Inktec Pigment Ink

[photog-art-printer]

Just purchased a Canon ImagePROGRAF 1000 (10 usable inks … supposed to be good).

It came with 12x unopened original Canon inks that I am hesitant to use because its simply too expensive for the volume of prints required.

Previously, we have discussed buying original (possibly expired) ink cartridges, and using that to refill and print.

Because I probably need to print about 10,000 units (61cm x 42cm), hunting down bargain cartridges sounds like a lot of work.

The easier and cheaper option would be to purchase about 24 liters of bulk generic ink.

Inktec have communicated with me, and assure me how great their product is.

The Korean manufacturing facility appears to be fine.

Any comments?

Has anyone used it? Fade tests? Rubbish? Good? Compared to Canon inks? Nearly as good? Nowhere near as good? Fading? 20 percent as good?

First step may be to buy the smallest quantity and put the test outside for a while.

Has anyone tried that?

If I do this, would you like to see my results?

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Paper likely to be Canon Matt Coated Paper 24 Inches (61 cm) 140g/m² 30 m

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Does anyone want the set of genuine ink? (location Germany). Make an offer.

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The DYE version doesn’t appear to be good.

(Quote - dye inks with a poor longevity performance - no better than arbitrary 3rd party inks like InkTec and such.).

Pigment variant far superior? Comments?

 

[photog-art-printer]

These are the unopened genuine inks (not the starter set .... store bought)

 

[photog-art-printer]

For roughly the same price as the original cartridges, twelve times more generic ink can be purchased. Is it rubbish?

12L - 650 Euro - Generic Pigment Ink
1L - 650 Euro - the good stuff

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm not really clear what you are after - I'm not aware of fading tests of 3rd party pigment inks. Such inks are typically significantly cheaper than original inks - but you better get small amounts first to do some tests before you buy the litre bottles. There are more criteria you may apply - the acheivable gamut on the paper(s) of your choice - bronzing and gloss effects on your paper(s) which can range from barely visible to terribly visible . I only can say that I don't like the Inktec pigment inks (for Epson) just for these reasons - the photo glossy black particularly is not at my expectations. But since you refer to a matte paper all this may look different.

 

[photog-art-printer]

RE : I'm not really clear what you are after

Hi, Thanks for responding.

I'm after a liar who will explain … both inks are identical.

Failing that, it would be useful to know the percentage of difference.

Will the bulk ink fade twice as quickly?

Or just a little bit?

I've read … fading can be 80 percent worse when using generic ink.

Interesting that you have used Inktec on glossy paper and don’t like it due to bronzing. As stated, I shall be using matt, but others who print on glossy will no doubt be interested.

This particular brand of is Korean. Maybe someone has used it on matt paper and can comment on the bronzing .... and can either criticize or recommend it.

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Note – Will definitely test a smaller amount before diving in.

 

[pharmacist]

Inktec pigment ink is very good: good gloss and very good scratch resistance and fade resistance. However there is some bronzing (more than original inks), but since your ImagePrograf printer uses gloss optimizer, this should be of lesser concern. I am using Inktec Powerchrome K3 compatible pigment ink in my Epson P900 printer and only the PK has a weird metallic shine (bronzing ?), but the rest of the colours are fantastic: same gamut and gloss, even the critical VM and VLM colours. The ink is so good, you can use the same profiles of the original Epson K3 printers and you will hardly see any difference.

 

[photog-art-printer]

Thank you for the info. (Mr. Fingers also mentioned the bronzing).

As I shall be printing on Matt paper (only), my understanding is this potential problem does not apply (and I don’t require Chrome Optimizer or Photo Black Ink … as far as I know).

According to your experience, this ink sounds good (if used on Matt paper).

Longevity and fading are of interest. If I sell a print, fading is not an option.

Note – following previous advice on this forum, I have already started purchasing outdated OEM ink (in the wrong containers).

 

[photog-art-printer]

 

[palombian]

...

Note – following previous advice on this forum, I have already started purchasing outdated OEM ink (in the wrong containers).

I suppose you mean Lucia EX inks for large format printers.
Although the PRO-1000 uses Lucia PRO - a later development, with probably smaller (resin encapsulated) pigment parts - chances are big the EX overall quality is better than Inktec.
I have no problems with these inks in the PRO-10, being of older date, but verify your nozzle checks meticulously !

 

[palombian]

View attachment 15202

Personally never considered the plotter inks, but it is Lucia pigment.
You won't fill the complete PRO-1000 ink set, but you probably will need a custom profile if correct colours is a concern.
Report your experience !