Buying third-party ink for your inkjet printer can be pretty tempting given the costs of printing photographs. But I wouldn’t recommend it if your photography is a serious hobby.
The manufacturers spend vast sums on research and development to produce longer-lasting inks with more vivid colours. They continually produce better inkjets and inkjet ink, with small, step-by-step improvements that aren’t always very obvious but which, cumulatively, show vast progress. Just compare the abysmal quality of photo printing on inkjets 15 years ago with the beautiful prints that are routinely printed on good inkjets today.
There are three main reasons why stuffing a good quality photo inkjet with cheap ink cartridges is a bad idea. Firstly, it will destroy the lifespan of each print as third-party prints fade quickly. Look at the pictures from David Gold, an industrial and commercial photographer, who tested life expectancy.
Gold’s finding is backed by the comprehensive research of Wilhelm Imaging Research, which found that third-party cartridges have a permanence of as little as 0.1 years compared with 76 years for the manufacturer’s cartridges.
Secondly, complaints abound that some third-party ink causes blockages in print heads, which will end up wasting ink and costing you in time and effort.
And, thirdly, third party inks may sacrifice the colour accuracy and the print quality of your printer. You might as well snap all your pictures on a Holga.
Third party inks may work for you if you’re printing basic documents but for photography there’s one rule. Just say no.
Tags: David Gold, Holga, Inkjet printer, Inkjets, Photo printing, Wilhelm Imaging Research