In the realm of printers, printhead stands as the central component influencing speed, resolution, and overall longevity. In the progressive landscape of the inkjet printer industry, Epson printhead has emerged as the preferred choice for a multitude of individuals, particularly in the realm of wide-format printers, owing to their distinctive technical advantages. But are you confused with so many options? Here we focus on comparing printhead, including: Epson dx5, dx7, xp600, TX800, 5113, I3200, S3200, L1440, S800-S1 and I1600 to help you make a decision quickly.
For wall printer, The printhead matters a lot, which is the core of speed, resolution and lifespan, let’s take a few minutes to go through the features and difference between them.
When using water-based ink, the EPSON 5113 is a substitute for the dx5 print head, but the 4720 print head is increasingly replaced by its abundant supply and ink compatibility.
The EPSON 5113 nozzles on the market have unlock, one lock, two locks, and three locks. All locks need to be used with a decryption card to be compatible with the printing board.
Nowadays epson 5113 heads have been discontinued and locked in the market. Replaced by the 4720 nozzle.
The Epson 4720 printhead is almost the same as the Epson 5113 printhead in appearance, specifications and performance, but due to its economical price and availability, it has won many customers’ favor. What’s more, 5113 heads have been discontinued and locked in the market. The 4720 nozzle almost replaced the 5113 nozzle in the sublimation printer.
Beginning in January 2020, Epson launched the I3200-A1 print head, which is a 3200 printhead authorized by Epson. This printhead is no longer used as a 4720 print head with a decryption card. The accuracy and life of the print head are 20-30% higher than the previous 4720 print head. So when you buy the 4720 nozzle or 4720 nozzle machine, please pay attention to the nozzle equipment, the old 4720 nozzle or I3200-A1 nozzle.
a. In terms of printing speed, the dismantling heads on the market can generally reach about 17KHz, while the regular printheads can achieve 21.6KHz, which can increase production efficiency by around 25%.
b. In terms of printing stability, the disassembly head uses Epson household printer disassembly waveforms, and the printhead drive voltage setting is only based on experience. The regular head can have regular waveforms, and the printing is more stable. At the same time, it can also provide printhead (chip) matching drive voltage, so that the color difference between the printheads is smaller, and the picture quality is better.
a. For the printhead itself, the disassembled head is designed for home printers, while the regular head is designed for industrial printers. The manufacturing process of the internal structure of the print head is constantly updated.
b. The ink quality also plays an important part for the lifespan. It require manufacturers to conduct matching experiments to greatly increase the service life of the printhead. For the regular head, the genuine and licensed Epson I3200-E1 nozzle is dedicated to ink.
In summary, the original nozzle and the disassembled nozzle are both Epson nozzles, and the technical data is relatively close.
If you want to use 4720 heads stably, the application scenario should be non-continuous, working environment temperature and humidity should be good, and the ink supplier shall be kinda relatively stable, so it’s suggested not change the ink supplier, to protect the printhead as well. Also, you need full technical support and cooperation of the supplier. So it’s quite important to choose a reliable supplier at the begin. Otherwise it requires more time and effort by yourself.
All in all, when we choose a printhead, we should not only consider the price of a single printhead, but also the cost of implementing these scenarios. As well as maintenance costs for later use.
If you have any other questions about the printhead and the printing technical, or any info about the industry. please feel free to contact us.
The lastes Epson S3200 or Mona Lisa printhead, with a print width of 4.73 inches (120.2 mm).
At present, Epson S3200 series nozzles have two models, namely: S3200-U1 (UV/ECO: oil-based nozzles) and S3200-A1 (water-based nozzles);
Compared with traditional Kyocera sprinklers, it still has a big advantage. The cost-effectiveness of the I3200 printhead is still the highest, and the advantages of the new printhead are still obvious.
DX5 is the most stable, most commonly used, and most recognized printhead on the market. However, due to insufficient supply and demand, the price is too high. Therefore, it is gradually replaced by XP600 in economical digital printers.
DX7 printheads were once popular as a substitute for DX5, but due to the shortage of supply and encryption printhead on the market. There are fewer and fewer machines using dx7 printhead. The only new printhead on the market today is the second locked dx7 printhead. In 2015 or earlier, the production of Dx7 unlocking and first locking heads has been discontinued.
