# CIS VS. Refillable Cartridge & How Much Ink do They Hold?



## leslie1023 (Mar 19, 2015)

So now that I believe I have decided to go with an Epson printer for sublimation, can anyone give me some feedback on a CIS vs. refillable cartridges? I was going to go CIS, but being new, I'm not sure how much ink I will use or how fast. I don't want it to get weird. Would it be best for me to just get cartridges that I can refill? And does anyone know about how much ink a cartridge holds? Like how many times I could refill them with a 4 oz. bottle of ink? Thanks for any feedback!


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

leslie1023 said:


> So now that I believe I have decided to go with an Epson printer for sublimation, can anyone give me some feedback on a CIS vs. refillable cartridges? I was going to go CIS, but being new, I'm not sure how much ink I will use or how fast. I don't want it to get weird. Would it be best for me to just get cartridges that I can refill? And does anyone know about how much ink a cartridge holds? Like how many times I could refill them with a 4 oz. bottle of ink? Thanks for any feedback!


CIS is more convenient and holds more ink, however, it is more complex in terms of regular maintenance and possibility of getting banding from poor ink vacuum.

Irregardless of your choice of using a CIS or not, you should start with refillable carts and then use them as a backup in case your CIS has trouble. If your CIS is suspect then popping in known good refillable carts helps you troubleshoot, not to mention you can still keep printing if the CIS is not working. 

So best practice is to have both, but you don't have to start with CIS first.

Carts vary but most Epson refillable are around 9 - 12 mL for the colors and then if you get a double capacity cart for black "K" it could be double that, or even 4x that if using a XXL cart for the black in the newer WF models. 

Some of the newer Epsons like the the WP4520 can hold up to 100 mL of ink using aftermarket refillable carts, as such, no CIS is needed. 

Some of the 8 color models like the 3880 you can get larger than the 12mL carts, but not as big as the 100 mL WP4520 (676XL cart), I think those are around 24 mL for colors.

4 oz = 118.29 mL so from that you can do the math for how many refills you can get from a bottle.


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## leslie1023 (Mar 19, 2015)

Thank you so much! Very helpful!


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## Sacman (Jan 20, 2014)

Awesome info from mgparrish. 

My 2 cents worth. I have used both and now prefer the refillables. On my eco-solvent printer, the tubing for the CIS system hardened and discolored to the point that you could not identify air bubbles before they became a problem. I slowly replaced all 6 colors as each one ran out the last time on my CIS. I ran the CIS for a little over a year and the hardening may be specific with the eco-solvent inks but I didn't want to take a chance with the sub inks. I have two sets. One filled with 91% alcohol and one with inks. I used the alcohol cartridges to flush the head the first time since I bought my printer used. I tint the alcohol slightly with a little ink so I can see it when I purge using the printer jockey software. I learned this trick with my eco-solvent printer which is much more prone to clog the head. 

Another point that I never see made anywhere is that you will use about twice as much yellow ink as you will anything else so if you have the option and you are only buying small bottles, do yourself a favor and get an extra bottle of yellow.


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## leslie1023 (Mar 19, 2015)

I have been looking at Cobra Inks. Is there any other/better/cheaper wouldn't hurt place to get refillable cartridges and bulk ink for the Epson WF-7610? As long as the cartridges fit my printer then I can get any Epson 4 color bulk sublimation ink to refill them with right?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

leslie1023 said:


> I have been looking at Cobra Inks. Is there any other/better/cheaper wouldn't hurt place to get refillable cartridges and bulk ink for the Epson WF-7610? As long as the cartridges fit my printer then I can get any Epson 4 color bulk sublimation ink to refill them with right?


I have seen cheaper places for sub inks but typically Amazon or Ebay and you won't usually get an ICC profile.

But the carts and CIS are commodity items and many people sell those.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

You can get your carts from one place and ink from another. I use InkOwl refillable carts and Cobra Ink. 

As for the ink make sure you will get or have access to the ICC profiles. If not then you'll have frustrations getting colors right.

I have used both CIS and refillables. I prefer refillable's. 
Cobra Ink has a year on their shelf life (per Richard). So if you buy a CISS and don't use the all the ink in it and have issues you have to go thru the headache of emptying it all.

Refillable's can be a pain to keep filling them up and you don't want to run them dry either. But I prefer to fill up the carts than deal with the CISS. 

Many times you can get two sets of refillable's cheaper than the CIS and when one needs changed just pop in the second set. 

Also if you have a Epson thats under warranty and have to take it in or ship it back you will have to go through the hassle of removing the CIS and on some of the printers its a big pain in the arse to do it. Sometimes you have to remove the entire casing to get at the ink cables. 

Good Luck


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

freebird1963 said:


> You can get your carts from one place and ink from another. I use InkOwl refillable carts and Cobra Ink.
> 
> As for the ink make sure you will get or have access to the ICC profiles. If not then you'll have frustrations getting colors right.
> 
> ...


Adding to your point Mark "Sometimes you have to remove the entire casing to get at the ink cables."

In addition, depending on the printer, some (but not all) Epson's you have to remove the carriage door to install the CIS and it comes off _but won't go back on_. Epson can void your warranty if they see you modified/damaged the printer.

So at minimum even if you eventually go CIS you should have refillable carts to test/troubleshoot the printer or as backup when/if the CIS is FUBAR.

I always keep a 2nd set of carts and not really fond of CIS either.


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