• Members 14 posts
    March 27, 2023, 1:02 p.m.

    I am using an old Epson 3880 for black and white printing with a dedicated inkset (based on Roark's Eboni-6 formula). I am thinking of investing in a P900 to convert to a printer that can print glossy and matte carbon ink. Just wondering if anyone else has gone this route. I use Quadtone RIP to print.

  • edit

    Thread title has been changed from Anyone using a P900 with monochrome inkjet.

  • March 27, 2023, 3:57 p.m.

    I have a P900, but I haven't tried a dedicated monochrome ink set. With the normal inkset monochrome is good to my eyes, but people who specialise in monochrome often have more specialised eyes.

  • Members 102 posts
    March 27, 2023, 4:51 p.m.

    Epson is working vary hard to prevent the use of third party inks in their printers. US versions of the P900 likely won't be able to use third party inks at all. European versions can work with refillable cartridges and a chip resetter. See shop.inkjetmall.com/Epson-SureColor-P900

  • Members 14 posts
    March 27, 2023, 4:59 p.m.

    I am in the UK and can source ink and cartridges. The main reason to convert it would be to save on ink costs rather than for quality purposes. Mixing mono inks is easy and extremely cheap. I hardly ever print in colour.

  • Members 431 posts
    April 10, 2023, 9:16 p.m.

    I picked up a P900 about a year ago. The Epson inset is expensive - I grant you that but the carts for the P900 are quite large. The P900 is a lot more economical than its little brother, the P700 because the carts are twice the size. The carts on the P900 are four to five times larger than those on my old 3880. The 3880 carts were so small that a few nozzle checks or a cleaning would make a significant dent in the 3880 carts. I have been quite pleased with the Epson OEM inks for B&W printing using either Quadtone RIP or the Advanced B&W driver supplied by Epson. There are some rumors that Epson has gone a long way to secure their chips to mitigate the use of non Epson inks.

  • Members 102 posts
    April 10, 2023, 11:23 p.m.

    The ink cartridges for the P900 are smaller than the ink cartridges for the 38XX series printers. P900 cartridges are also smaller and (in the USA) more expensive per ml than P800 ink cartridges.

    Ink cartridges for the 3880 are 80ml each. B&H sells them for $83 (about $1.04 per ml)
    Ink cartridges for the P800 are 80ml each. B&H sells them for $61 (about 76¢ per ml)
    Ink cartridges for the P900 are only 50ml each. B&H sells them for $44 (about 80¢ per ml)

    If you want large cartridges and lower cost ink, the P800 is a better choice than either the P900 or 3880.

  • Members 14 posts
    April 11, 2023, 5:47 a.m.

    Thanks I will take another look at the P800.

  • Members 14 posts
    April 11, 2023, 5:50 a.m.

    In the UK (and Europe) you can reset the chips on the P900 and use refillable cartridges. In the US you can't. I'm in the UK.

  • Members 1 post
    May 11, 2023, 1:58 a.m.

    Does anyone know if Epson’s restrictions apply to P900’s sold in Canada? I’m currently using 3rd party ink in my P600 and am very pleased with the results. Thinking about a larger format unit.

  • Members 514 posts
    May 11, 2023, 7:46 a.m.

    I used 3rd party inks (incl making my own mono ink from Eboni). Now I have a P900, I'm not bothering. The reason why is partly that MIS stopped selling Eboni and partly that when I calculated the cost contribution of ink to a finished print, it isn't worth the hassle eg if the ink costs £1 per print and the frame costs £30, there's no point worrying about the ink, no matter how irritated I may get about being ripped off.