Dennis Hays

  A few months back I met with some of the organizers of the Help-Portrait project, here in the Albany, New York area. I believe I was one of the first photographers to volunteer. As I’ve said previously, I believe in giving back to the community, when I can and where the project is worth my time and energy.

Since Sigma Corporation of America had loaned me some lenses, in the past, for reviews, I thought I’d ask them if I could borrow something especially for this shoot. They completely agreed and I asked for the 24-70mm F2.8 IF EX DG HSM lens. I thought the focal length would be perfect for shooting both individuals and families and, with an aperture of f/2.8, I could get the exposure I wanted.

In comparison to some of the other photographers (there were five others), my setup was quite simple. I used a Metz 54 MZ-3 flash, off camera, on a light stand, as my key and I elevated it about six or seven feet and reflected it off a 43-inch white umbrella. I decided to shoot reflected, rather than through the umbrella as I was not going after anything dramatic and wanted a good general purpose light.

My second light, the fill, was to my right (subject left) was another Metz 54 MZ-3, reflected off a 43-inch white umbrella. This one I elevated only four feet and pulled it back some from the subject. Knowing I’d be shooting groups, I set the key so I would have an f/4.0 and the fill minus 1 1/2 to 2 stops.

Using the Sigma lens, I shot a white piece of paper to calibrate a custom white balance and set my camera for the best JPG, rather than RAW. This was a consensus of both the photographers and organizers as I would not be selecting the final images for delivery.

With my trusty Canon, including a vertical grip holding two batteries and the Sigma lens, I was ready in less than twenty minutes. Oh, and I had a Sun-Sniper-Strap attached to a hand grip on the Canon.

As you can see from the included images, the 24-70mm Sigma was spot on. The zoom range is perfect, as I was able to get closer for individual portraits and wide for groups. The Sigma’s HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor) focus is quick and near silent and I had no problems focusing on someone’s eye. This is a hefty lens, weighing 27.9 ounces (790g), nearly two pounds and would have been an effort holding it still, if I had to have it in my hand for the entire day (we shot from 10:00am until 4:00pm, with nary a moment to eat — someone supplied me with coffee all day; bless her heart). Thanks to the Sun-Sniper-Strap, I could drop the camera, by my side, between shots and while setting poses.

My results were outstanding and, during a brief review with some of the organizers, near the end of the day, were consistent and some of the best of the day. My setup worked as I had planned, with exposure on target and the images quite sharp. I found the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 IF EX DG HSM to be a lens I would definitely want to have in my kit; consistent performance, exposure agreeing with my Sekonic L-358 light meter, with some tweaking for skin tones throughout the day.

This was also the first time I used a strap, such as the Sun-Sniper and I’ll never go back to a neck strap again. I found it also enhances the use of my hand strap and I could easily pick up the camera and be in shooting position in seconds, yet still able to drop the camera, by my side and be out of the way (the lens points backwards and not out to the side like other shoulder straps).

I felt quite comfortable and secure using the Sun-Sniper. The strap was wide enough to evenly distribute the weight and had an elastic area, in case you accidentally let go of your camera instead of putting it down by your side. The carabiner slides easily along the diagonally worn strap and, after just a few moments, it feels as if this was a perfectly natural way of carrying your camera, while still being ready to use.

The combination of the Sigma lens and the Sun-Sniper-Strap is quite good for either shoots, such as the Help-Portrait I did, and also for general use, out in the field.

Disclaimer: The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 IF EX DG HSM was loaned to me for a month with no expectations or considerations for a possible review. There was no quid quo pro; I was freely able to come to my own conclusions. The Sun-Sniper-Strap was part of a general press package, given to the trade press at last year’s PhotoPlus Expo in New York. I neither asked for it or offered any mention or review, but was able to keep it along with the other items in the press package.

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We all know the basic work-flow by now—take pictures, copy the memory cards, backup, process, print and deliver. Each of us has our own way of doing things and, as is said, any way that works for you is the right way.

However, if you dive beneath the surface, into the individual activities, you can begin to see some common threads. When on a shoot, you find you can’t get the image you are after, but you can get something close enough to fix in post. Or, you get lazy and will not bend low enough or crawl on the ground to get a good perspective. I’m sure you can not only answer these, but provide a few of your own. Every photographer I’ve spoken with has admitted lapses, at one time or another.

