Product description
Compatible Pigment ink for Ecotank ET-8550, ET-8500
Pigmera® ETX has been specially developed for photo printing with EcoTank printer models. With the exception of the pigment-based matte black, these printer models are equipped with dye ink (DYE). These inks provide beautiful photo prints, but have the disadvantage that the dyes are not very light in the long term. The printouts will fade in a foreseeable period or shift in the color if they are permanently exposed to daylight.
With Pigmera® ETX we have developed a 100% pigment base product that offers durable color prints with a large color space in connection with individually created ICC profiles. With Pigmera® ETX you get the option of making longterm stable prints with the Ecotank photo printers. Pigmera® ETX pigment ink have a good colormatching, prints in standard quality are possible with ICC profiles of the printer manufacturer or paper manufacturers, but cannot be guaranteed due to the variety of papers and setting options. We always recommend the use of individual ICC profiles for good print results, tailored to the respective printer/ink/paper combination.
Advantages of Pigmera® ETX
- Based on 100% pigment ink, so the prints are stable for many years. (When using archival papers)
- Suitable for the creation of prints on fineart / artist papers (requires individual ICC profiles)
- Prints of neutral grayscale prints on matte papers are possible (requires individual ICC profiles)
Printing Black & White
Pigmera ETX enables the creation of neutral black and white prints on many matte photo and FineArt papers. The prints exhibit rich tonal range, deep blacks, and long-term stability due to the ink and paper properties. Black and white printing should be done in RGB mode using an ICC color profile for optimal results. Depending on the type of paper used, there may be deviations from the neutral tone. Printing black and white through the advanced black and white mode is not recommended.
Due to technical limitations, printing entirely or partially black and white photos on glossy media is not advisable as the glossy paper surface may cause disruptive color reflections.
Important Notes!
Below are some important notes on using Pigmera® ETX in the ET-8500 / ET-8550
Filling or changing the ink
Pigmera® ETX should ideally be used in an EcoTank printer with clean ink tanks, for example, in a new device. Mixing with other inks should be avoided! If you have a previously used EcoTank printer, you can almost completely remove the existing dye ink from the individual tanks and replace it with our pigmented color ink. This process requires some technical understanding and manual skill, but in general, it is relatively easy to accomplish.
Pigment inks generally exhibit a different gloss behavior on glossy media compared to dye inks. Pigments do not fully penetrate the paper surface, which can result in uneven gloss when viewed from an angle.
For information on how to change the ink in an EcoTank, please refer to our INFO section.
Functions of the Printer
The printer's functions are altered or restricted when it is converted to Pigmera® ETX as per the printer manufacturer's intended functions.
The printer models ET-8500 and ET-8550 come from the factory equipped with five dye inks (C, M, Y, GY, PB) and one black pigment ink (BK). Dye inks can be used on both matte and glossy papers. The existing Matte Black (BK) can be used for document printing (printer driver setting for "Normal paper") and for printing on photo and fine art papers (printer setting for "Velvet Fine Art Paper"). While most driver settings can be used for all paper feeds of the printer, the "Velvet Fine Art Paper" setting only works with the rear, straight single-sheet paper feed. To create photo prints using Matte Black (BK), you must use this rear feed.
Pigmera® ETX is a pigment ink product. It also uses a Matte Black (BK), in addition to the other five channels, which are now also filled with pigment inks. The Black channel (PB), originally filled with dye ink, now contains Photo Black (Pigment). Photo Black is suitable for printing on glossy media in the world of pigment inks, while Matte Black is used for matte media. Although you can use Photo Black to print on matte papers, it won't provide deep black results.
This leads to the following situation:
To print matte photo and fine art papers with the best quality and deep black, you must select the "Velvet Fine Art Paper" driver setting. In this case, the single-sheet paper feed on the back of the printer is the only paper feed that works. With other driver settings like Epson® Matte Paper or Epson® Premium Semigloss, the printer uses the Photo Black channel.
Delivery content
Delivery content
6x ink bottle Pigmera ETX (MK, PK, C, M, Y, GY)
6x 20ml syringe with extra long blunt needle
1x Filling Manual
Compatible to printer model
Compatible printer models
- Epson® Ecotank ET-8550
- Epson® Ecotank ET-8500