The DX7 is often seen as an alternative to the DX5, but it is not necessarily a low-cost option. Because supply has become limited, DX7 printheads can also be relatively expensive. The DX5, on the other hand, has long been one of the most recognized and trusted printheads in the digital printing industry thanks to its proven stability. However, that same reputation, combined with limited market supply, has kept its price high. As a result, both models are gradually being replaced by more economical options such as the XP600.
Both DX5 and DX7 printheads are designed for solvent-based ink applications. Each printhead features 8 rows of 180 nozzles, for a total of 1440 nozzles. Because of this similar nozzle structure, the two models offer broadly comparable performance in terms of print speed and resolution.
They also share several technical strengths. Both support fine droplet control and are capable of producing sharp, detailed output. Their small droplet size helps create smooth gradients, clean edges, and strong image clarity, even on relatively small materials.
With a droplet size as small as 3.5 pl, these printheads are able to deliver high-resolution printing results. The DX5 can reach up to 5760 dpi, making it suitable for highly detailed graphics and photo-like output. For users who value fine detail and consistent image quality, both models remain strong performers.
The biggest difference between DX5 and DX7 is not speed, but cost. In many cases, the DX5 has been priced around $800 higher than the DX7. So if your budget allows and you are looking for a printhead with a long-standing reputation for stability, the DX5 is still a solid choice.
That said, availability has become a major issue for both models. DX5 prices have remained high largely because of limited supply. DX7 was once a popular substitute, but it has also become harder to source, especially with encrypted versions dominating the market. Today, most DX7 printheads still available are second-locked versions, and both DX5 and DX7 were discontinued years ago.
Because of rising costs and shrinking availability, many entry-level and budget-conscious printer manufacturers have shifted toward alternatives such as the TX800 and XP600. These printheads may not fully replace the reputation of DX5, but they offer a more practical balance of cost and accessibility for many users.
The XP600 printhead released around 2018, which has a 6-channel head, designed as an economical water-based printhead, the life of the head is about 3-6 months.
The color saturation of the xp600 will be worse than that of the DX5 and i3200. However, its price is very cheap, its stability is moderate, and it is widely accepted by the market. It is mainly used for small environmentally friendly solvent ink printers, or 1.6-1.8 width roll UV printers, 6040 or 9060 size uv flatbed printers.
The speed of xp600 is 10-20% slower than DX5. (DX5 4pass prints 12-15 square meters/hour, XP600 4pss prints 10-12 square meters/hour).
If properly maintained, the xp600 printhead can use 60-80% of the life of the dx5 printhead, and the price is only a quarter of the DX5.
TX800 printhead is a replacement for XP600, but it is a pity that Epson has discontinued this model. As a result, many people in the market use TX800, and the price rises rapidly.
TX800 also named DX8/DX10; XP600 also named DX9/DX11. Both two heads are 6 lines of 180 nozzles, a total amount of 1080 nozzles. The XP600 nozzle released around 2018 is a 6-channel nozzle designed as an economical water-based nozzle with a lifespan of about 3-6 months.
As mentioned earlier, these two printheads have become the most economical options in the industry.
The price is only about a quarter of the DX5.
DX8/XP600 is about 10-20% slower than DX5.
When properly maintained, DX8/XP600 printheads can last 60-80% of the life of DX5 printheads.
XP600 is 10-20% faster than the DX5 printhead. If the maintenance is good, the service life can be 60-80% of DX5. They all have comparable print resolutions. Plus, it’s only one-fifth the price of the DX5. This is ideal if you are a startup.
This will be a better option for beginners who can’t afford expensive equipment, to begin with. Also suitable for users who do not have a lot of UV printing jobs. For example, printing once or twice a week, in order to facilitate maintenance, is recommended to use DX8/XP600 head. The cost of the printhead is much lower than that of DX5. Since the printhead is a consumer product, the general lifespan is about 12-15 months.
The main difference between DX8 and XP600: DX8 is more professionally used in UV printers (oil-based ink), while XP600 is more commonly used in DTG and Eco-solvent printers (water-based ink).
Epson I1600 is a cost-effective 1.33-inch-wide MEMS head series providing high productivity and high image quality with 600 dpi high-density resolution, meeting various customer needs, high durability, and prolonging the life of the printer. Supports high drop printing up to 9mm at the same time.
