Test results for FORMULABS INK

[Inky]

Grandad or Foto-

Lastly, what's the final word on best empty carts? I've seen several threads, not sure which empty cart "won" int he end. Any reccomendations?

Also, what photo black and pigment black have people decided on?

Thanks

 

[Grandad35]

Inky,

I refilled all of my carts about 4 weeks ago after cleaning every cart with the technique described in http://www.nifty-stuff.com/docs/canon-BCI-6-cartridges.php. These carts included Canon OEM, Old InkGrabber, New InkGrabber and Wired Beans carts. Since that time, I have completely emptied and replaced 15 carts, in addition to the 8 currently in the printer.

There were minor differences in how the various cart designs behaved during refilling (e.g. the WB carts filled the sponge much more quickly and with less pressure), but they all refilled without incident or problem. More importantly, I have not seen any difference in how they behave during printing. I suspect that at least part of the reason for this performance is because I paid special attention to how the sponge was seated before refilling (see the writeup for details). It is my suspicion that the strange behavior that Rob reported on some of his Arrow carts (the cart starved the ink pickup while the ink chamber still had ink, the ink level in the ink chamber dropped rapidly when the refill screw was removed, and the cart then printed properly again after the refill screw was reinstalled) was due to a problem where the sponge blocked the channels where air gets back into the ink chamber because the sponge was too "tight" against the ink chamber wall.

In summary - all 4 cart designs are working equally well at this time. It will take several refills without cleaning cycles to tell if one design is better than the others, and I won't have this information for many months.

I can't comment on pigment black, as my printer only uses photo black.

 

[RC]

Ok I am back.

As far as empty carts go, I have tested many and I keep going back to AcuJet Empty carts. They are slightly more expensive then SkyHorse, but I find them to last at least three times longer. Some I have refilled for over thirty times without any problems. I have not had the same luck with others.

They do not use a sponge, they use I fiber-like sponge that has larger air cells, allowing the ink to flow better and air to escape. Some would think that that may create ink leakage but it does not, doe to the exit filter, which is also of high quality. By the way they are manufactured in the USA. From my personal experience, I would also stay away from spongeless cartridges.

As far as ink cartridges from China, I have spoken to some of the representatives of Chinese ink cartridges manufacturers, and have been made to understand that basically they use whatever is available and cheaper. I am sure that there are some more reliable manufacturers out there, but the game has become price not quality, as shown on Ebay and many websites selling ink that matches everything except what it supposed to.

Getting to inks. I have found two very good companies so far, FORMULABS and IMAGE SPECIALISTS.

Image specialists has very good color balance, but I have experienced clogging problems with their inks. Many others have had the same problem with it. On the other hand, there are those, such as Neal and many others, who have used Image Specialists ink for a very long time and have never had bad experiences or clogs from it, and if that is the case they should continue to use it because it has a good color balance.

I have also tried Formulabs. I have never experienced a single clog from Formulabs ink. However, in some cases, the color balancing can be a little more challenging, but not impossible. It all depends on which printer you use. For example, I find that when using Canon ink, the i860 has a tendency to print more towards the green, where the i960 prints more towards the red and the ip5000 prints a more balanced shade of colors. Therefore, Formulabs inks may be or may not be perfect, depending on the printer and the settings one prefers to use.

The main inks from Formulabs that are widely used today are:
BCI-3e inks
BCI-6 inks
BCI-7 inks
and
BCI-8 inks

The BCI-7 inks are exactly the same as the BCI-6 except for the Magenta and Photo-Magenta, which are lighter in the BCI-7 set. These inks are supposed to be for the new printers released by Canon in Japan, they are not yet available in the USA.

The BCI-8 series I have not tested on an 8-color printer, so I cannot comment on them, maybe Graddad kows. I have tested them on the i960, and the results are not that good for that printer.

That leaves the BCI-3e and BCI-6 series. The BCI-6 can also be used on the 8-color printers, just like the BCI-8. I dont know which Graddad uses.

I have run tests in the past for both series, but only to find that the printhead was slightly clogged from using Image Specialists ink, therefore giving me false results. I have since redone the test for the four colors, (CMYB), and have the results. This test was done with my ip5000.

The Cyan, Yellow and Black are exactly the same inks, what changes is the Magenta. The BCI-6 (#IJC-4424) prints darker than the BCI-3e (#IJC-4420). Now depending on the results you want, you may use one or the other. If one buys the BCI-6 set and finds that it is to red, one can dilute the Magenta to 90% ink and 10% distilled water, or, 80% to 20%, which ever pleases you. The more you dilute it will go from reddish-magenta tint to a greenish-yellow tint, somewhere in between you should find the color that pleases you.

For the majority of users the BCI-3e should work good, the only problem is that if you like it more red you cannot increase it. I find them both to be very close, but that is my opinion only, and I do not want anybody to just relay on my opinion.

I will be working on the photo colors and when I am done, I will post the results.

As for those who want ink to be exactly like the Canon brand, I have found no such animal yet. From testing dozens of different inks, I find that the biggest difference between Canon and others is the Magenta. I have arrived to these results by taking original Canon cartridges and using 5-Canon colors and one from another manufacturer, and then examining the difference. The yellows sometimes differ quite a bit to, but not as often. A very expensive test, but curiosity killed the cat, and satisfaction brought him back.

