi,

Pigment inks can clog your printerhead. Epson inks for this printer are
pigment.

"Is it OK to use generic ink cartridges instead of Epson's?"

Yes it is ok to use generic inks istead of epson inks.

I sounds like you are not a professional photographer. You only print
photos once a month or so.

For everyday printing and the odd photos generic inks are the way to
go. Buy some cartridges from your local refill shop and you'll save 30%
- 40%.The print quality will be very good and you'll save money.

If you want to help save the environment you can refill your generic
cartridges and save even more money. Up to 80% for quality generic ink.

Saving money and the environment does come at a cost. Nothing is free.
You may have to sacrifice a minute or so in time to learn to refill,
once you learn it willbecome easier. You may have to sacrifice some
print quality, your prints may not be 100% the same as the OEM, but 95%
the same, black text will be 99.9% the same.

If you live in North America or in Europe most of the printer
cartridges are manufactured outside of your area. Yet 80% of all
cartridges used in North America and Europe are thrown in the local
landfill. Contaminating our water, food, air, animals and plants.

Some people on this form don't care and will continue to promote the
use of new single use, OEM cartridges. Not willing to sacrifice a
thing, but us. Wonder where thier from. Some of them hate our way of
life, freedom of choice, free market, competition...

I recycle, and reuse my cartridges.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

Hi,

Pigment inks can clog your printerhead. Epson inks for this printer are
pigment.

The Epson R200/R220/R300/R300M/R320/R340 and all the RX all in ones
that take the cartridges with the guitar on the box are all dyebased
printers, not pigment. The C and CX line use Durabrite (I believe some
of the very low C printers such as the 80 do not use Durabrite) ink
which is pigment, but only 4-color so you get a very low gamut of
color, and all prints come out matte unless you use the Durabrite
paper. The R-series does not have the clogging problems that the
Durabrite printers have.

The R800, R1800, and R2400 all use Ultrachrome pigment inks, which are
entirely different formulation than Durabrite inks. Ultrachrome inks
dry slower, so are less likely to clog as well.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[Hendo]

Hi,

"Pigment inks can clog your printerhead. Epson inks for this printer
are
pigment."

I ment to say:

Pigment inks can clog your printerhead. Epson inks for this printer are
NOT
pigment.

Sorry for the mistake.

 

[MES Jones]

Well, I just bought the 2 year service plan for 25 bucks at circuit
city. It is basically a replacement when it goes out. That way I will
get a new printer for 25 bucks. Untill then, I just turn mine on and
off every 10 - 14 days. mes.

 

[Tony]

I just bought an Epson Stylus Photo R320 printer. It will be used to only
print photos about once a month or so.

I have heard there could be ink clogging problems. Do I have to print
something once a week to keep this from happening? Is there any precaution
one could take?

Is it OK to use generic ink cartridges instead of Epson's?

Thanks in advance.

There is some confusion about Generic versus compatible ink cartridges or inks,
there really shouldn't be because it is pretty straightforward.
Generic (or universal) inks are generally not a good idea since they are
designed to work on a number of printers with, often, different inks specs.
Compatible inks or cartridges are formuated and designed for a specific
printer, in some cases they will work in other printers well but only if the
inks specs are identical.
One of the reasons for the confusion in this newsgroup is the nonsense posted
by one "contributor" who refuses to recognise the distinction between generic
and compatible.
Bottom line is, don't use generic inks unless you want to risk poor quality
output and in rare cases printhead damage. Compatible inks on the other hand
from one of several reputable and professional suppliers are fine.
All inkjet printers can suffer from clogs simply because of the way they work,
it is a generally smart move to print at least once a week to keep the
printheads in good order.
There is absolutely no evidence I have seen in more than 15 years of experience
that quality compatible inks cause more clogging than OEM inks. I am not going
to offer advice on the best suppliers but this newsgroup has heaps of good
referrals to quality compatible suppliers.
For what it is worth, OEM inks make up somewhere between 70% and 80% of the
market depending on which analysis you read, if non-OEM inks make up only 20%
of this enormous marketplace then you can see that there is irrefutable
evidence that quality compatible inks work for a massive number of people. The
suggestion that all non-OEM inks are bad invariably comes from people with an
axe to grind. Many compatible manufacturers specify who makes the ink (often
themselves), the reputable ones are largely succesful multi million dollar
corporations who have been in business for decades and have no wish to provide
anything but quality product.
Tony

 

[Jan Alter]

Eloquently executed in explanation.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

The C60 and C62 used dye inks. All the C8X series used Durabrite inks,
but the formulation of ink was changed after the C80. On the C80, the
black ink was not polymer encapsulated, and therefore it would not hold
well on glossy paper. This was done to further spread up drying with
plain paper printing. On matte papers all four inks could be used.

The original drivers for the C80 allowed printing on glossy paper, but
only with CMY inks (no black), but this was changed with the release of
the specialty Durabrite paper which allowed the C80 black ink to
penetrate the surface, so it didn't smear.

All the newer Durabrite inks use fully polymer encapsulated ink types,
so they can all be used iwth CMYK on standard microporous glossy papers.

Ultrachrome inks, just to not confuse some people who may not realize
it, as you stated are slower drying, but they are pigment with polymer
encapsulation. Also as you state, most of the R series printers use dye
inks, with the exception of the R800 and R1800, which use a wider color
set Ultrachrome inks which also offer a separate "gloss optimizer" to
allow for very glossy prints.

Art