3rd party sucks

[wahidkarim55]

tried almost almost all 3rd party...
really bullshit... buy original, , for good shot, send it to Fuji or Kodak, for emegency than use printer with ori ink...this way, really make sense.... and bottom line...CHEAPER!!! trust me... 3rd party really suck!

[XC Pictorial]

Is this a warning or your ranting?

[user111]

you mean now then u know?

[gomobile]

i only use third party for my low end printers. for the more expensive printer i ;earnt my lesson and use only original.

[tim]

Not all (original, 3rd party or otherwise) inks are created equal. Some are making OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)order for Epson, Canon and etc, some others are well formulated while some are bad (don't know what they put inside and may spoil your printer).

The good ones are made in U.S., Australia and some parts of Europe; Korean made are quite good; China made are not too good. I heard (hearsay may not true) some Co. in Indonesia is trying to make them. It's good business, this inks are more expensive than the most expensive perfume per c.c. Last time I bought Epson ink cart. for my R1800 was at $23 per 15 c.c cartridge, WOW.

The Co. that are contracted and made for Epson or others, will not sell to 3rd party buyer. Those printers ARE made and tuned for their own inksets therefore it print better than 3rd party ink. As for all other inks, you need to have them profiled to be decent looking.

The worst are those who are not well informed retailers who sells refill inks; a shop sold a Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light C, Light M dye inkset to a guy who own a R1800 that use Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Red, Blue pigment inkset, the guy came back to complained that the print-out looked horrible and swear not to use 3rd party again.

I have met a few CSers who have bought inksets from U.S. and use on their printers with good results.

Cheers

[TME]

Originally Posted by tim Not all (original, 3rd party or otherwise) inks are created equal. Some are making OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)order for Epson, Canon and etc, some others are well formulated while some are bad (don't know what they put inside and may spoil your printer). The good ones are made in U.S., Australia and some parts of Europe; Korean made are quite good; China made are not too good. I heard (hearsay may not true) some Co. in Indonesia is trying to make them. It's good business, this inks are more expensive than the most expensive perfume per c.c. Last time I bought Epson ink cart. for my R1800 was at $23 per 15 c.c cartridge, WOW. The Co. that are contracted and made for Epson or others, will not sell to 3rd party buyer. Those printers ARE made and tuned for their own inksets therefore it print better than 3rd party ink. As for all other inks, you need to have them profiled to be decent looking. The worst are those who are not well informed retailers who sells refill inks; a shop sold a Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light C, Light M dye inkset to a guy who own a R1800 that use Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Red, Blue pigment inkset, the guy came back to complained that the print-out looked horrible and swear not to use 3rd party again. I have met a few CSers who have bought inksets from U.S. and use on their printers with good results. Cheers

Hi Tim, I'm using a R1800 - would be interested in a set of 3rd party pigment inks just to try out. Interested in cartridge system only and not a continuous inking system.

Thanks!

[bartman]

All so called "3rd party" ink cartridges are not the same as the original inks. They are not 1 for 1 exact copies, they cannot be the same as the original inks are patent protected. That means "3rd party" inks have their own formulation.

[Neo]

Hi guys,

Finally back on the forum again... been very busy with work the past few months!

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with third-party inks, but as a photographer I always felt that it is really counter-productive to use such inks. We all know that photography is a chain process, and the weakest link in the chain can adversely affect the final print. So we invest in the best cameras, lenses and filters, and rigorously read up on Photoshop techniques and colour management... and screw up the final step with third-party inks???

That does not sound logical to me, since we are putting in so much time, effort and money into ensuring we squeeze every last drop of quality into our images. When someone asks me about my photography, I show my portfolio of works and I am judged by my prints. Why would I compromise on my representation of what I am really capable of, by using cheaper inks when I already invested so much money and effort in getting the images?

I really feel that using third-party ink is doing a disservice... to yourself. Just my two cents worth of opinion.

[tim]

Originally Posted by TME Hi Tim, I'm using a R1800 - would be interested in a set of 3rd party pigment inks just to try out. Interested in cartridge system only and not a continuous inking system. Thanks!

Hi TME, check PM

[glennyong]

some shops offer trade in for your cartridges also. so oh wells.. i trade in and get some rebates and buy original.

last time i used the inkstation... ruined 2 cartridges of mine.... and lucky my printer still working... ha.

