Can i convert ix6550 to use pigment inks ?

Hi

People are successfully using the Epson 1400 with pigment inks in refillable cartridges and CISS though that printer was designed and marketed for use with dye inks.

SO - what's stopping me from using pigment inks with the Canon ix6550 which is the equivalent model to the Epson 1400 ? Is it possible to test this theory by attempting to use refillable cartridges loaded with pigment ink on the ix6550 ?

If i select the CMYK dye replacements carefully from reputable pigment ink manufacturers like Image Specialists - will they in theory work ? This printer has 2 black cartridges with one black designated a pigment ink type which runs successfully through the print-head, so why not the other black and CMY cartridges too ? (BTW - Epson 1400 users report considerably reduced / to no nozzle clogging issues when using IS pigment inks for example)

If not - then why not - what could go wrong ? All i'm expecting is to need to do some colour calibration and profiling. Why can the Epson 1400 printer handle the pigments inks and yet the Canon ix6550 wouldn't be able to do so ?

Let me know what you think.....

thanks

n

nicholson
SO - what's stopping me from using pigment inks with the Canon ix6550 which is the equivalent model to the Epson 1400 ? Is it possible to test this theory by attempting to use refillable cartridges loaded with pigment ink on the ix6550 ?

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There is no reason in the world why you shouldnt try it at least you would have given it your best shot, then you can get back to using your dye inks.

What I am saying is it will work but not for long (in fact very short) and youll then have ink you can no longer use, so do you really think its worth finding it out the hard way.

There are two solutions to your problem either get yourself an Epson 1400 and convert that to pigment ink or go all out and get a Canon 9500 which is already designed to works with pigment ink.

Trying to convert your iX6550 to pigment is a bit of a gamble and if you dont watch it very carefully then the result will be that youll lose the print head and thats going to be expensive to replace.

The bottom line is that the iX6550 is not designed to be used at all with pigment inks
and neither is the print head simply because its a are complete different Animal to an Epson 1400..

Canon has a different type of print head than Epson does. Thermal print heads are less forgiving when using the wrong ink, Epson piezo printheads can use pretty much anything that's not going to damage it (solvent inks, etc). T-shirt printers even modify these things to use white ink to directly print on dark fabrics, though a white ink modification is pushing the limits of the printer, you can't ever let it sit for more than 24 hours or your printhead is ruined.

A thermal print head has to be specifically designed to use the pigment inks. The non-photo black tanks for most consumer level Canons are pigment running through a thermal head, but it's designed for that specific ink.

Yes you can.
But not with some standard pigment ink for Canon
You would need specially designed pigment ink suitable for sponge refill cartridges and two pass printing system.

Take a look below
This sample is done in two pass with Canon iX 6550 + sponge refill cartridge + Artist III pigment low density Pigment ink for Canon
Can you see how color are rich and saturated?
For the same effect on Epson you definitively need some expensive RIP software if it is available.

INKJET ARTIST said:

Yes you can.
But not with some standard pigment ink for Canon
You would need specially designed pigment ink suitable for sponge refill cartridges and two pass printing system.

Click to expand...

The Hat said:

The bottom line is that the iX6550 is not designed to be used at all with pigment inks
and neither is the print head simply because its a are complete different Animal to an Epson 1400..

Click to expand...

Let's not get a head of ourselves by promoting the use of pigment inks in a Canon dye printer, experiment by all means but you’ll some find it troublesome and a total waste of time and can cause the loss of the print head, success will be short and painful..

It is not a problem of print head. Print heads heaters are the same
Problem is in sponge in refillable cartridge and suitable driver. Since you do not have a RIP for ink saturation you need to adjust ink flow in sponge to the same rate like it is with a dye ink
In that case you loose normal saturation. But in two pass you get it back.

Or in fact you do have a problem with print head since it has 3 different droplet size and the lowest droplet size is very dependent on pigment ink saturation or formulation and ink flow through some Chinese sponge in refillable cartridge. So once again you need to design pigment ink formulation to be suitable to this sponge. Because you can easy get in problem that 2 droplet size are working. And 3 rd don't

And as you knew Canon Pro1 has only one droplet size. So you can not use the same pigmented inkjet ink

What part of "No" is it, that you don’t understand, it doesn’t work successfully, that’s a very simple statement so doesn’t try to confuse guys with your concept of how to print..?
This is an old post, so why bring it up again..
Canon printers are not designed for that type of work, so drop the subject...

The Hat said:

What part of "No" is it, that you don’t understand, it doesn’t work successfully, that’s a very simple statement so doesn’t try to confuse guys with your concept of how to print..?
This is an old post, so why bring it up again..
Canon printers are not designed for that type of work, so drop the subject...

Click to expand...

Canon iX6850 is almost the same printer still in production. You can get if for €130
The problem is the same