Digital Prints

220
Mastering Digital Printing
Table 7.1 Sample Third-Party, DYE-BASED Color Ink Brands
Ink Supplier Brand Acceptable Works Well with Profiles Comes In
Printers These Papers Provided?
Futures/EIC Futures Ink all Piezo various yes carts & bulk
Wide Gamut bottles & complete
bulk system
www.futuresinkjettechnology.com
Luminos Preservation select Epsons Preservation yes, for Preservation carts
Series media media
www.lumijet.com
Lyson Fotonic Photo select Epsons Lysonic media yes, for carts & bulk bottles
Lyson media
www.lyson.com Lysonic select Epsons Lysonic media yes, for carts & bulk bottles
Archival Lyson media
MediaStreet Plug-N-Play various various no carts & bulk bottles
www.mediastreet.com (OEM-compatible inks)
MIS factory originals various various no carts
www.inksupply.com aftermarket various various yes carts
OEM-compatible various various yes bulk bottles
color inks (some RIPs can help). However, there are numerous third-party solutions that
expand the possibilities significantly. For examples and more about multi-monochromatic
specialty printing, see Chapter 11.
The three main ways of using third-party inks are with replacement cartridges, refill kits,
and bulk-ink systems.
Replacement Cartridges
Non-OEM replacement cartridges come in rebranded, OEM-compatible cartridges from
ink dealers and makers (including MediaStreet, inkjetART.com, Inkjet Goodies,
InkjetMall, Luminos, MIS, Pantone, and Lyson) for most of the popular inkjet printers
in use today. The cartridges are either new or recycled, filled with non-OEM inks, and
usually less expensive than the real deal. (You can also buy factory-original OEM cartridges
from several of these and other suppliers.)
The key issues to consider are: match (How close are they in terms of quality to the OEM
inks they’re replacing? Are they made to OEM specifications?), compatibility (Are they
100-percent compatible with your inkjet printer, and is there a guarantee backing this
up?), and age (How old is the ink?).