Epson 1400 replacement ink

I'm exploring 3rd party inks for use with an Epson 1400 printer and again turn to the forum for opinions.

1) What is at risk (measurable) with 3rd party inks?

2) To what result has anyone used brand X for black, brand Y for cyan, brand Z for yellow, etc.? Is this a do or don't?

3) I've read some info on Carrotink and Inkmarts. Any comments on these, or other suggestions?

4) My experience with HP is that only their cartridges are read as to ink level. Specifically to users of the 1400, will only Epson cartridges be read, or are ink levels in 3rd pary units also read?

It should be rather obvious that I'm inexperienced in printing photos, and ask for tolerance with such elementary questions.

Really could use some help here.

I'm based in Spain but these people seem to be reasonably well thought of.

http://www.supertobuy.com/continuous-ink-system-for-epson-1400-1410-ciss-cis-p-476.html

Don't go for pigmented inks for the 1400 - no matter what anyone claims or states (the nozzles are not suitable for any long term use with pigmented inks) - stick to the Claria-type compatible dye inks. Also, stick to one supplier/make (don't mix and match). Most CIS systems are from the far east - and although the same in real terms, often carry vastly different prices.

I could point you to a good supplier in the UK ( http://www.inkexpress.co.uk ) but they do not ship overseas. However, you could look at their units and their installation guide and see if you can find something similar in your location - the one link I gave will help.

I have been using compatible inks for over 12 years with no problems whatsoever but I do print on art paper (Canson watercolour) and know from extensive testing that many papers are responsible for deterioration of images, rather than the dye inks.

Just ensure any CIS you get is a) NOT one where a genuine Epson cartridge is piggybacked on top of the cartridges but is b) the cartridges for the CIS are the latest ones that have self-resetting chips. These work fine and auto reset to showing full.

--
Zone8

The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
http://www.photosnowdonia.co.uk/ZPS

If you're located in the states, check out InkJet Fly. Their inks have a very wide gamut and their system and support have get good reviews. I bought their system for an Epson 1800 and I think the results are very good. Other than that, you might want to get on google and do some research.There's a lot of info out there about this.

I have 2 1400s, one for color and one for B&W. I use inks developed by Jon Cone - Cone Color for color and Piezography Special Edition for B&W. I am very happy with results of both. Both ink sets are pure pigment. I use both with a CIS. Suggest you check out inkjetmall.com and/or piezography.com.
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Regards - jfj2

ShawnR said:

I'm exploring 3rd party inks for use with an Epson 1400 printer and again turn to the forum for opinions.

1) What is at risk (measurable) with 3rd party inks?

Click to expand...

As long as you use good ink and good system, 0 risk.

ShawnR said:

2) To what result has anyone used brand X for black, brand Y for cyan, brand Z for yellow, etc.? Is this a do or don't?

Click to expand...

it is not recommended but if you want to do that, i dont see any problem. Just buy an empty system like InkRepublic's 1400 and load your own inks.

ShawnR said:

4) My experience with HP is that only their cartridges are read as to ink level. Specifically to users of the 1400, will only Epson cartridges be read, or are ink levels in 3rd pary units also read?

Click to expand...

InkRepublic.com just released a new chipset for 1400, R280, R2880 and R1900. It is a very good chipset that can let you reset ink levels any time you want and it can let you reset all colors at the same time to prevent too much inks wasted in resetting.
http://www.inkrepublic.com/KnowledgeBase/R1900-R2880-NewChip.asp

My old R280/R260 CIS are still using old chipsets from inkrepublic. Both system and their dye ink are as great as epson's. No problem so far. I have printed more than 15000+ prints from each printer.

Another suggestion for 1400 CIS is to get familiar with the installation first before you purchase one. An excellent reference can be found on jon's site
http://www.jonsmithers.com/InkRepublic-Epson_1400/