[suzieh]

For the newbies here, do a search for "Epson printers, Magic Mix, Pigment, Dye"
to get up to speed on why pigment inks are preferred. Also not all Epson printers use pigment ink. Some Epsons have 2 cartridges (known as carts) some have a lot more. And many in t-shirt business use non-Epson pigment inks, such as Magic Mix, or a CIS (bulk ink) system. Or even Dye Sub (dye sublimation). For Durabrite, you may need to make some color adjustments.

As for OEM Epson ink carts/leftover ink...see http://epsonsettlement.com/

Yes, there's a lot to learn if you are willing to. I've given you a jumpstart on buzzwords to search for here or on Google.

By the way, we love our Epsons. We have some dinosaur workhorses that have been very faithful and are now entering a new life in the t-shirt business

Cheers, Susan

 

[suzieh]

I don't think Susie meant anything negative by the jumpstart comment. Not everyone knows which inks to use (as evidenced by the many threads asking about which inks are best).

Some people like epson printers and some don't. No cause for alarm there

Thanks Rodney. I only meant to provide some overview and buzzwords.
If you want to print your own t-shirts with a printer...then by all means explore what works for you and your budget. Some like dye sublimation, some like pigments, some like dye inks. Just from my reading, dye inks will wash out and if that doesn't matter to you, then so be it.

APPARENTLY, Epsons are favored because of the OEM pigment ink or you can find non-OEM pigment inks. It is still too early, and this is just from me reading many message boards, on how "well" other inks are holding up in terms of pigment. Who knows, maybe affordability is also part of why Epsons are mentioned so much.

My old Epsons are circa 1997 with heavy use, so that's why I am a happy Epson owner. Time will tell how my CX-4800 performs or the Epson 2400.
They are only weeks new.

I was brief because I am very busy. But like to help. More buzzwords...
chipped and non-chipped carts, HP apparently only provides pigment in black and the colors are dye (that's if my memory serves me which is spotty at 5:40 p.m.).

Canon does have pigment ink printers. Will they work for printing your own t-shirt transfers? I don't know.
Are their inks more expensive. I don't know.

And then you can explore the world of laser printers. Fused, oil or wax transfers.

Cheers, Susan H.

 

[suzieh]

Personally I trust my friend not to spread urban myths (no reason you should though obviously ). It also happened with the Canon printer that my girlfriend bought.

We'll just have to disagree on this one.

Groan, never intended to spread any myths about ANY printer companies and their inks and how much the carts are filled. And with my non-chipped Epson printers, when I get the solid red light that ink is out, I take out the cart and put it back in for a few more prints. There's lots of information, I'm sure, about inkjet cartridge capacities and consumption. I - for one - am not going to read up on this subject.