Epson Stylus Photo 1290

andy_fozzy

andy_fozzy

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Just managed to get hold of an Epson Photo 1290 and :eek:
The print quality is incredible! Truly outstanding.

Is there any cheaper, compatible cartridges, or should I stick with the genuine ones?
I ask because although I haven't even looked how much they are, I know Epson inks are not cheap.

I guess genuine is better, but if anyone can recommend an alternative, and where to get them from I'd be most grateful :thumbs:
 
Using compatibles comes with it's pros and cons, mainly the loss of warranty and image quality.

I have read on them there internets that Epson can tell if you have run compatible ink through the heads and if so then voids your warranty, don't call that gospel though as I haven't had it confirmed.

Lots of money goes into the development of the photo inks that you will have in the 1290 and where as using compatibles in your office printer that just prints emails and spreadsheets doesn't matter surely you want the best possible quality when printing photos? :D
 
Cheers David.

Well the printer didn't cost me anything, and I'm not looking for absolutely 100% perfect photo's. Just basically as long as I get a pretty half decent print, then I'd be happy with that.
 
I have to agree Andy, all the compatible inks I've tried in the past are not a match for the proper branded ones when printing photos.
 
davekiddle said:
I have to agree Andy, all the compatible inks I've tried in the past are not a match for the proper branded ones when printing photos.
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I thought as much.

Shame their so bloody expensive.
But on a plus point, the printer was cheap :D
 
Andy

Try Jet-Tec cartridges. Cheapest with good service was Inkraider.co.uk , I've been using jet-tec with Ilford paper on my 1290s for years without problems. The print quality is excelent & long lasting also head blockages seem to happen far less than with Epson ink.

Toonie
 
Toonie said:
Andy

Try Jet-Tec cartridges. Cheapest with good service was Inkraider.co.uk , I've been using jet-tec with Ilford paper on my 1290s for years without problems. The print quality is excelent & long lasting also head blockages seem to happen far less than with Epson ink.

Toonie
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Cool! Thanks Toonie. There's a shop near me that sells those, so I might just give it a go :thumbs:

Cheers mate. Off to search for Ilford paper now :D
 
Have you thought about a CIS? I now usea Fotospeed continuous ink system. Regards print quality, I see no difference from this and my OEM inks - Except the HUGE difference in price (cheaper)! It may cost more for the initial set up but after that it's a lot cheaper to run and if you print a lot, the savings can be significant.
 
I used compats on an old Epson, it made 3 A4 prints before I got nice little bands across the print due to the black ink not drying enough before passing under the little rubber wheels.

It looked like a tiny tank had driven along the print, i'll only use genuine inks now in my aging epson 950
 
Thanks for all your advice.

I was going to try the Jet Tec ones, but DF has put me off now!!

Seems like the CIS system is a good way to go then?

I'm not a huge printer outer, yet.
But after the seeing the outstanding quality prints from this baby, I might soon be!!

I'll have a serious look at the CIS kits.

Cheers again :thumbs:
 
Let me know how you get on with CIS

I've looked at this a few times for my 950, on one hand i don't print enough to justify the outlay, but on the other I wasn't happy with giing epson 70 odd quid for carts every few months
 
digitalfailure said:
Let me know how you get on with CIS

I've looked at this a few times for my 950, on one hand i don't print enough to justify the outlay, but on the other I wasn't happy with giing epson 70 odd quid for carts every few months
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Sure want to give it a try.
Partly due to the same reason as you!

I'll let you know how I get on :thumbs:
 
I used to have a 1290, and it worked well with Jet Tec inks. Even with Epson originals, it needed either using fairly regularly, or a head clean. It is no trouble to try third party inks - if they don't work, clean the heads and move on. There will be no warranty left on a 1290 to worry about now.

The printer was eventually totalled not by bad ink, but by my dearly beloved (not) dropping it on the deck when it was only about 18 months old. So vanished 500 odd quid.
 
Well I've been using the Fotospeed CIS sysytem for a few months now. Initial impressions were mixed.

Quality from the prints was fantastic! BUT I did seem to get blocked heads ever couple of days when not used. HOWEVER I found out that the tanks were about an inch too high and after lowering them with velcro on the side of my printer, output has been superb! Papers are very nice too and with free custom profiles I get a very consistent output.

Compared to prints from the Canon inks, there's almost no diffewrence! And at a saving of about 75% in ink, it doesn't take long to pay for itself.

I'd highly recommend the CIS system - the guys at Fotospeed can't do enough to help and when I mentioned my initial problems, even although it was me that set the inks too high, they still took 1/3rd off the cost of new ink and offered a good discount on paper the next time I buy!

Top guys and a very nice set of inks,
 
Well I basically paid absolutely ZILCH for the printer, so I don't mind spending out a few £££'s on it.

I think the heads might have been blocked when I got her home, because print quality was terrible. But I done the head cleaning utility about 5 or 6 times and now the it's utterly mind blowing.

There were cartridges with it, which were showing about 90% full!!
So far my beautiful (A4 as I don't have any decent A3 paper yet) prints haven't cost me a single penny (free paper even :D )

:woot:
 
As the other person said lesser quality inks are ok for office use but if you want proper colours in your prints the only way to go is with epson inks,expensive but if you calibrate your monitor and set your printer up with proper paper profiles the correct ink is a must for all tonal shades that your photos will throw up on the screen,If it's worth printing it's worth printing right.
 
momosanke said:
As the other person said lesser quality inks are ok for office use but if you want proper colours in your prints the only way to go is with epson inks,expensive but if you calibrate your monitor and set your printer up with proper paper profiles the correct ink is a must for all tonal shades that your photos will throw up on the screen,If it's worth printing it's worth printing right.
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Emmmm.... read my comments! (I used to say what you are saying until I got and used the CIS system)!
 
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