When coming back from a shoot, do you put your gear down and relax for a while or just leave everything in the trunk of your car, thinking you will get it later? Look, I can go on and on, but you get where I’m coming from. I used to be the photographer that consistently did all of the above and much more.

As a matter of fact, if you were clandestinely watching me 24/7, you’d see the same lapses happening in other parts of my life. I’d would rush through tasks, believing I could correct any errors later, leave my bills lying on the kitchen table and forget one or more until I received dunning notices and telephone calls.

…you do in photography as you do in life.

Sometime, a long while back, I saw the similarities between my work life and the personal side. It was on a walk with a friend who brought it to my attention. I saw my life before that night, like beads on a string—incident after incident of thought inducing self-sabotage. In that single micro-second, I shifted. My friend asked what I was going to do and I said I didn’t know what, but, no matter what, I wasn’t going to repeat the past.

You see, you do in photography as you do in life. Change one and you change the other. After all, photography is but an extension of yourself and mimics what you are, even when you are not getting images.

As I write this, we are on the cusp of a new year, a new decade and it’s time to do some cleaning, both on our photographic equipment and on ourselves. Take a minute, between now and January 1st to look at how you are as a photographer. Make it a point to expend some effort on making changes in your workflow, from beginning to end, and you will be affecting your entire life.

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There has been a lot said about the decisive moment; the instant you press the shutter. But, when it comes to you, what exactly is that instance, what makes you press the shutter at the time you do?

Obviously, it’s different for each of us. Some have that instinct, some plan for it and some just machine gun their camera, in the hope they capture the right moment (If you are shooting sports or other action photography–even wildlife–getting some well timed images overcomes the direct planning–but more on that later…).

Imagine yourself, looking through the viewfinder (or the LCD), with your finger poised on the shutter. Your eyes quickly scan the information superimposed in the viewfinder, maybe changing shutter speed or the aperture on the fly and waiting for that one moment, when it all comes together and you squeeze the shutter. That one moment is what we are after here. That one moment in time will stand still forever, if you capture it or, if you don’t, disappear into history.

This is an area of photography you can’t fake. The only way to be successful at getting the decisive moment is with lots of experience. Shooting thousands of images teaches you the art of anticipation. This art is the ability to know what to expect from your subject over time. Waiting for the light to change when shooting landscapes; waiting for the elusive Mona Lisa almost smile for a portrait; waiting for the quarterback to fall back into the pocket and get the image immediately before he releases the ball, with large defensive men charging him. The skill in this requires training your brain to recognize situations which happen just prior to the moment you press the shutter.

You have constructed an image in your mind of what you want. Years of practice leading up to this have taught you when the pre-moment arrives to get ready and then, when reality matches the image in your mind, you press the shutter.

Unless you are a novice, this sequence of events is not haphazard. You have probably spent years and taken thousands of images, which are subconsciously cataloged and, although you may think pressing the shutter is a spontaneous action, it really isn’t. It comes about internally when there is confidence and all the variables are satisfied–exposure, framing and focus–and you can concentrate on the subject.

Once your planning and setup are complete, your thoughts are free to examine the only real variables left, your subject and what it is doing. If you are a novice or out of your element i.e., editorial instead of headshots, you can not put your full concentration on the subject as there are too many other items swirling in your head–the right shutter speed, exposure setting and or compensation–and, as long as you don’t have your full concentration, you will miss the decisive moment.

Other times, in a new situation, your body memory takes over. If you’ve done your homework, then technically you are prepared and so, you trust your subconscious to move your shutter finger. You’ll know, without chimping, without looking, without any physical evidence, that you got the shot. This is the cue to relax (as much as you can before backing up your images), knowing you have the image you wanted. Now you can be creative and try something new and trust you will know the decisive moment.

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“It’s Not Easy Being Green” – Kermit the Frog

I started this journey more out of curiosity and, over time, it became a quest. I was interested to find what the opportunity was to use ink for my Epson RX595 printer which would cost me less than ink from Epson.

My printer uses six cartridges (Cyan, Light Cyan, Magenta, Light Magenta, Yellow, Black) which, depending on where you purchase them, cost $19.99 direct from Epson (these are for the high-capacity cartridges, the regular carts are $16.14 for black and $12.99 for the other colors). Of course, you can find these for less, but not much below $12.99 from some discounted merchants.

