Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (
More info?)
"Povl H. Pedersen" <povlhp@povl-h-pedersens-computer.local> wrote:
My responses are imbedded below.
>In article <dsqqs0ll6g44rkf7edc9tk9n6ohsd7mlua@4ax.com>, Richard wrote:
>> In my opinion, no one asks the right questions regarding third party
>> inks. Usually people just want to know about value compared to OEM.
>> Value, for me, includes more than cost. What you should be asking is:
>>
>> Q1. Color balance. Will the color balance be the same with brand X
>> as with Epson
>> A1. Usually no and Jetec is no exception. The color balance for me
>> was EXTREMELY different. To be perfectly honest, I did not notice
>> with my first few prints until I printed some pictures that I had
>> previously printed with Epson ink and compared them directly. The
>> Epson color balance looked better to me although without testing I
>> could not say it was absolutely more accurate. Of course if this is
>> important to you, color balance can be adjusted if you own color
>> matching software.
>
>2 things:
>- Color Balance can be adjusted in the printer driver unless you use ICC
>profiles (I do as I want better colors than Epson will give me as default).
>- Your old photos might have gone through a color change. The canon picts
>on my fridge have faded a lot.
Actually, I have reprinted a sample and find the results look the same
as the original so they had not faded or changed perceptibly. As to
the Canon fading, yes some have this problem with them as do some with
Epson. I, fortunately, do not have this problem in my location with
my Epson prints.
>> Q2. Longevity. This one is extremely important to me yet I have never
>> seen anyone else ask about a third party inks longevity. I can not
>> say whether or not Jetec is better or worse than others in this regard
>> since I have not seen any test data but most third party inks do not
>> do well at all in this category when compared to original Epson inks.
>> I can say that I have not yet noticed any appreciable fade with my
>> Jetec prints but they are stored out of direct light.
>
>From what I have heard, they are good. But I do not know if better than
>the original ink or not.
As I reported, I have personally not seen a change yet, but I am
curious as to where you have heard that longevity of Jetec inks is
good? Other than anecdotal comments here, I can find no published
authoritative evidence either way. Since I know what may be expected
from Epson, advantage goes to Epson.
>> Q3. Clogging. Will brand X be the same as the OEM product?
>> A3. This one was mixed for me with Jetec. I had some cartridges that
>> did well while others seemed to want to clog. Mostly I had problems
>> when changing between from Epson to the Jetec or visa versa. However,
>> the last black ink cartridge I used from Jetec started showing
>> incomplete lines in a test print and stopped printing altogether with
>> the ink level still indicating half full.
>
>2 of my first Epson tanks had problems with 5-6 missing lines each
>when around 20% left, took some local Windex clone to clear them.
>And JetTec will repair clogged printheads.
>
I never had a problem that a few cleaning runs would mot fix until I
mixed ink carts. It happened several times when switching between
Jetec and Epson inks. It is nice to know Jetec will fix a clogged
print head, but why would they need to do so if their ink did not
clog? Interesting! I am also curious as to how they achieve this
service since they are in Europe and I am in America?
>> Q4. COST. I left this one for last as it is, for me, the place it
>> belongs compared to everything else considered here. If your needs
>> are different you might rank them differently.
>> A4. Jetec is most definitely less expensive but for me it was too
>> costly in other ways.
>
>I think cost is a parameter to consider together with the other paramters.
As per my original comments on this we completely agree. I just
happen to think we must be careful to balance cost and quality.
>> Disclaimer
>> All of the above is based on cartridges bought a while ago with the
>> last Jetec black cartridge (apparently defective) being removed just
>> about a month ago. I quit using the color carts a year ago since I
>> could not get a color balance that matched the Epson ink close enough
>> to satisfy myself. I am not knocking the Jetec product at all, but I
>> will say that for me it did not perform as well as Epson ink based on
>> the above criteria. For others here it obviously meets their needs.
>> When in doubt, I suggest you try it for yourself. It might meet your
>> needs perfectly. As always, YMMV.
>
>Doing printer profiling with Profile Prism, I get better results
>using JetTec than Epson. And a more consistent reflectiveness.
>With Epson the cyan seems more reflective.
Profile Prism is what I use for print profiling but I never found a
_completely_ satisfactory profile. Maybe I am just too picky or
perhaps I simply do not have the knack for such things. I would be
interested to try one of your Premium Glossy or Matt profiles for
Epson if you care to share though. In fact, if positive longevity
results are ever published for Jetec ink along with a good color
profile, I might even re-consider using their ink! ;^)
Richard
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