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So you have bought your sublimation printer and you understand printer profiles so you are ready to pick your ink provider! Sweeet! You are in the right spot!
Update: since writing this post, I gathered the 6 most popular third-party inks for Epson printers. I conducted an extensive review which consisted of print tests. I highly recommend you check it out as it has the most accurate information.
There are about three options for ink for Epson printers. (If you using Sawgrass Virtuso printer, you need to buy Sawgrass ink or you will void your warranty) With ink, I think you get what you pay for in terms of service.*Disclaimer: I have personally only used inkXpro ink, these opinions are based on my research.
Cobra Ink
Cobra is the industry long-standing leader and their service is similar to Sawgrass. They were founded in 1999 when they developed the first CIS. Since then they have expanded and now sell CIS, refillable cartridges, ink and much more! They offer printer profiles for their ink for both PC and Mac Users. They even have a support team that you can text when you need help! Cobra has a 30-day return/exchange policy on new/unopened items only. Since they have been around longer they do offer cartridges for some of the older printers where InkXPRO offers cartridges for the newer printers.
InkXPRO
InkXPRO is a newer company so less is known about them. They have great ink(what I use) but they aren’t known for their support like Cobra. The main drawback to using them is they only offer printer profiles for Windows users but on the other hand, they have a 6 month total-satisfaction guarantee.
Non-branded Sublimation Ink Off of Ebay, Amazon and Others
While the ink is going to very cheap and tempting. Unless you are experienced, I wouldn’t recommend it. You won’t be given any support and it is highly unlikely that they will offer printer profiles as well. I would only look into this option if you are doing extremely high volume and need to bring down the cost of your ink.
Start-up Cost for Refillable Cartridges
| Ink Code | Printers Compatible | Cobra Set* | InkXPRO Set* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | Epson 3800 | 630.99 | N/A | |
| 60 | Epson Stylus C68, Epson Stylus C88, Epson Stylus C88+, Epson Stylus CX3800, Epson Stylus CX3810, Epson Stylus CX4200, Epson Stylus CX4800, Epson Stylus CX5800F, Epson Stylus CX7800 | $79.99 | N/A | |
| 68 | Epson Stylus C120, CX5000, CX6000, CX7000F, CX7400, CX7450, CX7450, CX8400, CX9400Fax, CX9475Fax, NX510, NX515 WorkForce 30, 40, 310, 315, 500, 600, 610, 615, 1100 printers | $131.99 | N/A | |
| 69 | Cobra: Epson 30, 1100 InkXPRO: Epson Workforce 30 310 315 1100 | $104.99 | $99.95 | |
| 77 | Epson artisan 50, Stylus photo: R260, R280, R380, R580, R595, R680, RX580, RX595, RX680 | 158.99 | N/A | |
| 79 | Epson Artisan 1430 Stylus Photo 1400, Stylus Photo 1500 | 167.99 | $74.95 | |
| 96 | Epson R 2880 | 273.99 | N/A | |
| 99 | Epson Artisan 800 810 710 835 725 730 837 | N/A | $89.95 | |
| 126 | WorkForce 435, WorkForce 520, WorkForce 545, WorkForce 60, WorkForce 630, WorkForce 633, WorkForce 635, WorkForce 645 | 139.99 | N/A | |
| 127 | Stylus NX330, NX430, or Workforce 435 and 520 | $172.99 | N/A | |
| 157 | Epson R 3000 | $479.99 | N/A | |
| 200XL | Epson XP-410, Epson WF2520, Epson WF2530, Epson WF2540, Epson XP-400, Epson XP-310, Epson XP-300, Epson XP-200, Epson XP-410 | 139.99 | N/A | |
| 252 | Cobra: Epson 3620, 3640, 7110, 7610, and 7620 InkXPRO: Epson Workforce WF-3640 WF-3620 WF-7110 WF7620 WF7610 | $139.99 | $69.95 | |
| 254XXL | Epson 3620, 3640, 7110, 7610, and 7620 | $164.99 | N/A |
* Price includes re-fillable cartridges and ink. Cobra’s price is based on 2oz of ink and InkXPRO is sold in 100ml which is about 3.3 oz.
Cost of Refillable Ink
| Amout of Cartridges | Cobra(4 oz bottles) | InkXPRO*(3.38 oz bottles) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Color (Like Workforce) | $122.00 | $42.95 |
| 6 Color (Like Epson Artisan) | $183.99 | $49.95 |
* Cobra's ink prices were based on 4oz bottles and InkXPRO sells ink in 100mL (or about 3.38 oz)
Summary
If you feel that you are out of your technology comfort zone, I would purchase via Cobra and pay a little more to make sure that they will hold your hand and get you up and running. If you are like me, and a DIY gal and can think you can figure it out(I didn’t think it was too hard), then use InkXPRO. I found their instructions super easy to fill up and continue to use!
Good luck!
XOXO,
Jane
Can I start with cobra and then switch to xpro later? Just got Epson we 7710 so haven’t started anything yet, and totally new so know nothing lol
Hi Mary! Congrats on getting started! Yes, you can do that, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You will have to purge all of the old ink out of the printer and waste alot of your new ink during the process!
Question , I just purchased a new Epson WF 7710 and a CISS from InkXPRO.
To set up the new printer I had to install the original ink cartridges . I purged /primed the CISS and installed fairly easy . However , after 10-12 trash images . I am still unable to get the designs to sublimate. I’m assuming the original ink is still in the printer . Any idea how many trash/ test sheets I need to do ?
Hi Amber,
Congrats on getting a printer and your ink set up! I personally use refillable cartridges versus CISS, so I can’t speak from experience. But have you tried doing a couple head cleanings? That normally pulls the ink through pretty quickly! Hope this helps!