Hi All,
I’m looking for a new printer. My current Epson 860 is over 8 years
old and has trouble printing color decals - the color ink beads up on
the surface of the decal (I’m using Testors decal paper), although
black ink prints OK. I know all about the issues with “white” on
decals, and I’m not going to go buy a used Alps. What current inkjets
do you recommend?
-Tim
Ink beading up is not a printer issue, it is an ink issue.
Some inks are dyes and some are pigments. They react differently on different media.
Some manufacturers ink only works well with their own paper.
Look on Testors site and see what kind of ink they recommend. You might be able to just change ink. If not, then you need to take a sheet of the Testors media with you and try it before you buy.
Are you having trouble finding ink cartridges yet? One issue with old printers is the availability of cartridges. When you find yourself going further and further to find a store that has the ones you want, it’s time to consider a new machine.
I’ve got an old HP 722C. It’s still running, and I can still find ink. But, it’s an old machine so I can’t recommend going out and buying one, except to say that it’s hard to go wrong with a basic HP printer.
You might want to watch the ads. They practically give printers away, because they make their money on those dang cartridges. On that note, a “Cartridge World” store recently opened in our town, and I’ve found that their re-filled cartridges are just fine.
I would try a new ink cartridge before buying a new printer. I would also agree with the above comments; as your printer ages finding cartridges may be a problem. If you want to get a new printer, a good photo quality printer should work fine for printing decals. If you watch the ads, discount stores will usually have them on sale. Last Christmas I picked up a new HP photo printer/scaner/copier for my mother-in-law for $59. The new printer also included a color and a black ink cartridge. The ink cartridges are the most expensive part.
JIM
Try putting your copier on different settings for paper surface type. I think my Epson does best on photo glossy setting.Makes a difference on how much ink is applied.
That’s true as far as it goes, but ink/media combination is still important.
I have an Epson 2200. It does great photos on most media, but it will not print on Kodak paper. It bubbles and never dries.
I had an HP printer once, too. I used it to hold down the corners of rolls of seamless paper in the camera room. I am aware that they have had 2 CEOs since then, but I will still never buy another one. It did, however, print on the Kodak paper. Not photo quality, but it did print satisfactorily.
I do most of my photo printing on a Kodak 8600 dye sublimation printer, and most of my text on a color laser. I have never tried printing decals
I’ve only ever used the Epson ink cartridges, that’s all I can find for it. And, yes, it’s getting harder to find them. The color cartridge is empty now, and rather than replace it I’d rather replace the whole thing.
Why an InkJet, unless you absolutely must have color. A laser is the way to go, and cannot beat a Brother.
Color lasers are fairly cheap these days too.
Have you thought about trying a different brand of decal paper? I’ve heard a few complaints about the Testors brand.
Alway had good luck with Carrot Ink , they have cartridges for just about every printer and they deliver fast and I found that their ink seems to make better decals than Epson ink , Epsons are the only printer I will buy , repaired too many HP’s in my time. The 860 is an ok model. I have an old 780 that works fine plus a new R380. But as suggested above , check your settings , I alway use glossy photo paper setting for my paper selection , as for decal paper , I have never used Testors so I can’t say yes or no to their quality , I have been using decal paper (white and clear) from Micro Mark, been happy with it.
I have an HP photosmart 8150 and an HP Photosmart C7280 all-in-one. I have never had any problems with either. The photo quality prinitng is excellent. I have never done decals, but I do print on the glossy photo paper. The ink is desgined for it, so I would imagine it would work on decals too. The all-in-one is wireless which is nice.
I personally wouldn’t mess around with an 8 year old printer. You can get a good quality printer for around 100 bucks, maybe less, and the quality will be better. That is roughly the cost of replacing the ink in your old one twice.