Progress report on pigment ink clogging test

[ghwellsjr]

If you are happy with the Hobbicolors dye inks, you can continue to use them. There is no problem mixing one brand of pigment black ink with another brand of dye inks. Sometime next year, I plan to start fade testing of the dye inks for most of the brands that I did the pigment clog testing for.

If you are in the USA, you can purchase Image Specialist ink from Precision Colors at www.precisioncolors.com. KMP inks are not available in the USA but you can buy them from Websnail at www.octoink.co.uk. The Canon OEM inks are not available in bulk, you can only buy the expensive cartridges. I had to drain ink out of cartridges to do the clog tests. The OCP Canon pigment black ink is available here. They have only one pigment black ink for all Canon printers.

The PGI-5Bk is an earlier cartridge than the PGI-220 and is available around the world. The PGI-220 is regionalized for the USA. I have no idea if the Canon inks are identical between those two cartridges but I would guess that they are the same. I do know that the Canon OEM PGI-5Bk ink is different than the Canon OEM BCI-3eBk because the later is not highlighter resistant whereas the former is.

 

[ehuesman]

Thanks again ghwellsjr, I'll check those sites out later to figure out which one I want to get. I am in the USA (California), so I imagine the shipping costs will put the KMP out of the running. From a quick look, the prices looked comparable on the IS and the OCP, I'll take a closer look later.

 

[irvweiner]

The PGI-5 BK cart takes OCP ink: BKP 44

OCP compatibility ink-cart-printer list:

http://www.ocp.de/content.php?sessi...eite=seiten/support_compatibilitylists_en.php

happy hunting irv weiner

 

[ghwellsjr]

The PGI-5 BK cart takes OCP ink: BKP 44

OCP compatibility ink-cart-printer list:

http://www.ocp.de/content.php?sessi...eite=seiten/support_compatibilitylists_en.php

happy hunting irv weiner

According to the USA distributor, there is only one pigment black ink for all Canon printers and cartridges. Apparently, the same thing is true for the Danish distributor.

 

[ghwellsjr]

One of my friends purchased a brand new MP760 the same time I did several years ago. I supplied him with Inktec refilled cartridges, the same that I was using. All of the MP780s that my other friends had were purchased used, so they could have had a history of bad ink, but I was supplying Inktec ink to them too. A couple of those were the ones that first started showing the clogging problem when I finally was able to determine the reason. I was then recommending to all my friends to use Windex on the purge pads to try to alleviate the problem. I was using a LOT of Windex on my MP760 and it never clogged but it started to overflow from the excess of Windex. Eventually, everyone of the other printers developed clogging problems and I had to take each one apart to replace the absorbent pads to get them working again. The MP760 was the worst clogged printer of all. It only had some other inks initially for a short time until I settled on Inktec. Sometime, I'll upload some pictures of it.

 

[The Hat]

ghwellsjr

I am another who didnt like the test you have done with the pigment blacks of all sorts.
The tests were great and until another test comes along it will remain so.
The reason I am disappointed with it is that the black ink I use now didnt perform as well as Id expected too at all, but I do accept your findings 100% as all the inks were tested the same way and given the same challenge to perform.
I tend rate ink differently in that it has to perform almost flawlessly with no head clogging whatsoever no endless cleaning cycles no test prints and few nozzle checks.
Canon inks perform that way so I wanted the same from the inks that I buy and use.
I know I wont get the same very High colour quality, sharpness and fade resistance as Canon inks but the people I print for are very happy with what I can produce, if I am going to a problem with print longevity then I switch to all pigment inks.
My printers can be left unused for 4 weeks or longer and I expect them to work when I go to use them again and yes they do.
Now thats what I call good quality inks.
I have had two purge unit problems in the past not from the ink I am currently using I may add, but from the terrible unacceptable cheap inks that are available on the market at present.
I can say that being naive has its drawbacks when it comes to buying ink but thanks to this forum and people like ghwellsjr who endeavour to educate us all to use only good quality inks.
Thank you again for your excellent test, maybe next time Ill like it more..

 

[Ron350]

Yes thanks for the test ghwellsjr.

 

[Nifty]

Guys, let's stop the personal attacks. Those can be done via email (or not at all) and should be kept off the public forum since they do not add any value, but detract from the discussion.

We don't suggest that people refrain from disagreeing with one another, but the manner and tone with which people do this should be kept in check. The loss of tonality and body language on a forum only make the process of "debating" more difficult and problematic, and therefore requires more care if how we disagree with one another.

So, let's get back to having a discussion and not a fight, and respect each other's right to post ideas regardless of how we feel about them.

Thanks!

 

[marceltho]

I agree with Rob on stopping any personal attacks.

I think ghwellsjr has made GREAT contributions ( 2500 post.....!! ) and I never had the feeling he came to a certain conclusion because he didn't like a certain product. I also think one should not over-react if your own product comes out negative in a test. If one disagrees, fine.....you can still use that product as much as you want....no need to bring down extensive test efforts, because the results don't match your own experience.

I use Hobbiclors and am very happy with it, DESPITE the fact that it is negative in gjwellsjr's test. But the fact that I have no problems ( until now ) doesn't mean the test could not be valid. I would think 10 times before to make such statements againts someone like ghwellsjr with so much experience.

Using presumptions does not help either, the fact that ghwellsjr has mentioned Craigslist here and there is posts, is not proof that the carts he is using for the tests have a mix of different inks in them. Many people on this forum have bought used printers ( including myself ), and started with fresh purged carts, nothing wrong with that, is there ?

 

[ghwellsjr]

Fantastic post and wonderful information! Any chance we can see some various pictures of your testing setup and what the layers look like? By chance do you have a macro setting to take some close up pics of the "residue"?

Again, great job!!!

Here's a couple of pictures taken after six weeks, meaning I have deposited a layer of ink surrounding the bottom pad six times with one week in between.

This is Canon OEM BCI-3eBk ink:

And here is the Inktec BCI-3eBk ink:

The bottom of this one just keeps getting grungier and grungier. Note that in the top picture, the bottom pad is resting on a slightly elevated dimple. It's the same in the bottom picture except you can't see that.