The Portland Metro Photographic News

by Tom Hubbard, PMPN, 11/15/2009

For many photographers, printing is the second half of their photographic craft -- whether using a traditional wet darkroom or digital inkjet technology.  For them, shooting and printing are inseparable components of the total photographic process of expression.  Letting others print these photographers' work is unthinkable.

That said, for the digital photographer, inkjet printing is an expensive proposition.  There's the initial cost of the printer (which can be in the hunreds of dollars or more), the cost of paper (which increases with our quality requirements) and, of course, the ongoing cost of inkjet printer ink (which is one of the most expensive fluids -- milliliter for milliliter -- on earth).  Per milliliter, inkjet ink can be more costly than the most expensive perfumes on the market.

Example: (Because I am most familiar with HP pigment ink printers, I will use HP Vivera inks in my examples.)

• HP No. 38 Vivera Ink Cartridge for the popular Pro B9180 and Pro B8850 pigment ink printers cost $38.99 on Hewlett Packard's website (www.hp.com, 11/15/2009).  The cartridge holds 27 milliliters for a cost of $1.44 per ml.
  
• Chanel No. 5 perfume cost $50 for 1.2 ounces on Chanel's website (11/15/2009) or $1.41 per ml.
  

The profit for manufacturers of inkjet printers is not in the machine.  It's in the ink.  Having worked for a major photographic inkjet printer manufacturer, I know that customers are buying printers at nearly the manufacturers' production cost.  That's a good deal.  The hope is that photographers will print a sizeable quantity of pictures and need to buy gallons of ink.  Eventually, this process results in realistic profits for the printer manufacturer.  It's also the profit made on ink that provides the R&D funding to continue advancing inkjet printer technology.  It's all about the ink.

It's only natural, therefore, that photographers would investigate any alternative that offered significant "cost per print" savings.  Enter the 3rd party ink manufacturers.  These entrepreneurs develop their own ink formulations to produce bulk ink or ink refill systems for popular inkjet printers with the promise of large savings.  But are the savings real?  Is anything being sacrificed to produce these savings?

This is not the same debate as "manufacturer paper versus 3rd party paper manufacturers".  It is generally acknowledged that 3rd party inkjet photographic paper manufacturers provide papers that are equal to or superior to the original printer company's offerings -- especially in fine art photography.  This is not the case when considering 3rd party ink.

Darren Edson of Inkjetart.com cites several areas of concern when using 3rd party inks:

• Using these inks can "void" the printer manufacturer's warranty.  For new printer owners, losing the original printer warranty and associated customer support is a major problem.
• The formulations of some 3rd party inks can lead to "clogging" problems.  Clogging is not unique to 3rd party inks, but they can be more clog prone.  This ultimately means more cleaning cycles to "clear" the clogged line or print nozzle.  In the worst case, the print head might require replacing.  (Note: In some cases, it can be more economical to buy a new printer than replace a failed print head.)
  
• Quality control from batch to batch.  3rd party ink quality and color consistency can vary considerably from batch to batch.  In a fine art printing situation where batch-to-batch consistency is critical, quality inconsistency can require frequent recalibration and the creation of new color profiles.  Are these quality control issues the result of negligent 3rd party manufacturers?  Probably not.  However, the original printer manufacturers do have the manufacturing capability, processes and resources to produce a consistent and high quality ink.

I will add that the formulas for third party inks are unknown.  This may sound trivial, but it's the fact the all ink formulations are held as corporate secrets that make the odds extremely slim that a third party ink will match the original manufacturers' specifications. Consequently, it's unlikely that the ICC profiles for HP Vivera inks, for example, will accomodate the 3rd party ink formulations.  (The color and performance characteristics of the two ink providers will be different to some degree.)  This means that photographers using third party inks for their critical image making will necessarily be required to create ICC profiles for this unknown third-party ink formulation.

When these variables are factored into the cost equation, the resulting savings can prove disappointing.

For fine art photographers, the subject of life expectancy also requires investigation.  A 100 to 150 year life expectancy is projected by some 3rd party ink manufacturers.  But a fine art printmaker should seek an independent source for verification of these claims.  The Wilhelm Imaging Research organization, for example, has collected several articles available on its website regarding 3rd party inks.  Do your homework before straying away from your printer manufacturer's ink.

Finally, there are legal issues involved in 3rd party inks.  As would be expected, printer manufacturers react quickly to the loss of ink sales.  This has led to lawsuits being placed against 3rd party ink producers.  When copyrights and patents are infringed by these 3rd party inks, the printer manufacturer wins.  Below is one such ruling that safeguards many of Epson's printer cartridges.

"On October 19, 2007 the U.S. International Trade Commission ("ITC") issued a Final Determination that confirmed that all of the more than 750 accused cartridges for Epson inkjet printers infringe one or more of eleven Epson patents. The ITC issued a General Exclusion Order prohibiting all importers from importing infringing cartridges and Cease and Desist Orders that prohibit the named respondents from selling cartridges imported before the ITC Order. The ITC also ordered a bond of $13.60 per imported cartridge for imports during the 60 day Presidential Review period."

These court rulings greatly impact the current and future availability of 3rd party ink.  What you buy today, may not be available tomorrow.

So, are 3rd party inks a bad investment?  The answer depends primarily on the purpose of the prints being made and an educated buyer.

For example, the life expectancy issue:  Let's put this issue to bed. Nearly every inkjet printer/pigment ink/paper combination can produce a photographic print that will outlive conventional (Type C) color photographs.  With the best traditional color print life commonly accepted to be in the 40 to 60 year range, 100 years for an original manufacturer or 3rd party's ink doesn't sound too bad at all.  So, if your purpose is to print images for general use, say for family use, then 3rd party inks work just fine. (But, remember the potential impact the use of 3rd party inks may have on your printer warranty.)  If your purpose is maximum life expectancy and color accuracy/fidelity, then you need to do some homework.  Most likely, you'll find the printer manufacturer's archival (pigment) inks will prevail.

What about consistency from batch-to-batch?  It's the same story.  If you can live with the understanding that there might be a slight color shift when you change cartridges, 3rd party inks are a viable solution.  If, however, your livelihood depends on the sale of images that must consistently match your master print -- regardless of when they are printed, you are probably better off sticking with the printer's original ink set.

There is much to consider when deciding between original manufacturers' ink and the less expensive 3rd party inks.  In doing the research for this article, I found 3rd party compatible inks for the $38.99 HP No. 38 ink cartridge as low as $8.00 per cartridge.  That's an published savings of about 80%.  The temptation is enormous.

Finally, even larger savings per milliliter are touted for sellers of bulk ink systems.  These large ink supplies typically replace the normal printer cartridge with a cartridge that is feed ink from a larger external bottle.  Regardless of the delivery system the ink is not the original manufacturers' ink.  As a result, the cautions about the third party inks cited above still apply.

Take your time.  Do the research.  And make an informed decision.