Powerchrome K3 on 1500W

GauffDeLieche

Getting Fingers Dirty
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
14
Reaction score
12
Points
28
Location
Hannut, Belgium
Printer Model
Epson 1500w
Up to now:
  • I performed 5 head alignments in a row before being rather happy with the result.
  • I performed a nozzle check where I discovered that the first line of the purple test had color fading: it started blue and ended with the correct purple color.
    So I verified my magenta cart and it was almost empty while all the others were 5/6.
    I filled it again.
    Removed all the carts and inserted them again.
    I Shut down the printer (because it tooks so much time initializing and throwing magenta ink in the pritter potty) and restarted it again.
    After the initialisation phase everything looks normal...
Now I really have to work. I'll print Datacolor target again to see whether banding issue is fixed and if I do not have magenta blotch anymore.

Martin0reg,
It's too early to give you my feelings. I've not yet printed a true picture. Only profinling targets so far.

Smile,
I did not get any issue with the OEM dye ink. Printer is new, it's only the 1st non OEM ink I try.
 

Smile

Printer Master
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
1,914
Reaction score
417
Points
253
Location
Europe EU
Printer Model
Canon, Brother, HP, Ricoh etc.
This is K3 inks from InkTEC that you are testing now?
 

martin0reg

Printer Master
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
1,058
Reaction score
746
Points
273
Location
Germany Ruhrgebiet
Hi Martin0reg,

I think might have experienced the exact problem that pigment printer manufacturers are trying to cope with: photo black looks like dark grey on normal and matte papers. This is the reason why pigment printers usually have 2 types of black: photo and matte black. Dye ink still looks very black on both type of papers, but pigment ink not: using photo black on matte papers will disappoint you.

The prints are made on my Epson 1500W with the CcMmYK sub set of the Inktec Powerchrome K3 ink, so I think you should be able to get that quality :thumbsup.
You are right..I had to learn some basics about pigment and paper..
- for plain paper and also for coated matte paper you need matte black. Not only to reach the deepest black (what I thought) but to get black at all and not a dark grey instead.
- matte black is different from photo black, these matte pigments are not in a "dispersion" and a sediment is building up very fast. So it is the matte black which is prone to clog very fast, not the photo black.
- beside photo printing on matte paper there is special downside of photo black: it will be suboptimal for printing text documents.
- on glossy or semiglossy paper ("resin coated" or "microporous") the pigment set with photo black prints really good and vibrant colors. And the gloss differential with powerchrome might be very low compared to others - but for the highest gloss with NO gloss differential at all you will still need dye ink, I think.
So there are many different pro's and con's to be aware of when comparing pigment and dye in practice!
 

The Hat

Printer VIP
Platinum Printer Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
15,618
Reaction score
8,691
Points
453
Location
Residing in Wicklow Ireland
Printer Model
Canon/3D, CR-10, CR-10S, KP-3
Hi Martin, I’d suggest you switch over to using a Canon printer for much better blacks, they are a lot more versatile and forgiving I find..;)
 

martin0reg

Printer Master
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
1,058
Reaction score
746
Points
273
Location
Germany Ruhrgebiet
Hi Hat ;)
I don't have to switch over as I'm already there...my canon's are indeed better for printing color photos and at the same time really sharp black text.
But with my R285 the next project is to fill it with ink for fujifilm drylabs, as this ink is rumoured to be similar to claria.. I am just decanting the 500ml bags from the carts...
 

pharmacist

Printer VIP
Platinum Printer Member
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
2,555
Reaction score
1,253
Points
313
Location
Ghent, Belgium
Printer Model
Epson SC-P800,WF-7840,XP-15000
Hi martin,

Let us know about your experiment. Is it true Fujifilm dry labs ink ? I hope you do some tests with prints exposed to light and air to see the fading or lack of fading compared to prints made with some other generic dye ink like OCP.
 
Top