If you print photographs, your cost per print is higher than someone printing text documents, as it should be. In this review, I want to look at ink costs subjectively coming from someone printing their images. It’s quite difficult to get exact figures on a cost-per-print basis, due to the wide variety of printing factors, but we can compare overall costs in a relaltive means.

Also, I don’t want to single out any non-OEM supplier in this document; it’s beyond my means to use everyone’s product. So, in each of the use cases presented in this review, I chose a representative supplier based on some Google searches and word-of-mouth.

Most users, I found in my research, turn to a third-party supplier to save costs. The upper tier of photographers, those with professional studios, tend to stay with OEM inks; I have not found any that admit to using anything other than the printer manufacturer’s recommended cartridges. I can fully understand that a working studio can defray the costs of ink as a working expense. However, hobbyists and some semi-professionals cannot and it’s this segment which will turn to some other means to save money.

I print mostly for family and friends and, after going through many Epson cartridges when printing the family Christmas cards, knew, on my working-man’s budget, I had to find some other way of lowering my ink costs.

I had purchased an Epson RX595 All-In-One printer after a review I did on this same model (The review device was sent back to Epson after I reviewed it. I liked the unit and thought it would be a good family printer and so parted with my hard-earned money, just like everyone else).

“Generally, there are two types of refillable cartridges: one where you squirt ink, as you go, to refill cartridges still in the printer and those where you buy two sets of cartridges and replace/refill.”

As I usually do when getting ready to purchase something, I turn to the search enngines on the Internet. The vendors available to replace the OEM inks were many, as were the choices of possible solutions. You could choose to refill the OEM cartridge and use a chip resetter (more on this later), purchase replacement cartridges using non-OEM ink, purchase refillable cartridges that also use non-OEM ink and you could buy a continuous ink system (CIS) which uses reservoirs to feed the print head through tubes.

After a little looking around, I decided to buy replacement cartridges rather than refillable. I really didn’t want to mess with getting ink all over me. Generally, there are two types of refillable cartridges: one where you squirt ink, as you go, to refill cartridges still in the printer and those where you buy two sets of cartridges and replace/refill. As I said, I didn’t want to be bothered staining my fingers and everything else around me, so I opted to buy from a well advertised after-market cartridge producer. These cartridges come pre-filled with ink and all you need do is replace each cartridge when empty with another.

For my initial purchase, I chose a $69.99 package that includes four black and two each of the other colors (14 cartridges total). My relative cost, therefore, would be $5.00 per cartridge, a healthy savings from the OEM Epson cartridges ($12.99 to &19.99).

Before I go into the actual review, I need to back up a little and discuss the use of third party inks in mainstream inkjet printers.

Chips

Printer manufacturers market their product based on the razor/razor blade theory, in that the purchase of ink cartridges subsidizes the cost of the printers. Therefore, most consumer-level printers (desktop printers) have a relatively low retail price, even though the printers produce high quality photographs. You could say the printer manufacturers are not really in the printer business, but in the ink business.

A few years ago, some enterprising companies saw a business in creating ink and selling it at a lower cost than the OEM ink. Now, there was a way to inject new ink into old cartridges and continue to use them for a while. The only expense to the consumer was buying bulk ink and some syringes.

Printer manufacturers saw this encroachment on their profits and devised printers that read electronic chips embedded in the cartridges. Now, the printer doesn’t actually measure the amount of ink use, but estimates the amount based on some internal software calculations (in the printer). When the printer tells you a particular cartridge is exhausted, it’s not totally out of ink. If you were allowed to completely drain the ink from a cartridge, it may ruin the print head. Therefore, there is always some amount of ink left in the cartridge when the printer tells you otherwise.

When you replace a cartridge, the chip tells the printer this is a new cartridge and to reset the ink level of that color to full.

Third party manufacturers accepted this challenge and produced both an cartridge reset device and non-OEM cartridges with their own chips. Now, a consumer could refill a cartridge, reset the chip and continue printing.

Manufacturers, such as Epson, are continually changing the software embedded in the chip (firmware) and third-party companies react by changing their chips to meet the challenge.

Besides the chip wars, there is also a war with ink formulations. Epson has declared their “Claria” ink to be quite long lasting and you will see, on some of the third-party web sites, an acknowledgment of the OEM formula and their statement of their ink fading quicker than the OEM.

Theoretically, someone could reverse engineer an ink formula, but since the OEM ink is legally protected, non-OEM ink, while carefully crafted, is not extactly the same as the OEM ink and you may find the print life to be less than an OEM produced print.

