dwilley

I am getting ready to buy a new epson printer to start doing my own heat transfers. I am basing my printer decision on mostly ink, price, refills, and a cis. I think I have finally decide to get a C120. I am still interested in the R280 and the RX680 because they have more features and can print directly to cd's wich would come in handy for me. What I want to know is if I were to buy one of the other printers that comes with the dye ink, and I know some people say the claria can be transferred, can you change between them. Just because the printer comes with dye ink does this mean it can't run pigment ink. Is there anything physically different about the design of the printers. I read a post that said the dye printer ports are smaller for dye ink. Is this true, and if so will it clog more easily or will it work just the same with either ink. What I want to do is buy a dye printer for the added features and put pigment ink in it as soon as i get it and use only pigment ink for my transfers. Will this work or not.

Thank You

 

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Girlzndollz

Dwilley,

You are right that the nozzles are smaller on dye based printers than pigment ink based printers. Dye ink droplets are smaller in size than pigment droplets.

A popular dye based printer is the R1400, and folks do convert this printer to pigment ink cis systems.

Both the R1400 and R280 are dye based printers that come stocked with 6 Claria inks, and have the same size minimum droplet size of 1.5 picoliters, according to the specs. I've linked them for you to check them out. It makes me think the R280 will run any pigment ink the R1400 can. But I would call Epson to confirm if they use the same technology before assuming they do.

From Epson.com:

Here's the R280:
Epson Stylus Photo R280, Specifications - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.

Here's the R1400:

Epson Stylus Photo 1400, Specifications - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.


But when converting any dye printer to pigment ink, there is a hitch, as you already made mention of:

A dye based printer converted to pigment ink, since the nozzles are smaller on the dye printers, can clog when they are not used everyday. Some folks print everyday, so it's not an issue for them.

But some folks don't print print every single day. Some opt to print something everyday, even if there's no job, just to avoid the clog and be able to have the printer of their choice running the ink of their choice. I've heard some say it's a small price to pay to have the set up they like to work with.

Different people use different inks and cis set ups, and it seems to make a difference for them. Some combos seem to be trouble free for folks, while others seem to cause a headache, like the 1280 and magicmix. I've seen a few posts with the same troubles on that combo.

Some folks know they aren't going to print everyday, but want to save money on ink costs (over OEM carts), and want to avoid clogs, often opt for re-fill carts. Still saves a bundle on ink, and convenience of avoiding clogs.



If it was me, and if I really wanted to use the R280 for the print DVD feature, I'd go ahead and contact Epson directly to find out if the guts of the R280 are identical to the R1400, and if they are, any threads on the fourm on the R1400 and cis systems will work for the R280 as well. While the R280 isn't commonly used here, the R1400 is, and will give you alot threads to look at about CIS. Good luck, I know it's not easy to make final picks on equipment. You do what you feel is best for you. Take care, Kelly

 

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auggieboy

Know this thread is older but was just wondering, what if you convert a pigment printer to a dye printer. Will it result in less clogs? What do you guys think?

 

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Girlzndollz

Pigment ink printer to dye ink... it usually goes the other way around, I know you know this, but one thing that comes to mind is the pigment ink droplet is larger because it is encapsulated in resin. Dye is thinner.

If you look at the specs on an Epson Pigment ink printer, like the C120, you will see the minimum ink droplet size is 3 picoliters....
Epson Stylus C120 - Refurbished, Specifications - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.

If you look at dye printer specs, you will note the minimum droplet size is 1.5 picoliters...
Epson Stylus Photo 1400 - Refurbished, Specifications - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.

which is half the size. One of the concerns putting pigment ink into a dye based printer is clogs from the larger droplets.

One concern I might have going in reverse would be the dye running/leaking from the nozzles in the pigment ink printer.

Not sure, but this is some food for thought.

__________________
Please ask Q's in the threads as I may not see your PM. A many wonderful folk will be willing to help you. Apologies to those not answered, as I sign on sporadically these days. Thx 4 undrstnding. Have a great day.

 

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auggieboy

Thanks Kelly,
Your other posts made think of asking that question. Its something I never really thought of. I want to use my printer for screen printing films (dye is supposed to be better) but I don't want to lose it's ability to make great transfers and photo quality prints (pigment is better?) It is a large format epson 9600.
Guess I can't have the best of both worlds.

 

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