[hazmee]

Originally Posted by Neo Hi guys, Finally back on the forum again... been very busy with work the past few months! Sorry to hear of your bad experience with third-party inks, but as a photographer I always felt that it is really counter-productive to use such inks. We all know that photography is a chain process, and the weakest link in the chain can adversely affect the final print. So we invest in the best cameras, lenses and filters, and rigorously read up on Photoshop techniques and colour management... and screw up the final step with third-party inks??? That does not sound logical to me, since we are putting in so much time, effort and money into ensuring we squeeze every last drop of quality into our images. When someone asks me about my photography, I show my portfolio of works and I am judged by my prints. Why would I compromise on my representation of what I am really capable of, by using cheaper inks when I already invested so much money and effort in getting the images? I really feel that using third-party ink is doing a disservice... to yourself. Just my two cents worth of opinion.

In Neo I trust. Hehe just kidding. Anyway, I strongly 2nd that. My experience with 3rd party inks or papers has always been disastrous. Why quibble over a few dollars of savings when the result is what matters most. I have been there and done that. No more compromise, just bite the bullet and get the original when it comes to home printing. Cheers to all.

[zhikang]

3rd party paper... SUCKS big time... sigh... wasted $$$

[ortega]

pay penuts, get monkeys

same goes for ink and paper
buy original ink and branded paper

[zhikang]

is Sepoms considered 'branded'? lolz... getting **** prints on it

[bousozoku]

Someone told me that I should buy some "good deals" on paper and inks and I asked why and she replied "because they are such a good deal."

I've always been considered extravagant because I buy name brands for most things important to me. With prints, I want them to look the same (or as close as technology can get) as the original scene. "Compatible" is a word used far too broadly and people who accept it without examining the details end up hurting much of the time.

Better to pay the price now than to pay the price later.

[raptor84]

Originally Posted by zhikang is Sepoms considered 'branded'? lolz... getting **** prints on it

The absorption rate of the various ink colours for sepom paper may be different than the canon one I guess. The colours from the HP D7360 I used was a little off initially but after drying the colours seemed to stablise and look pretty close. Best is if you have the hardware to do profiling of the different paper.

Yes I do find the sepoms lacking a little in contrast but I use them for the matte fine art paper and it still looks decent.

[bigu2fan]

Originally Posted by wahidkarim55 tried almost almost all 3rd party... really bullshit... buy original, , for good shot, send it to Fuji or Kodak, for emegency than use printer with ori ink...this way, really make sense.... and bottom line...CHEAPER!!! trust me... 3rd party really suck!

I don't disagree about the third party part. But as for sending pics to Fuji and Kodak, I don't know...The most frustrating thing is that the minilab that I have sent my pics for prints do not produce the colours and sharpness I want. They sometimes oversharpen, which makes the pics 'crack', or over/under brighten and get the colours off. I know what I tweak on the LCD will know be the same as the minilab, but the results are very frustrating for me.

At the moment, I am contemplating getting a damn good printer and paper(ink of cos), get the spyder and print the stuff myself. Makes sense?

[Nikonian Foo]

Heard of Lyson Inks from UK? They are 3rd party ink manufacturer also but consider top class in ink...

[TME]

Originally Posted by bigu2fan I don't disagree about the third party part. But as for sending pics to Fuji and Kodak, I don't know...The most frustrating thing is that the minilab that I have sent my pics for prints do not produce the colours and sharpness I want. They sometimes oversharpen, which makes the pics 'crack', or over/under brighten and get the colours off. I know what I tweak on the LCD will know be the same as the minilab, but the results are very frustrating for me. At the moment, I am contemplating getting a damn good printer and paper(ink of cos), get the spyder and print the stuff myself. Makes sense?

Tell the labs not to adjust after u have done whatever u wanted to the pictures... and if the image quality is that important, then send to a pro lab like Konota where you pay about double per 4R but u get the quality u desire...

Printing 4Rs is not economical, it's the large prints like A4, A3 & A3+ & anything in between which are much cheaper than the labs...

[bigu2fan]

Thanks TME, I normally print in S8R, so photo quality problems are a lot more obvious. I will check p\out Konata. Thanks for the tip!