Many of us, however, do not want to create prints with an archival, 200 year shelf life, but only want something that we know will last a long time. So, we compromise to save money.

Replacement Cartridges

I made my selection to use non-OEM cartridges with the understanding I may not get as long a life from my prints as I may have by using the Epson Claria ink.

When I received my initial shipment of cartridges from this company, I still had a small inventory of Epson cartridges on hand (Number one rule: Never find yourself without ink for certainly you will have a pressing need to print when you do!).

Upon exhausting a cartridge, I replaced it with one of the new cartridges. I noticed no difference in the color when using one or more of these cartridges.

During the time I was using the non-OEM carts, there were no problems and the color was quite good. As time went on, I progressively replaced the Epson OEM cartridges with the new carts.

The RX595 printer sends an error of an “unrecognized” cartridge whenever the printer senses (or guesses) the ink is low with the non-OEM ink. So, whenever an OEM cartridge would send a replace cartridge message, the after-market carts sends an “unrecognized” error. This signal may come half-way through printing a sheet and, when you press the printer buttons to replace the cart, the printer ejects this half-printed page (with the Epson cartridge, the page is not ejected and you continue to print from where you left off).

Now, remember, you are eventually going to be replacing all six cartridges as each becomes exhausted. The Light-Cyan and Light-Magenta are used up the quickest and they will need to be replaced more often (depending on your subject matter). Each time, of course, I wasted a sheet of paper; over time a costly and, in my opinion, an unnecessary expense.

I ordered more inventory from this company and had quite a collection of replacement cartridges on hand, more so of the Light Cyan and Light Magenta, when I finally replaced the last Epson OEM cartridge, the black one.

Upon inserting the cartridge and telling the printer to charge the inks, I got an immediate unrecognized error on the black ink, although it was new. Thinking I may have a defective black cartridge, I opened another and replaced the recently installed cartridge. I still got the error.

Exasperated, the next day I went to a local store and purchased an Epson black cartridge and replaced the “new” black cart with it. I don’t know if this is a common problem, but I couldn’t find anything on the manufacturer’s web site. I called them but received no help other than they didn’t have an answer. This ended my experimentation with replacement cartridges and I sent my complete inventory of unopened cartridges back them for a refund (I had to eat the cost of the new black one I replaced.

Also, I sent them 24 cartridges to be refunded and received a refund of $99.88, when I should have received $5.00 each for a total of $120.00 (minimum, as my second order was combined with a friend and when ordering less than three of a color, this company charges $5.99 each). I consider the $20.00 loss a cost of the experiment and justification, for me, that replaceable cartridges, this company in particular, is not worth the time and expense.

I next researched continuous ink systems (CIS) and settled on a set up by a different company. A CIS allows you to have approximately 4 ounces (120ml) of each color in “tanks” sitting beside the printer and tubes leading to a set of cartridges where the OEM carts were in the printer. These non-OEM cartridges have a chip for each color, allowing the carts to be reset. There is no real need, normally, for the individual cartridges to be reset except for Epson (and other manufacturers) wanting to guard agains third-party inks. With a CIS, the ink just continues to flow and, whenever a reservoir looks low, all you need is to grab a bottle of ink off the shelf and pour it into the associated reservoir.

Installation of a CIS is quite easy. Pour each color ink into its reservoir and use a syringe to create suction on the cartridge end to suck the ink from the reservoir to the cartridge. Once in the cartridge, it will continue to flow as the printer uses the ink.

The only problem I had at first was my failure to push the cartridge set in fully (the cartridges are ganged together and install as a group). Once I did, the printer charged the heads and I printed like a mad fool, knowing my ink cost was so low, as to be not worth thinking about. This company charges $7.00 for a 4 ounce (120ml) bottle of each color or $35.00 for a complete set of six.

Using my relative cost analysis, look at the difference in ink costs. An Epson cartridge for the RX595 printer contains approximately 10ml of ink and costs $12.99 (I’m using the lower cost for comparison here. If I used the higher, manufacturers suggested price–the price you pay buying from Epson’s web site–is $19.99).

A bottle of dye ink from this company is 120ml, which would be about 12 cartridges worth of ink. Since each Epson cartridges cost $12.99, the total for 12 cartridges is $155.88. Now you can see why the CIS solution is so attractive. Do you want to pay $155.88 or $7.00?

