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Author Topic: Can my Epson 9600 be converted to dye sub, and if possible is it a good idea?  (Read 860 times)

mearussi

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Since the ink is no longer being made I see three conversion possibilities, 100% B&W, just use later Epson ink in refillable cartridges and dye sub, but the ability to make my own metal prints is very tempting.

Any suggestions and/or advice is welcome.

Thanks

Mike
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NAwlins_Contrarian

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Mike, mostly I'm curious: did you decide for some reason that the 9600 could not handle a set of K3 (or K3 + VM) inks with the light gray simply omitted, plus custom profiles?

Personally I'd find the piezography or similar pure B&W printer the most tempting option, but that's just a personal preference / desire.

Good luck!
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mearussi

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Mike, mostly I'm curious: did you decide for some reason that the 9600 could not handle a set of K3 (or K3 + VM) inks with the light gray simply omitted, plus custom profiles?

Personally I'd find the piezography or similar pure B&W printer the most tempting option, but that's just a personal preference / desire.

Good luck!
If I did a lot of B&W I'd agree with you, but most of my monochromatic images are toned. Part of my hesitation about using K3 or later ink is whether they would do any damage to the print head. I've asked several times whether anyone has done it but so far no one has answered me. But I know dye transfer ink has been used successfully (I assume without print head damage) with many Epson printers so I'm hoping the 9600's head would also not be harmed.
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dgberg

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I converted a new P8000 to dye sub then made several great profiles. All pretty straight forward.
I use Ink Owl Ultra dye sub ink. If you can find refillable carts then you will just need to flush, fill and profile.

Rockhauler

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Hi Mike

Just joined this site as have the epson 9600 and facing the issue what next. I was thinking the K3 ink is worth trying but which set of inks. I haven't followed the changes made to the ink sets for the printers that followed the 9600.

I have a epson 2200 that I bought the Inkowl refillable cartridges for and haven't used yet. I'm willing to see if the K3 ink works on the 2200 as I've read it uses the same print head as the 7600/9600.

My second problem is profiling the printer after switching ink as my budget is limited. Been searching for a used X-rite Colormunki Photo for making profiles as my cheapest option. Currently using the i1 Display pro but don't think the software would support a spectrophotometer even if I could find a cheap used one.

Paul
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dgberg

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I have a ColorMunki Photo for sale
bergscg@aol.com
« Last Edit: July 07, 2020, 08:17:56 am by dgberg »
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NAwlins_Contrarian

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I realize this is drifting OT, but ...

My second problem is profiling the printer after switching ink as my budget is limited. Been searching for a used X-rite Colormunki Photo for making profiles as my cheapest option. Currently using the i1 Display pro but don't think the software would support a spectrophotometer even if I could find a cheap used one.

I have a Munki for sale.
bergscg@aol.com

Just to point out, if you have (buy, rent, are given, whatever) a new or used i1Studio or ColorMunki Photo spectrophotometer, then you can freely download from X-Rite the latest i1Studio software to run it and make printer profiles. Of course that software won't turn an i1 Display Pro colorimeter into a spectrophotometer for profiling printers, but if you buy Dan's used ColorMunki Photo (I assume that's the model he's offering), then getting the latest X-Rite software is neither a problem nor an expense. See https://www.xrite.com/service-support/product-support/calibration-solutions/colormunki-photo.
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Jim Metzger

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There are 3rd party inks and refillable cartridges available. When I was researching this there appeared to be long term acceptance that this was a solution that worked. If I would go this route I'd certainly use a reputable supplier and not go on cost alone.

I have a 7600 from 2001 with one complete set of 110mm cartridges remaining, my supplier spent weeks tracking them down for me. As far as I know if there are any original K3 inks left people are charging 2x -3x the price for them.

It is pretty amazing that the inks have been available for this long. These older primarily mechanical machines were very reliable and none of my clients have been complaining about the quality of the prints.
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mearussi

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There are 3rd party inks and refillable cartridges available. When I was researching this there appeared to be long term acceptance that this was a solution that worked. If I would go this route I'd certainly use a reputable supplier and not go on cost alone.

I have a 7600 from 2001 with one complete set of 110mm cartridges remaining, my supplier spent weeks tracking them down for me. As far as I know if there are any original K3 inks left people are charging 2x -3x the price for them.

It is pretty amazing that the inks have been available for this long. These older primarily mechanical machines were very reliable and none of my clients have been complaining about the quality of the prints.
That's why I don't want to get rid of mine. I've lost a 7800, 9800 and 9900 but the 9600 is still chugging along.
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Rockhauler

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Been searching for ink info and found this blurb on Epson ink, its not real clear just which ink set is being talked about as the last paragraph seems to contradict the middle one.

quote from  http://www.printheadcleaners.com/%20Epson-Super-wide-format-printer-64-inch-SP11880.aspx

11880 printers…

“New ‘ink repelling coating technology’ on the surface [of the new head design] to reduce head clogging and cleaning hassles, especially with linty or dusty papers (fine art papers of some kinds) and to make the new, more demanding inkset work. The heads are much the same as those in the Stylus Pro 3800, but with this ink repelling coating added, in order to prevent the new inks from causing serious trouble. The new inks cannot safely be used in the earlier printer models. The Vivid Magenta is said to be especially problematic for heads without the ink repelling coating, and to completely ruin such a head within about six months of use.”