I hope this helps to clarify some of the confusion.

Robert

 

[RC]

I would also like to make it clear that I have no benefit in Formulabs, however I have found them to be very professional and courteous.

Robert

 

[RC]

As for the empty cartridges I mentioned before. They come with a metal ball for sealing them, I dont like the ball. I order rubber plugs for 10-Cents a piece, from SellInk, I think they are a Canadian company, and they seal very well. I have used the ComputerFriends plugs, which are virtually identical, but I find that the SellInk ones, if pushed in hard, they actually lock and dont slip out, where ComputerFriends ones have slipped out quite a few times. This should do away with all the screws, which I also used to use.

Robert

 

[Grandad35]

Robert,

I use BCI-6 carts, as they are what came with my i9900.

My experience with clogging on IS inks mirrors yours (at least I was told that my previous supplier used IS inks - I have no direct knowledge of this). I have only been using Formulabs inks for about a month and it is too soon to make a definitive statement, but I have also not experienced any clogging or banding problems to date.

I agree with your comment about the difficulty of finding an exact color match for the Canon inks, and that is why I decided to generate my own printer profiles - to get good color from 3rd party inks. In the past month I have used 15 carts (plus about 1/2 of each of the 8 carts now in the printer). At a conservative savings of $8/cart, this is a reduction in ink cost of $152 in a month.

As you stated, the BCI-7 inks were first used on the new i9910 to give a greatly increased print life - can we assume from this that Canon was able to match the colors of 6 of the 8 the BCI-6 inks while improving their life? Are you also saying that Formulabs already has BCI-7 equivalent inks? If so, do they have the same improved life as the Canon inks?

 

[RC]

Grandad:

I do not know if Formulabs BCI-7 has the same improved life as the new Canon inks.

I have tested the Formulabs BCI-7 inks and I find them to be much lighter than the Formulabs BCI-6 ones. This leads me to believe that the new Canon printers use a modified driver that requires lighter inks. From canons point of view, this would make sense, since one would have to use more ink to get the same results, and that would increase the bottom line for them. I can also see some advantages in using a lighter ink, in that it would make better to control some shades of color. Also from what I have read, the new Canon BCI-7 has a all new revamped yellow that is supposed to give a wider gamut.

You say that you are using Formulabs BCI-6 on your 8-color printer. With the exception of the Red and Green inks, which are exactly the same for the BCI-8 as the BCI-7 and BCI-6, all the other colors for the BCI-8 are different.

I would be willing to send you one of each cartridge for you to test and let me know the results you are getting, or if you need to use a profile and what you think of them.

As far as your Wired Beans Empties, they are the AcuJet ones, and they are superb.

If you email me your address I will send you the inks cartridges and some of the rubber plugs for you to try, I buy them 500 at a time,

Robert

 

[Grandad35]

Robert,

Do you know if the colors of the Canon BCI-7 inks are also different from their BCI-6 inks?

The fact that Formulabs has already introduced inks for BCI-7 carts would lead one to believe that they have a large Japanese bulk ink market - is this the case? Why else would they market these inks?

I agree that "lighter" inks give better control over lighter shades (e.g. PM/PC), but it also reduces the color gamut unless the traditional dark inks (e.g. Magenta/Cyan) are still available to give the deeply saturated colors. There is a limit to how much ink can be laid down without causing the colors to turn into a muddy brown mess.

Thanks for your generous offer for some test carts, but I am now in the "If it isn't broke..." printing mode. I am trying to come to grips with upgrading to PS/CS2 and RAW image processing (two more books to read), and will experiment with other inks only if my current ink/cart setup fails me.

I thought that I printed a lot for a non-professional, but 500 plugs? How much do you print?

 

[RC]

Grandad:

The only colors that change in the BCI-7 vs the BCI-6 are the Magenta and Photo Magenta which are lighter, the rest are the same. As for the BCI-8, they are all different.

I print lots of catalogues, and since many customers requires something different I use an inkjet. Also some of the catalogue are in limited numbers and it does not pay to have them professionally printed. I also find that this way I can produce the exact look I want.

I print lots of images of gold and silver coins, which requires that the neutral colors be very balanced, even if skin tones are not great. Coins usually show a gradual change in tone, and if the neutrals are not well balanced they look unnatural. It may not be very noticeable to the amateur, but a coin expert can notice the difference immediately.

As for the 500 plugs at a time, I also give them to friends, and if I have to order a few at a time, the postage will be greater.

If you change your mind on the cartridges, just let me know. The reason why I had offered them to you is that I find you are very analytical and to the point.

By the way I dont know if anybody has ever told you, you are a great help in contributing to this site, and I find you to be a gentleman.

Robert

 

[RC]

By the way, for those who are interested in printing catalogues on plain paper, and on both sides, the 4-color printers do a better job than the 6- color printers. The prints come out less soggy and not muddy looking. The best plain paper I have found is the HP Bright white inkjet paper. I also recommend the IP5000, for it has duplex printing, uses abut half or less ink than the I860 and the prints are more clear.

Robert