Ultra K / Ultra black pigment ink from Precision Colors

[Token]

So, after ~18 months, and several 4oz bottles, its time to buy some new ink for my ip4500 and ip3500.

I was going to simply buy the same thing I bought last time, from Precision Colors, but I noticed they had a new pigment black ink, called " Canon Compatible Ultra Black Pigment Ink ".

Has anyone used it and/or got any more information about it?

Thanks

 

[Token]

So, ah, nobody here has used it?

Not even mikling himself?

Bummer

I was hoping /someone/ would have some info.

 

[mikling]

I use it myself all the time now. I will not comment further on my product as it probably could be perceived as a commercial pitch.

Due to sometimes unavailablility at times and unpopularity. I have decided to discontinue this offering and stick to the 1128 and 1020 as of 09/2012.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Mikling, I see on your eBay store that you have two regular pigment black inks:

C1020P for BCI-3eBk and PGI-5Bk

C1128P for integrated head cartridges (PG30, PG40 & PG50) but you also include PGI-220 which is a tank-type cartridge like the BCI-3eBk and PGI-5Bk.

Is there really a difference between these two inks and would it matter if someone put the C1020P in a PGI-220?

Then your Ultra-K is listed for all the tank-type cartridges. Can you explain all this?

 

[mikling]

The standard stuff like the 1128 and 1020 is what Image Specialists recommends and I stick with this for the mainstream. The 1128 is recommended by IS for cartridges newer than the PGI-5. As you may have noticed the 1128 is recommended for the newer printers as well as the integrated head cartridges. The 1128 might be superior in providing less solids buildup over time. I am not sure if this is or is not the case. Suffice to say that I have not had any issues with 1020 buildup since I have been selling this ink so again I am not sure if this is the issue or if the 1128 offers superior dry time..i.e dries faster.

The Ultra K is a special ink blend that I came up with after scouring all IS offerings. I have tested it for over a year with great results in providing darker blacks than the 1020 and 1128 with no long term issues. It was only after testing this blend that I decided that it was a nicer pigment black than the standard 1020 and now offer it to users who wish to have something darker than the 1020 with very similar properties. The dry time is similar to the 1020 and it prints darker and looks sharper.

If you're happy with the 1020 and 1128, by all means stick with it. The Ultra-K is somewhat like a boutique product. Nicer to have but not the must have. To some users it would not matter at all.

Hope that clears it up.

 

[Grandexp]

The Ultra K is a special ink blend that I came up with after scouring all IS offerings.

mikling: I just browsed through Image Specialists catalog for Canon on the web I could not find this Ultra K ink listed. Is this new ink from Image Specialists or is this an off brand ink? I have used WJ1128 and honestly it is rather gray than black. It's been OK as I throw away most of the prints. But I printed some tax forms recently. I wish the ink were darker like lasers. I ended up buying a Canon PGI-5BK for the tax job.

 

[mikling]

The Ultra-K is not an off the shelf product from Image Specialists but it is not an off brand either. It is as I described, custom blended by me of different inks they make that would be suitable for Canon printheads. It is similar to my PC-221 color inkset for the newest Canons. It is blended from inks that they make but offers superior color performance to the off the shelf offering they have. Where I see I can improve something, I try and see what I can achieve and will offer it after testing is successful.

In a similar vein is the KLARIAH pigment inkset that I have just profiled today with six of Red River's papers ( Nice paper BTW). Performance with this inkset and the staid Epson SP1400 allows this dye ink printer to be a first class pigment ink printer with performance that far surpasses its low price. The KLARIAH inkset is unique in that it is blended from various pigment ink colors to fill a niche market. You will not find it in Image Specialists catalog though it is purely Image Specialists ink.

 

[stratman]

The Ultra-K is not an off the shelf product from Image Specialists but it is not an off brand either. It is as I described, custom blended by me of different inks they make that would be suitable for Canon printheads. It is similar to my PC-221 color inkset for the newest Canons. It is blended from inks that they make but offers superior color performance to the off the shelf offering they have. Where I see I can improve something, I try and see what I can achieve and will offer it after testing is successful.

1. Is your Ultra-K entirely pigment ink, without dye ink?

2. How is its ability to resist smearing when a highlighter is used? Compared to the 1128 and 1020 pigment inks?

 

[Grandexp]

Thanks for clarifying. However, Image Specialists lists only WJ1128 and WJ1020 black pigment inks for Canon. How do you make out of the two a darker black ink? My understanding about WJ1128 and WJ1020 is they share a same pigment base. You have to have a pigment base that is darker. Now this new ink you formulated is more pricey than the 1128 or 1020. Does it use a different (darker) pigment base?

The reason I am asking is the prices of WJ1128, WJ1020 are the same as all other dye based inks. This is kind of strange pricing of Image Specialists. All other suppliers including Alotofthings (Sensient Tech or Formulabs), Inktec (Korean) and many Chinese brands that I used to use before all had higher prices for pigment inks and cheaper prices for dye based inks. The seller told me that pigment based inks cost more to formulate and I tend to believe in that. The Image Specialists has same prices for both. I am not suggesting that you begin to raise the price for WJ1128 and WJ1020 though. But judging from the gray text I got out of WJ1128 I wonder if the WJ1128 uses an inferior pigment base. Your motivation of making the Ultra K seems to confirm my suspicion about WJ1128.

 

[mikling]

Pigment ink is more expensive. Price competition makes black pigment a relative deal. I did not say that the Ultra-K was 1128 mixed with 1020, because your logic is correct, what would be the point of the exercise of mixing 1128 and 1020 anyways? That certainly would not make it darker.

It is entirely safe for thermal heads as it was made for those. It is a blend to achieve the properties I wanted...retention of the reliability of the 1020 and deeper blacks. I have been using it for over a year and am satisfied and I thought that others might want similar properties. So I offered it up for sale after my testing showed positive results.

Some users are willing to pay less than a penny extra per ml for it and others simply want what works long term and totally proven... the off the shelf stuff.

Is Ultra-K entirely pigment? as best as I can tell... it appears to be. Testing with my highlighters does not smudge it. I am happy with it.

Grandexp, I know you are intrigued but I cannot say more.