“The two vivid magenta inks are again, unfortunately not compatible with any of the prior printer models, because they would ruin the print heads of older printer within six months. The only pigment that got replaced is the magenta (used in both magenta inks). No other changes were made to the inkset for these three new machines, and cartridges sold for them other than the two VM ones are labelled as being for use in the 9800 family as well as the 9880 family. On photo papers, the new magenta inks yield a considerable increase in gamut in the blue-to-magenta range (up to 22% more chroma), with a little spillover gain in the blue-to-cyan and magenta-to-red ranges, and the Dmax and the gamut of colors near Dmax has improved considerably.”

There’s also the suggestion that the 11880 uses a different inkset to that found in the 4880/7880/9880

“Apparently, none of the inks, except for the two Vivid Magentas, used in the SP11880 are precisely identical to those in the other new machines, however, they are very close, and use the same pigments. The pigment loading of the 11880 inkset seems to have been increased substantially, because all of the six primary colors in the raw state of the printer are much darker and generally richer looking on photo paper than they were from the 9800, or it could be the driver putting more ink down by default, or it could be a change to the encapsulation technology used in this version of the VM inkset, or both, or something else, or any of the above, but this difference is striking.”
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mearussi

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Been searching for ink info and found this blurb on Epson ink, its not real clear just which ink set is being talked about as the last paragraph seems to contradict the middle one.

quote from  http://www.printheadcleaners.com/%20Epson-Super-wide-format-printer-64-inch-SP11880.aspx

11880 printers…

“New ‘ink repelling coating technology’ on the surface [of the new head design] to reduce head clogging and cleaning hassles, especially with linty or dusty papers (fine art papers of some kinds) and to make the new, more demanding inkset work. The heads are much the same as those in the Stylus Pro 3800, but with this ink repelling coating added, in order to prevent the new inks from causing serious trouble. The new inks cannot safely be used in the earlier printer models. The Vivid Magenta is said to be especially problematic for heads without the ink repelling coating, and to completely ruin such a head within about six months of use.”

“The two vivid magenta inks are again, unfortunately not compatible with any of the prior printer models, because they would ruin the print heads of older printer within six months. The only pigment that got replaced is the magenta (used in both magenta inks). No other changes were made to the inkset for these three new machines, and cartridges sold for them other than the two VM ones are labelled as being for use in the 9800 family as well as the 9880 family. On photo papers, the new magenta inks yield a considerable increase in gamut in the blue-to-magenta range (up to 22% more chroma), with a little spillover gain in the blue-to-cyan and magenta-to-red ranges, and the Dmax and the gamut of colors near Dmax has improved considerably.”

There’s also the suggestion that the 11880 uses a different inkset to that found in the 4880/7880/9880

“Apparently, none of the inks, except for the two Vivid Magentas, used in the SP11880 are precisely identical to those in the other new machines, however, they are very close, and use the same pigments. The pigment loading of the 11880 inkset seems to have been increased substantially, because all of the six primary colors in the raw state of the printer are much darker and generally richer looking on photo paper than they were from the 9800, or it could be the driver putting more ink down by default, or it could be a change to the encapsulation technology used in this version of the VM inkset, or both, or something else, or any of the above, but this difference is striking.”

Thank you very much for the info. This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for and the very thing I was afraid of. I now wonder if the older K3 inks would also ruin the 9600 head. If they do then I will have no choice but to turn my printer into either a B&W only or a Dye Sub.
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Lessbones

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I was using a 3800 with the VM from the 3880 in refillable carts for a little bit and had no problems.  I've also been able to take those heads from completely F***'ed, to like new condition by removing them and flushing them, something about those older ones is much less fragile than the newer models...  I always figured it was due to having larger minimum dots, but I thought the 3800/3880 was pretty much at the same level as the current ones...

Personally, I'd probably go for it--  or just use some 3rd party ink set--  In any case you're gonna need to make profiles for everything, and even if you did destroy the head, I bet you could find one out there for next to nothing
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Rockhauler

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Sorry haven't posted any updates right now have a couple local photographers saving me there empty ink cartridges from the 7900/9900 series printers. Hoping there will be enough ink left in them to do some testing with my 2200 printer. I'm not ready out lay the cash for a set of newer ink cartridges just to test out this option, especially after buying several 9600 ink cartridges.

I did locate enough 220ml 9600 cartridges to keep the 9600 printer operational for a year or more.

Paul
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