Film Direct Ink Conversion Kit (a kit for printing black only)

[ohdanielsan]

Hey guys, I wanted to spread some word to all the GPers here that are printing their own films. We've talked about this very briefly in other threads but I wanted to highlight its awesomeness here so it doesn't get buried (thanks to exxxlonghair for mentioning it).

Link:
InkJet Cartridges and Ink - Film Direct

It's an ink conversion kit that replaces all of your color cartridges with a dirt-cheap refillable cleaning solution so that you don't have to keep wasting money on color ink getting used up in the head-cleaning process. It also gives you a refillable dye-based Black cartridge, which is also a money-saver and actually in some ways superior in quality to the stock ink Epson sells.

I've been using it on my Epson 7600 for the past couple of months, and it is beautiful - definitely an exception to the do-not-buy-third-party-inks rule Worth checking out for anyone who doesn't care about printing color.

They've got kits for most of the Epson models and they sell film at really great prices too (which I buy from them as well). They're also great guys and definitely a company I'd like to see become an important part of GP printers' arsenal of suppliers. Located near LA, but worth ordering from, no matter where you are.

Hooray for awesome supporting businesses!

[squeegeethree]

Looks cool but I print with pigment only and this is dye based. ALso I think it won't work with current large format Epson models, but perhaps I'm wrong. Thanks for the post none the less.

[ohdanielsan]

You don't have to use their black if you want to stay pigment-based and don't want to convert to dye. You might be able to call in and order just the cleaning solution and carts.

But I was pigment-based too before switching over to their dye black. The cartridges they sell are programmed to accommodate both, so there's no problem there. The only problem I did notice was that there was a transition period between switching from Ultrachrome to dye where I think the mixture of both in the line caused some head drama, but it was nothing that a few power cleanings and some paper towel swabbing couldn't clear up. Definitely worth the conversion.

[largemammal]

Hey thanks. I've been looking for more affordable films for my Epson 1400. Currently paying $1.41 per 13x19 sheet, these guys are $1.05. Have you used their film?

[seizurepalace]

really considering trying this out with my 9600.

[squeegeethree]

Do it and let me know how it goes. The 9600 line has 2-5 more years of practical usage I'm afraid. God I'm going to miss mine. My 9800 is much faster much not as good a work horse.

[ohdanielsan]

Hey thanks. I've been looking for more affordable films for my Epson 1400. Currently paying $1.41 per 13x19 sheet, these guys are $1.05. Have you used their film?

Yes, I use the 24" rolls and they are great. It appears to be exactly the same as the waterproof R-film that Ryonet is selling for much higher. These guys are also film separators by trade, so I trust the materials they use.

[Iron Canvas Studios]

does the 1400 have a roll feed attachment?!

[jesusvbarraza]

on my epson 3000 i've used only dye based inks with refill ink cartridges from this dude on ebay called the inkjectdoctor been pretty good for the past 3 years....also get 100 pack of inkjet film from valleylitho supply for $96 and it works great never had any issues.

[anthony social]

i use these films and ink... so far i like them... although ive had a few problems... mostly with my aging epson r1800. the only real problem i have is that the print side of the films that i received were a little concave. so when something needs to be printed within 1/2 inch of the edges i'd get really bad streaks/blob of ink, due to the edges of the films scraping the printhead. although when i was using the demo of accurip i could control the amount of ink printing on the film. ie. i could have all the carts printing very little ink instead of having the photo/matte black ink carts printing with heavy drops. that seamed to help alot with bad films/streaks.

but on a good note.. the films ive printed had no problems with burning screens. they are definitely opaque enough to burn a good screen.