MACH (Multi Layer ACtuator Head) technology can realize high precision and high density (360npi / 2 rows). Possible to arrange the printhead width direction in a miniaturization manner when using a staggered arrangement. Ink ejection with 4 colours at 360 dpi/colour or 8 colours at 180 dpi/colour is possible.
The S800-S1 is equipped with only one chip. Its compact design helps to improve productivity in printing environments where space is limited. It supports support oil-based, solvent, and other types of inks for digital printing applications in production printing.
The Ultimate Industrial Inkjet Printhead Comparison Chart:
| Model | DX5/F1440 | XP600/F1080 | I3200-A1 | S3200-A1 |
| Ink Types | Waterbased ink, eco-solvent ink, UV | Eco-solvent ink, UV | Water based ink | Water based ink,solvent ink, UV |
| Size(width x depth x height)(mm) | 106×49.7×41.7 | 84.9×57.2×42.6 | 69.1×59.4×35.6 | 150.4×30.4×52.0 |
| Weight(g) | 97 | 60 | 82 | 235 |
| Nozzle Numbers | 1440 | 1080 | 3200 | 3200 |
| Length Between Nozzles(inch) | 180 | 180 | 1/300(in one row) | 1/300 |
| Nozzle Row | 8row | 6row | 8row | 2row |
| Max color/head | 8colors(180dpi/color) | 6colors(180dpi/color) | 4colors | 2colors(300dpi) |
| Resolution | 180npi/row 360dpi/2 row | 180npi/row 360dpi/2row | 300npi/1row 600npi/2row | 300npi/1row 600npi/2row |
| Effective Printing Width(mm) | 25.4 | 25.4 | 33.8 | 120.2 |
| Jet Freqency(kHz) | 43(single dot), 14.4(multi dot) | 46(single dot),11.52(multi dot) | 43.2(single dot), 21.6(multi dot) | 48(single dot), 24(multi dot) |
| Ink Drops(pl) | 3.8-7-14-22 | 4.5-9-20-40 | 3.8-6-12(9.4) | 3.3-7-12 |
| Ink Viscosity(mPa.s) | 4~5 | 3~5 | 3~4 | 3~4 |
| Model | 5113 | DX7 | TX800 | I1600 | L1440 | S800-S1 |
| Ink Types | water-based , eco-solvent | eco-solvent mild solvent | Eco-solvent, UV water-based sublimation | Water-based | UV Eco-solvent | UV Eco-solvent |
| Size(width x depth x height)(mm) | 920*730*420mm | 60.4 x 46.9 x 71.1 | 84.9 x 57.2 x 42.6 | 69.1×59.4×35.6 | 60.4×46.9×71.1 | 58.1×8.3×33.8 |
| Weight(g) | 886 | 350 | 60 | 80 | 94 | 13 |
| Nozzle Numbers | 3200 | 1440 | 1080 | 1600 | 1440 | 800 |
| Length Between Nozzles (inch) | 300 | 180 | 180 | 300 | 180 | 300 |
| Nozzle Row | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Max color/head | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Resolution | 300npi/1row 600npi/2row | 360npi (180npi x 2 rows) | 180 npi /row 360 npi/2 rows | 300npi/1row 600npi/2row | 180npi/1row 360npi/2row | 300npi/1row 600npi/2row |
| Effective Printing Width(mm) | 33.02 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 33.8 | 25.4 | 33.8 |
| Jet Freqency(kHz) | 43.2(single dot), 21.6(multi dot) | 8 | 46(single dot); 11.52(multi dot) | 43.2(single dot), 21.6(multi dot) | 40(single dot), 20(multi dot) | 48(single dot), 24(multi dot) |
| Ink Drops(pl) | 3.8-6-12(9.4) | 4 | 4.5-9-20-40 | 3.8-6-12 | 4.5-10-19 | 3.2-5-10 |
| Ink Viscosity (mPa.s) | 3~4 | 8~12 | 3~5 | 3~4 | 6~8 | 9~11 |
After you know these different printhead in depth,then continue to know further about Suzhou Tanyu Technology Co.,Ltd, where can provide you with a variety of digital wall printing machine with Epson printhead,such as wall printer, all in one ground wall and floor printer. As a wall printer manufacturer and supplier with decades of industry experience, they deserve for your more attention and to be your realiable supplier.
Fill out the form below, and we will be in touch shortly.