As I stated earlier, Epson’s proprietary ink formula has a longer life when used on specific paper as compared with non-OEM ink. How much less life, I couldn’t find out (see later in this review for another company’s statement on comparison of their ink with Epson’s Claria ink).

It cost me &75.00 plus postage to get the CIS and about 45 minutes to install it. Immediately, I felt a sense of being able to print without becoming hyper-aware of the costs.

I compared my first print to one I’d done with the Epson cartridges and also to one using the replacement carts. There was little subjective difference between all of them.

When a color reads low, and for some reason it happened between prints or when starting to print, but not yet loaded the paper, all I needed to do was go to the printer, press the button to “change” catridges (which brought the cartridge tray to the loading position) and press a small button on the cartridge assembly and hold it down for five or six seconds.

The low color now read full and I could continue printing. For the most part, this seemed like the solution I was looking for, but, as is my nature, I still wasn’t totally satisfied. “Why,” I thought, “can’t this be automated.” There should be a way to have the catridges automatically reset themselves, thereby taking out any physical intervention.

I checked the CIS company’s web site, under Accessories, and found a listing for Auto Reset Chips. I sent an email asking about the Auto Reset Chips (ARC) and was told they just got a new batch in and they should do what I want. I ordered a set of six ($18.00).

The instructions to remove the old chip set; all six are in one assembly with a button on the top end of a small stalk; did not exist. I took a small screwdriver and managed to break off the yellow end, but, after a fashion, removed the rest of assembly as a whole unit.

There are no instructions on the this company’s web site on how to install the new chips, which are separate and must by attached individually. After inadvertently separating the “yellow” chip from it’s backing material by bending it to get it into the slot on the cartridge, I got the others installed by carefully sliding them in place. No problem, I thought, I’ll just super-glue the yellow chip onto it’s backing.

Somehow, I managed to get some glue onto the face of the chip and I spent almost an hour carefully scraping most of it it off. When I put the cartridge assembly back in the printer, I got an “unrecognized” error on the yellow. In pulling the assembly out, the small clip on the top of the cartridge, which ensures proper seating, broke off.

I sent another email and was sent another yellow chip assembly, as well as a replacement cartridge and the original multi-chip assembly at no charge. Even when I rebuilt the entire assembly with the individual auto-reset chips, I still got errors.

After spending some time to make certain I had everything seated properly, I decided to go back to the original multi-chip assembly, with the reset button. I thought I could live with it this way. However, I still got “unrecognized” errors on the black chip. I have to thank this company for their effort, but I’m just about done with trying to get this to work properly. Maybe I should have left “good enough” alone, but… .

This company has a fairly good solution, which may work on printers other than mine. One of the weak areas of this company is communications. If you send an email, you may get an answer at the end of the work day; communication is all by email. When ordering from them, all items have been shipped promptly and everything was well packaged.

I can attribute some of the errors to my clumsy hands and impatience, but I have many years of photographic lab experience, including maintenance of all types of electronic/pneumatic equipment. The company’s web site and the CD packaged with the CIS all have PDF documents with instructions, except for removing and installing the chips. Also, the web site, like most others, fails to explain the reset mechanism. That’s pretty much left up to you to inquire about or figure out after receiving the CIS and chips.

I’ve decided to have one more go at installing a CIS and spent most of a morning searching with Google and Yahoo. One of the online sellers that stand out, due to the information available, but mostly due to the intervention of the principle, Mr. Chang, was worth investigating further. This company has a CIS that comes with the ink loaded for $99.95. Under the Epson RX595 heading, it says, “Chip Type: Auto reset”, which, I hope, means what it says.

I called this company and spoke to Mr. Change, who told me about the reset mechanism. Based on my research and this company’s reputation, I ordered a CIS from them.

Another piece of information I discovered in my research is the ink sold by this company. As I said previously, the norm is third-party ink doesn’t have a print life as long as the Epson Claria ink. This company has a page on its web site: which seems, if I read it correctly, to produce results equal to the Epson Claria ink. Also, this article seems to bear out the viability of both longevity and better color gamut (color gamut is the ability to reproduce colors in the visible spectrum). Other ink formulas produce lesser amounts of color, but, it seems, the this formula produce a better spectrum of color than, it seems, the Epson Claria ink.

