OCP K3 ink set: the secret/solution is in the ...magenta !!!

[pharmacist]

I have been testing for a few weeks now with this fantastic and very cheap refill ink made by OCP Germany.

Advantages:

-incredible good price
-vivid and saturated prints
-good glossiness on glossy and satin/pearl papers
-the most neutral ABW mode I have seen with an aftermarket ink (better compared to Inkrepublic IRK4-nano, Inkjetfly IMA24/36 V3 and Image Specialists IM-K3 I have tested in the past).

However the bronzing is signifcantly worse on....satin/pearl papers but gladly only on extreme circumstances with brigh light shining under sharp angles. Strangely this bronzing is almost absent with high gloss papers, which also gives you very glossy prints.....I must say: on pair with Epson K3 ink, which is really brilliant.

Another problem I have encountered was with the gamut.....Despite the very good and vivid prints this ink set produces. In the beginning I could not explain the significant gamut drop compared to the other inks (IRK4-nano and IMA 24/36 V3). But on closer inspection I saw that saturated blues and especially saturated purples were so muted, becoming almost dark blue-greys and dark marroon browns, not the vivid blues and vivid purples one would wish.

To understand this problem, you should have a look at the scan of the first series of patches created by Colormunki to create a printer profile:

Notice the rather poor magenta patch of the OCP: it is actually dark (orangy) red, not magenta, which is supposed to be. And the purple/blue patches (with the magenta arrows) were very poor and muted.

After contacting Octopus-office.de the guy, I was corresponding to, contacted OCP and it seems the rather poor magenta was caused by the raw material used by OCP to produce this magenta ink. Both Octopus-office and I were a bit disappointed by this reply....So I decided to search for another magenta pigment ink, which is a purer and more vivid magenta and decided to go for the Octopus-office.de own T0343 magenta ink (manufactured by Octopus-Office). Now why the T0343 ink: the T034x serie was made for the R2100/R2200 printer which is the predecessor of the K3 ink, only lacking the LLB, so it can be considered to be a K2 ink set: very similar to the K3.

Now the result by just substituting the OCP K3 magenta by Octopus-Office T0343 magenta is astonishing:

The blues now have become really vivid and saturated and the brownish patches now reveal the colors it should have been: purple. Epson K3 Vivid magenta is actually based by this concept to increase gamut.

Previously my OCP K3 profiles always have a strange indentation in the blues/purple area, which cripples the profiles in gamut, but now with this much purer Octopus-office.de T0343 magenta, the OCP K3 ink set can really shows its full potential:

Left: standard OCP K3 ink set profile for Netbit Glossy 270 gsm
Right: modified OCP K3 ink set profile (magenta substituted) for Netbit Glossy 270 gsm

As you can see: the solution can be found in the magenta...

 

[rodbam]

Does it make much difference that the OCP has a rendering intent of Perceptual & the Octopus Magenta one is in Relative Colorimetric?
I'm surprised that OCP would let just one colour spoil the results of a good set of inks.
Just a thought, would a full set of Octopus inks work better than having to swap out the magenta from OCP?

 

[pharmacist]

No: all the profiles made with the Colormunki are standard with the perceptual intent. I have tried the relative colorimetric/saturation as well as the standard perceptual intent to print my test images and all could not produce those intense blues/purples.....The rather poor OCP magenta causes this problem.

Maybe the Octopus inks do work better and will even result in a much better overall gamut, but the problem is that Octopus T034x series has no LLB, because it was formulated for the K2 ink set for the R2100/R2200 printers. The Octopus ink is odorless, but the OCP ink has a strong glycol scent.

 

[Tin Ho]

My effort in talking to local inkjet refill shops searching for K3 inks suddenly has a hope. I called Hobbicolors and was told that they have K3 inks. But when I asked how I can buy some for testing they said it's not set up for retail. I described my photography printing project they said they can set it up for retail in a week or two. That is interesting. They seem to have K3 inks for business customers but not for retail for some reason. They have both regular and vivid magenta and light magenta inks. I then asked for more information about their K3 inks they said it's made in USA by a US manufacturer. The inks are made specifically for businesses such as refill shops and ink cartridge remanufacturers. I could not get pricing info on the phone but was told to call again a a couple of days. They told me they have the inks in stock right now.

This is interesting. Hobbicolors is located in Norther California I believe. Not sure how close it is to me in Berkeley California. Maybe it will turn out to be an ideal source for my need of K3 inks. I will post more info when I make more progress.

One more thing I forgot to mention. I was told that I can use their K3 inks without profiling. They said the inks are made for the ink cartridge remaufacturing and inkjet refill industry. The ink must meet the needs that they can be used without profiling. This sounds too good to be true though. I will try to talk to them more and get some small quantities for testing. I will report back here whatever I find out.

 

[iladi]

I have ordered the OCP inks before your findigs about magenta. All i can say is that deep blues and purples are are weak with the original OCP configuration, thanx for the octopus magenta tip.
But i have other issue. I print on Natura microporos semigloss paper ( made in germany ???) and i have a not so good adhesion of ink. If i rub with my finger the print, i can scratch the print after 2 minutes from printing. Is it the paper? Do i have to wait a bit longer to dry? What paper to use? Micro, RC, it seems that you don't have this problem.

 

[pharmacist]

I think it is the paper: I do not experience your problem with the papers I have used, but maybe you should wait longer to have it dried.

I am using Netbit, Sihl and TPI papers and I do not experience your problem, even after 2 minutes of drying.

 

[Tudor]

If i rub with my finger...

I had the same problem with Geographics glossy photo paper. It didn't matter how long I left the ink to dry, it would come off as it was printed on ordinary glossy paper.

 

[iladi]

pharmacist, do you find the black to be black enough?

 

[3dogs]

A lot of this discussion is outside my technical range BUT I can see a difference in the patches. Currently I have two full sets of OEM 80ml carts for my 3880. I am poised, invoice in hand, to purchase an Inkset inc 1Lit bottles of Cone pigment ink. The prints I have made so far mostly of Outback Australia have turned out better by far, than anything I have printed, and as good as prints I have had made on this Canson paper.
My action is predicated on the assumption that I am going to get the same or similar results from the Cone as I am getting from the Epson inks on Canson BFK Rivas 310gsm and will probably get similar good results from Hahenmuhle Museum Etching 350gsm.
I would, in fact WILL be horrified and very disappointed if the colours are OFF.....
Not that it affects output so much but I have Colormunki to do paper profiles, use an Eizo Colour Edge screen, and as stated using a 3880 printer. All my Image generation/output has been geared towards Projected Image quality. Print has been strictly low end of my own personal output and I have had a printmaker do anything that required Fine Art quality. Sadly my printer up and left his place of work to go back to teaching.......and is not contactible.

Do I need to hold off buying ink now till some more discussion takes place here, or am I relatively safe going ahead. I am relying heavily on support from this forum as I am in NO technical position to have any other than a newbies knowledge.

Many thanks,

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[pharmacist]

pharmacist, do you find the black to be black enough?

The black is satisfactory to me, a bit less compared to the Image Specialists PK and the Inkrepublic IRK4-nano. The good thing this OCP PK does not clog compared to the rather thick IRK4-nano PK (which seems to clog from to time, especially when not printing for at least a week) after a week of non-usage. The gloss is very good, but there is a strange bronzing with satin/pearl paper. I am suspecting the yellow causing this problem, but I will do some tests later on and see if this is true.