How to test ink quality and/or compare?

[websnail]

I've had a few problems over the past 6 months or so where I've received a batch of ink that later turned out to be causing clogging due to some issue with the ink.

Now I don't know enough about the inks in question to work out exactly what those problems were/are but I was wondering if there's any way to do a quick comparison to see if batches are similar or idential without requiring a lab.

Any ideas?

 

[hpnetserver]

There are at least two quality categories to consider. One is in terms of colors. The other is how it works and this seems to be the problem for you. Be aware that this is an issue of ink and ink cartridge combined. Both are variables to determine if they together will work fine. In my opinion this is is equally important, if not more than the colors, when you choose a source to buy. Unfortunately it seems there is not one source that has a perfect record in terms of this. Every now and then someone reports a problem with the product from every known good quality ink source. My question is if there is a trend or a pattern which can help us to choose or avoid. I am surprised that this thread is getting cold.

 

[canonfodder]

Websnail,

Get a little more specific about your clogging problems. Just which printer and CIS or whatever was in use with which ink?
I presume you were using Image Specialists ink as you list, but you list multiple printers, so which.

When you buy Image Specialists inks, do you select different inks from them for your different printers? I suppose you must, but tell us.

 

[Grandad35]

...but I was wondering if there's any way to do a quick comparison to see if batches are similar or idential without requiring a lab.

Any ideas?

Here are simple test methods to roughly measure the viscosity and surface tension of these inks:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=195

Of course, there are many other factors that affect how an ink "fires" in the nozzles or clogs the filter/sponge. Many times, "clogs" aren't really clogs in the printhead.

 

[Tin Ho]

There is an easy way to measure how a specific ink flows through a specific ink cartridge. If you refill the cartridge of interest with the specific ink to full. Then unplug the seal from the ink fill hole. Watch and measure how fast ink drips out of the exit hole. You should let it drip for a little while until it reaches a steady state before making your measurement. The faster the ink drips the better the ink/cartridge combo is.

 

[Tin Ho]

Of course if it is too fast it is not usable. Try water first. With ink it should be relatively slower.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Unplugging the fill hole tells you an important half of the story. The other half is how the air flows in to the vent, through the serpentine maze, to the top of the sponge material, down through the sponge material, down along the groves in the bottom half of the barrier separating the two compartments, into the hole at the bottom of the barrier, and into the reservoir. Read more here:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6935#p6935