What is the difference ..............

[b11_]

What is the difference between the photo ink in a photo ink cartridge and
the color ink in a color ink cartridge?

 

[Ridge Runner]

Nuthin

 

[Tim Slattery]

What is the difference between the photo ink in a photo ink cartridge and
the color ink in a color ink cartridge?

Whatever the manufacturers want it to be!

It's possible that the "photo ink" is formulated to last longer - so
that your pictures don't fade away.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

What is the difference between the photo ink in a photo ink cartridge and
the color ink in a color ink cartridge?

Price.

--

Bruce Chambers

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[Big Al]

What is the difference between the photo ink in a photo ink cartridge and
the color ink in a color ink cartridge?

Evidently something. My Cannon IP4000 has two blacks. One is supposed
to be for photos and one is text. But other than that, I use the
colors for everything.
I've heard that there are water soluble and insoluble inks. I just buy
the Sam's club 3 packs of ink. Rarely do I put my photos in water.

Lately though, my friends and I have started the debate that sending the
images to some big discount store like Walmart or Sam's Club and getting
15cents per standard photo is better than printing at home. We guess
the quality of the material they use is better, and more durable than
home printing as well as cheaper. We haven't come to a decision but a
new Sam's club just opened about 4 blocks from my house so pickup is too
easy now. And if we don't print our own, then we could change from $11
per cartridge to some generic $3 cartridge and save a ton of money over
a period. Course I've got a box of 125 sheets of 8x10 to use.....

 

[HeyBub]

Lately though, my friends and I have started the debate that sending
the images to some big discount store like Walmart or Sam's Club and
getting 15cents per standard photo is better than printing at home. We
guess the quality of the material they use is better, and more
durable than home printing as well as cheaper. We haven't come to
a decision but a new Sam's club just opened about 4 blocks from my
house so pickup is too easy now. And if we don't print our own, then
we could change from $11 per cartridge to some generic $3 cartridge
and save a ton of money over a period. Course I've got a box of
125 sheets of 8x10 to use.....

You can refill the cartridges yourself for about a nickle.

 

[Big Al]

You can refill the cartridges yourself for about a nickle.

Yes, if I first accept that generic cartridges are usable and thus the
'use manufacturer only' warning is invalid, why not go cheaper and get
refill kits. I'll have to add that on the next meeting.

 

[Gary R.]

You can refill the cartridges yourself for about a nickle.

With what, water? 8^)

The wisdom of using non-OEM inks varies, but for anyone serious about their
photos, or wanting them to last, just "anything that fits" may not be the
best idea. Better to have them printed at the drugstore/Walmart.

The better photo printer manufacturers spend a lot of time and effort
getting the colors exact, so with the profile installed and good color
management practices, you can get what you see. Not to mention, the
archival nature of the inks; dye inks are notorious for fading, and what may
look like a beautiful print, framed and on your shelf, may look like an
1800's photo in a few years if the ink and paper combination you used is not
designed properly. This doesn't matter to a lot of folks, short-term, but
it's really disappointing to see those not-so-old photos fade away so
quickly. Pigment-based inkjet inks don't fade so quickly, but third party
inks can present a clogging problem, or the colors can be significantly off,
or you get a horrible finish on the print.

Epson, for example, has an independent lab test their print/paper
combinations under accelerated conditions, to see how long a print can be
expected to last. But if you buy either generic ink, or paper that's a
different spec, that may all go out the window. Generic or third party inks
don't always match color well; the importance varies, but for a photographer
who wants things just right, it does matter; for a snapshot of the dog in
the back yard, maybe not.

Waterproof is not necessarily an indication; some quality inks are not
waterproof, but many can withstand submersing and drying out without damage.
Older and cheaper inks for just "color inkjets" will most likely run all
over the place when wet, even from glossy prints.

You CAN get good inks to refill with; but generally not from the cheapie ads
you see when trying to order OEM inks, and they won't be as cheap as the
junk inks. You may need to also download a profile for those inks, if color
matching is important. The reason for getting these inks is not so much for
price, as it may be for long term archiving without fading, or printing on
special surfaces like vinyl or canvas, or for b/w printing with six or more
shades of gray to black, using an inkjet photo printer.

Some third party inks may tend to clog the printheads.

For general inkjet printing, such as school reports, business flyers,
reports, and for snapshots that aren't going to be kept long-term, you can
save a lot of money buying the generics, refilling, and using cheaper paper.
Just test things first to make sure it's reasonable, and isn't going to clog
up the works. If your photos are important, either have them printed at a
store, or print them right with the inks that will last and that will
produce the colors they're supposed to, and the correct paper; it doesn't
have to be the manufacturer's paper, there are good online sources that
produce and test their papers with the different printer inks for
compatibility and long print life, and they'll be specific about the specs.

Really, if 'cheap' is what you're after, you're way better off having your
photo prints done instead of printing yourself...save your color printer for
the other stuff, or a few quick snapshot prints. It costs me $100 for a set
of carts for my Epson R1800, and letter sized paper may be 20-40 cents
additional per sheet. Add some mistakes, and it's not economically feasible
to print a bunch of 4x6's if your goal is to save money, it won't work.
Getting what you want from a print is a different story.

Gary