can someone tell me the costs of ink & where to buy it f

[Robert Lambie]

there are various places to buy the inks. in carts or in bulk.
im looking at a bulk modification just now for them, from abroad.
i guess its only just around the corener before it all goes bulk. having said that, you do get lots from your normal carts. i think it just depends your market. if you want to go head to head with trade suppliers etc then bulk inks the way to go.. but with carts, you can still price competitive and make good money.
personaly, i think, “let the trade guys slugg it out” too many headaches for too little return.

[Rodney Gold]

Becky
While your machine is under warrantee , I wouldnt even think of buying 3rd party inks, the savings are not worth the potential damage , heads are VERY expensive.
The problem with 3rd party and bulk systems are legion. A lot of 3rd party inks are sourced from less than reputable manufacturers and contain either toxic or agressive solvents and chemicals , the colour particles are not ground small enough or arent filtered or the chemicals in the inks settle out or preciptate gunk or react with the pigments over time , or worse they are hygroscopic and atteact water. Bulk ink systems can get airlocks and cos they are “open” systems can introduce impurities etc. A good bulk ink system is also expensive.
Albeit legally , a printer mnfgr cannot void a warrantee if you DONT buy their consumables , it wouldnt be hard to prove that the damage on a machine is from using unacceptable or innapropriate inks. So while its covered , grin and bear it.

Obviously all your profiles are of no use when you change to a new ink , so you have the task of reprofiling , finding ink limits and so on.
If the Cadet can handle full solvents as claimed , you should be able to use any REPUTABLE 3rd party ink (like from Techink – http://www.techink.com) in it , the Versacam wont like full or more agressive solvents at all and will give a lot of hassles.
Most mnfgrs have to market or sell the ink specified by the machine head makers (epson etc) to use those heads , so they are sort of tied in as OEMS
However , As far as Im concerned , all the mnfgrs , convertors etc are ripping us off , they use inks to subsidise sales – IE make less on the machine and make more on the ink , same as the consumer printer market where its often cheaper to buy a new printer than a OEM colour cart!!!
It punishes those that print the most.
I’m pretty sure , now with medium/large format printers becoming affordable and ubiquitous , the clamour for cheaper inks will be heeded. The machine suppliers are real stupid imho , instead of dropping prices and instantly killing the 3rd party ink market and still making SOME money on consumables , they push ppl TO 3rd party suppliers etc. Eventually there WILL be 1/2 or 1/3rd price inks compatible or identical to what you are using right now and when that happens I WILL change , If I can achieve the same results with the same reliability at 1/2 the cost…………….
The more consumers put pressure on their suppliers , the better. Our local supplier was selling carts at 80 quid or so , I could get those same OEM carts at under 1/2 that RETAIL in the USA
I phoned em and told em Im getting on a plane , with 4 suitcases and would buy 500 carts and bring em back here , keep a 100 for myself and then sell into the market. I would pay for my trip , save a bundle and make a bit for myself.
The NEXT day , the price of carts dropped to less then 50 quid on a national level.

[Mark Shipley]

Hi Becky,

The only place to buy ecosol inks for the Versacamm is from Roland at £60 for a 220ml cartridge, plus vat and a high shipping charge. They have you over a barrel (not even one full of ink at that)

As Rodney says they are forcing people to ask questions about 3rd party suppliers.

In defense of the Versacamm, it’s the only printer I’ve had that doesn’t use black ink. It still has the original black cartridge installed that it came with, while the C,M & Y are coming upto to their 4th set.

At the end of the day the inks and print heads for the Versacamm are made by Epson – I wonder if we should go knocking on their door?

Mark

[Rodney Gold]

Epson IS the problem – they force those that are licenced to use their heads to buy their inks and ONLY to supply their inks.
Roland is bound to this “golden handcuff” agreement.

However aftermarket convertors ARE NOT!!!! – they didnt build the machine and as “users” can do as they like.
Techink has a really nice bulk delivery system and inks for converted SP300’s and soljets – Im open to correction here , but I think ink costs are about 100 quid a liter. they are in the same town as me – cape town , but supply worldwide. The head honcho here said they were working on an Eco-sol replacement , thing is , they arent that much in a hurry cos most ppl wont convert till the warrantees are up and eco-sol has only been around for a year or so (I might be wrong)
At the moment , I’m pretty p…d off with machine salemen in general , some are really good guys , but I’m finding most promise the earth , deliver nothing and overstate the capabilites and running costs of their products and “fail” to mention all the issues. The mnfgrs are also at fault , rushing to launch their latest and greatest to market to beat the competion. Problem is , we as consumers get to be Beta testers.
Thus I use the 2x and 1/2 rule , double the cost claims and 1/2 the performance claims and if it still makes economic sense – then buy.