The weak point in all of the above are the Epson firmware chips, which seem to be doing their job to keep out all but Epson branded cartridges and ink. So, any third-party solution must work around the Epson firmware. How they do this varies. In some instances, to refill OEM cartridges or non-OEM cartridges, you need to use a device called a resetter. This tells the chip to behave as if it’s in a new cartridge. In my research, I’ve read where OEM catridges can be set just a few times.

Third-party cartridges (those than can also be refilled but are not made by printer manufacturers) also must be reset so the printer recognizes them as a new cartridge.

Continuous ink supplies, which use a damper (works as a cartridge, but takes the ink from a tube and delivers it to the print head), also have electronic chips which need resetting and here, the method is all over the map, depending on company and printer model. Some require the printer to be turned off, the damper (of a particular color) lifted partially out, replaced and then the printer turned back on.

Others have a small button on the damper assembly which resets a specific color as reported by the printer to be nearly out of ink. This, I detailed above with the CIS system. While, in theory, it looks good, in practice I see it as somewhat problematic. I have a six color printer, the Epson RX595. While printing images, I find the Light Cyan and Light Magenta inks need to be “replaced” quicker than any of the others. With six colors, resetting one at a time sets up a tedious round-robin of getting up, pressing the button on the printer to move the cartridge stage to the replacement area, pressing the button to reset a color, then press a button to start the printer’s ink re-charging process.

When my new CIS came in it took all of 10 minutes to install. Pressing the button on the damper assembly will reset (four) of the colors simultaneously. This method guarantees less distraction and fewer trips to the printer. However, this is about as good as it gets, although for some printers, there are reports of after-market chips self-resetting when the ink level gets down to 10%. When they auto-reset, the chips read 90%.

Over time, after I had reset four of the colors, the printer warned me about low ink in one of the two remaining colors and I pressed the reset button on the cartridge/damper assembly, which set both of the remaining colors to full. It was quite nice to see all six colors showing full.

So, what’s the bottom line to all of this? If you have a need to go “off campus,” you can, but with some caveats. The safe choice will always be to stay with the manufacturers recommendations of both ink and paper.

If you print a little and find the cost of OEM cartridges too expensive, you can either refill them (a few times) or replace them with non-OEM. You may have a chip resetting problem, but, with a little bit of research and persistence before you buy and depending on your printer, it may work just fine for you.

Someone with the need to print quite often and wanting to save a bit of money should get a CIS, but do your homework first as to the vendor and their reputation. Also, look for how they handle support; email, forum and/or telephone.

If you decide to go with non-OEM ink, you may have to budget acquiring a profile for the ink, paper, printer combination’s you use. I haven’t discussed this yet, so allow me to give a brief explanation.

The printer, ink and paper work together to produce the colors you get on a print. If you have an Epson printer, for instance, the profiles are installed when you install the printer. Whe you select the paper type from the print options dialog, Epson selects a profile to get the optimal color reproduction.

Change any of the three items to some other manufacturer and you may get prints with a color cast and/or dark or light prints. Some ink works like the OEM ink and some don’t; you’ll have to find that out in your research and eventual use.

If not, or if you use paper from another company, such as Red River paper: it’s possible your prints will not have the best color. Fear not, however, you can buy color profiles. This usually involves printing a color chart, from a color management company, with the printer, ink, paper combination of your choice and sending it to the company for them to process it and send you back a profile. Prices for individual profiles are $25.00 and up. You’ll have to get a profile for each different ink, paper, printer combination you intend on using. If you use many types of paper, this can be costly. As a final solution, you can buy equipment to make your own.

My combination of the Epson RX595, CIS ink and Red River 50lb Placid Lite (a semi-matte/gloss) looks quite alarmingly like the original Epson ink and paper I used at the beginning of this quest.

Moving away from a manufacturer’s suggested ink is not a decision to be made without quite a bit of research and, dare I say it, hope. You hope, when all is done, you will have good looking prints which cost very little to produce.

There are a myriad of choices available, from cartridges, ink and CIS on ebay; home-grown DIY selling their ink wares from a spare room in their house; cottage businesses available through the Internet and regular, “brick-and-mortar” businesses. “Caveat Emptor” applies here as much as it does when shopping for anything, but maybe more so. You can find yourself in a position where you are not happy after acquiring a system and have nowhere to turn. Sometimes support is not available through the seller; in many cases it simply doesn’t exist or, as I found with this last CIS, the owner will get on the telephone with you and answer your questions.

However, it can be done, given enough research and dedication to the task.

OEM, Non-OEM, ink, Epson, Canon, CIS