Best printer for full colour product labels with cheap ink refills

Discussion in 'Small Format Inkjet Printers' started by johnnewby, May 30, 2019.

  1. johnnewby

    johnnewby New Member

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    Hi i purchased a Epson tm c3500 printer and the print quality is awful . Nothing like as advertised.
    I'm looking for another printer that can print product labels in high quality with cheap ink refills (not printer brand) . Does anyone have any recommendations.

    Many thanks John
     
  2. OkiTech

    OkiTech Senior Member

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    besides the quality issues, did you check how those labels handle the moisture? Product can be exposed to rain, wet hands, humidity, etc... The print quality may be irrelevant if ink just smudges or runs off.
    Laser printer is, likely, a better choice.
     
  3. johnnewby

    johnnewby New Member

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    I have run the bopp labels I used under a tap without any smudges. The actual ink is amazing quailty it's just the dpi is far too low. I can't find any bopp label sheets for a normal style printer, Maybe this is why the C3500 is so expensive. I think as long as a printer uses pigment ink and bopp labels it should have some restistance to water.
     
  4. Epson Expression ET-2650 is one of the best all in one best full-color product labels printer. I've used a different kind of printer but Epson ET-2650 is one of the superb, I ever found.
    It's 3 in 1 (print, copy, scan) wireless printer print speed is also much better than others. It requires Four EcoTank ink bottles that most affordable as per quality.
     
  5. Biggs

    Biggs Senior Member

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    I'm not a huge Epson fan, primarily for substrate versatility, but they're know for exceptional color and image quality. Polypropylene, if not specced for your device, will print with the illusion of poor resolution. In reality it's the ink, every so finely beading, on the print surface. Same happens when you print a solvent based substrate on an aqueous device.

    If you're looking for inexpensive, Canon makes a fine line of small laser devices that handle digital approved synthetics remarkable well.
    Canon has put considerable effort into lowering their ruder temperatures considerably. Only downsize is letterhead printing, and any heat based binding method.

    Canon has remarkable color as well - I've been using their production equipment for many years, and a fair amount of the technology has trickled down a bit into the lower end devices.

    Yes the hardware is often more than inkjet, and the toner cartridges cost a bit more as well, but you'll find the yield to be profound vs inkjet. Plus, no worry of clogging printheads, and not being able to running coated media effectively.
     
  6. LabelBasic

    LabelBasic New Member

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    What kind of labels are you printing on? The Epson TM-C3500 is a pigment-based printer, so the print quality won't be as nice as a dye-based printer. You can look into other color label printers like the Primera LX910 or LX2000. The LX910 uses a tri color ink cartridge. The LX2000 uses individual ink cartridge but is a bit pricey.
     

  7. Craig Leininger

    Craig Leininger New Member

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    Feb 2021
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    Location:
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    Sorry old thread, I know... Not sure if you found your printer yet. If you're still on the hunt, you might want to look into the Afinia L502 printer.

    The L502 is comparable with the C3500 in many ways but has some major advantages over the C3500:

    1. The C3500 can only print 4.4" wide media / L502 can accept up to 8.5" media
    2. The C3500 is only pigment which is probably ok for you but the L502 is able to swap between pigment and dye printing if you're looking for more vivid colors that pigment isn't giving you. That flexibility is nice.
    3. The L502 can print at up to 4800 dpi

    The L502 isn't as sexy as the Epson line. If that doesn't matter to you, I think you'll find the L502 is a better alternative.

    Good luck!
    Craig Leininger
    Chicago Color Label
     
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