Epson 900 Printer Question

[golfnut]

My plans are to buy a new Epson 900 solely for printing high quality photos. Does anyone happen to know if this printer will accept cartridges filled with archieval (pigment) ink as opposed to traditional dye based ink. Since I am buying the printer new and no ink has been run through it I would think this would be OK but then I am no expert. Also, if it will work does anyone know where I can buy 6 empty virgin cartridges for the pigment ink and also who has the best price on pigment ink. Thanks everyone for your help.

[The village idiot]

If it is completely only for printing photos, you would be better served by the C84 as it is cheaper, and has pigment inks.

Switching the 900 to pigment inks will require color correction. This can be more than most people will want to get into. Check http://www.mediastreet.com for pigment inks, and advice on simple color correction. This is where I get my ink and paper, and I feel good about recommending them to anyone. Just remember that the pigment inks will not print color correctly until you have made adjustments, this can take MANY sheets of paper, or expensive software ranging from about $200 and up. Monaco EZ color works fairly well and is at the cheap end. If you are into the messing around part, then you can achieve better results with the inks from mediastreet, than with the stock Epson pigment ink printers.

Ink is not the only factor in great looking prints, the paper makes a big difference too. The Royal Jazz, Plush, and Riviera papers are fantastic! They are also expensive!

[golfnut]

Village idiot thanks much for the advice. I will be printing some CD/DVD discs as well (should have mentioned that in my first post) so I think I will just go with the 900 and stick to dye based inks, I am just concerned over fading or yellowing with dye base inks, any suggestions on good brand name dye based inks. The color correction issue sounds like more than I really want to get into since you explained it so well.

[The village idiot]

Most of the dye inks will produce the same length of time before fading. I would still stick with a good brand like the bulk dye inks at mediastreet, also very affordable compared to the stock inks! Paper is still a major factor in fading, so a good archival paper would be worth trying. You can also spray your photos with a UV protective spray, or display them under UV protecting glass.

The new (un-available) disk/photo pigment ink printer from Epson would be the best compromise, but since it won't be out for several months, you'll have to decide if you want to wait or not. At any rate, the 900 or 960 would make a good printer for what you want to do.

You could also look into some of the other archival inks at http://www.inkjetart.com and http://www.inkjetmall.com . Maybe they have something that will last longer than stock inks, and still not require complex color correction.

[golfnut]

Thanks a million, you have been a great help and I really appreciate it. Thank you for taking time to share your knowledge with me.

[The village idiot]

You are most welcome