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Author Topic: "expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink  (Read 15748 times)

jimhuber

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« on: May 06, 2009, 01:32:56 pm »

My printing has slowed this year, resulting in seven 220ml cartridges on my shelf for an Epson 7800/9800 that expire in the next few months - every ink except the base black (photo or matte). Has anyone used "expired" cartridges? If so, were there any ill effects? I'm interested in any evidence one way or another, or even informed speculation.

If anyone wants to buy them off of me for a moderate discount just PM me and I'll entertain realistic offers.

Thanks in advance...
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Anthony R

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2009, 03:28:19 pm »

In my experiences ink expirations are like medicine expirations. A good starting point, but using them not long after they're technically expired has not resulted in any ill results.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2009, 03:28:41 pm by Anthony R »
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jdemott

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2009, 04:05:45 pm »

My experience is the same as Anthony's--no problems with slightly out of date ink cartridges.  When I order ink, I tend to buy enough so that I won't run out on a holiday weekend or whenever it would be least convenient.  But that means I sometimes have ink on hand for a while.  I just give it a good shake before installing.
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John DeMott

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2009, 07:10:43 am »

I've often used inks substantially (a year) past their expiry date (ie inserted after that date) without any issue.  Inks were stored in good conditions (ie moderate temperatures without direct sunlight, no large changes in temps etc).

The expiry date is the date by which you are meant to insert the carts - they are then rated for up to 6 months from the time they're inserted.  The 6 months is a far more important measure in my experience than tha actual expiry date.
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Phil Brown

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2009, 12:10:49 pm »

Quote from: Farmer
The expiry date is the date by which you are meant to insert the carts - they are then rated for up to 6 months from the time they're inserted. The 6 months is a far more important measure in my experience than tha actual expiry date.

How long have people used installed carts past the 6 months?  I'm not a heavy printer, and there's no way I will use up a set of 3800 carts in six months.
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Farmer

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2009, 05:01:44 pm »

Quote from: AFairley
How long have people used installed carts past the 6 months?  I'm not a heavy printer, and there's no way I will use up a set of 3800 carts in six months.

6 is the safe limit, I'd say 12 is the absolute assuming you keep the printer in good conditions (ie temperature and light etc).  I rarely hear of problems in the 6-9 range, but in the 9-12 range you sometimes here about pigment separation (shaking the carts can help) and other quality reduction issues.  But, it's not common.  I'm not aware of anyone regularly using them past 12 months from installation.
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Phil Brown

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2009, 05:37:01 pm »

Quote from: AFairley
How long have people used installed carts past the 6 months?  I'm not a heavy printer, and there's no way I will use up a set of 3800 carts in six months.
I bought my 3800 in November 2006, it was one of the first available in the UK, and it still has three of the original carts installed.
I pulled them all out last year when changing a cart and gave them all a shake, but I've not noticed any deterioration in print quality since new. I rather hope that the automatic agitation technology Epson boasted of when first launched the 3800 has a lot to do with it.
I've also only ever had one nozzle clog after a particularly heavy head strike on some thick art paper in the first week of use.

If I was bothered could go back to the original profiling targets I printed and compare them with a new set.

I've also got a 2100, again an early one into the UK, and some of the carts still in there are well beyond their use by dates now and all worked well when it was last switched on.

So in my experience keeping carts beyond the six months date is absolutely no problem at all.


All the printer are kept in normal domestic UK conditions.
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langier

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"expired" Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2009, 11:46:54 pm »

Thinking about my ancient 4000 and 7600 prints that I'm currently using... Between the the two, 7 of the 15 carts are dated 2007. I seem to run the ink faster through the 9800 with the K3 and newer inks...

Looking at the installation, the cartridge in longest usage has been installed since Oct. 2007, about 18 months ago. I've seen little to no variation in the quality of the prints produced.

Just printed a dozen prints last night after leaving the 4000 off most of the time since the first of March. The prints look normal to me and the printer is running flawlessly, no cleaning required.

So, there is probably a need to date the ink, but in the real world it seems to work just fine well past the date.

The only thing I've heard is that the pigment may settle but shaking the carts will take care of the problem, if any. However, I've not taken any of the cart out and shaken them since their installation on either printer.

There may be an issue regarding warrantees on the Epson printer if you use outdated/old inks. But out of warrantee, they seem to work just fine. Don't know about the K3 and my 9800 since I run most of my production on that printer and can't change the ink fast enough it seems.

Your results may vary...
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Larry Angier
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