Cone Ink Thrift inks and Epson 9890

[pozzello]

Hi all,

I've been spoiled by my excellent Canon pro9000 (v1) for the last 5 years and completely underwhelmed by the print density achievable with my new Epson 9890.

I mostly print matte black and white (in color mode) and I can make a truly stunning print on the Canon with Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308, on the Espon it just looks meh...

How does Jone Cone's Ink Thrift ink in an Epson compare with the Chromalife100 canon inks on matte paper ? What about longevity, are they similar ?



Paul

 

[jtoolman]

Longevity is rated at only about 10 to 30 years depending on how you store or display the print.

In the K3 Thrift dye ink set you get a pseudo Matte Black ink. That MK ink is not really matte but simply a denser version of the Photo Black ink. To give you a better d-MAX on Matte media.

I get very good black and color on most matte papers using it on a PRO 3800. Overall you must profile the inks to your paper for the best results, as straight for the bottles they do not match OEM inks.

You can not compare EPSON Claria inks to CANON Cromalife 100 inks. Two different formulations.
Each has good longevity. But they are still Dye!!!

By the way, if you are impressed with the CANON 9000 MKII output, you should see what the PRO-100 can do!!

Joe

 

[pozzello]

Longevity is rated at only about 10 to 30 years depending on how you store or display the print.

In the K3 Thrift dye ink set you get a pseudo Matte Black ink. That MK ink is not really matte but simply a denser version of the Photo Black ink. To give you a better d-MAX on Matte media.

I get very good black and color on most matte papers using it on a PRO 3800. Overall you must profile the inks to your paper for the best results, as straight for the bottles they do not match OEM inks.

You can not compare EPSON Claria inks to CANON Cromalife 100 inks. Two different formulations.
Each has good longevity. But they are still Dye!!!

By the way, if you are impressed with the CANON 9000 MKII output, you should see what the PRO-100 can do!!

Joe

Hi Joe,

Thanks for replying. I've heard great things about the PRO-100 but I'm making 40" prints and had to go with one of the wide printers. I didn't realize Pigment inks were so drab in comparison...

So how does the ink thift compare to the oem pigment inks (Ultrachrome K3 with VM) ? Are you getting significantly better density with the ink thrift on matte paper ? Longevity is an issue but I'm thinking I could use dyes for my portfolio and exhibition prints and sell pigment prints.

Paul

 

[jtoolman]

Dye Inks and Pigment inks are really two different animals
Dye inks will always appear brighter, more saturated..... but only on media with sheen.
The THRIFT Inks do have a denser black which they coin as MK. I does provide you with a deeper d-Max when used on matte media.
Will it please you??? only you can answer that.

Buy their 250ml set and try it. That's all I can tell you.
You will have to profile these inks to get correct color rendering.

Longevity will off course be reduced when compared to Ultrachrome K3.

Joe

 

[pozzello]

Dye Inks and Pigment inks are really two different animals
Dye inks will always appear brighter, more saturated..... but only on media with sheen.
The THRIFT Inks do have a denser black which they coin as MK. I does provide you with a deeper d-Max when used on matte media.
Will it please you??? only you can answer that.

Buy their 250ml set and try it. That's all I can tell you.
You will have to profile these inks to get correct color rendering.

Longevity will off course be reduced when compared to Ultrachrome K3.

Joe

Hi Joe, I contacted Jon Cone and he will be sending me a test print using my image and a gray test strip - I'll let you know the results

I've read about all the horror stories of clogged print heads on the 9890, can I safely switch between dye and pigment inks ?

Paul