Abacus Ink

[neilslade]

I get lots of reports of good and bad company ink from alternative manufacturers.

Typically, the off the shelf generic ink is not suitable because each printer prints in a slightly different way- so you can't use the same formulas in Epson printers that you would in Canon printers.

The reliable and good alternative ink manufacturers (and these are never seen on store shelves- you have to order on-line or phone) custom make ink for specific printers, just like the big boys do.

Here is one typical letter about ink from one company that sells ink at really cheap prices- and we can read WHY -> Hi neil,
>

> I saw some of your comments on dpreview and also visited your site -
thanks
> for a lot of good info.
>
> I have been using Abacus ink as an alternative to Canon's on my i950 and
> except for one problem have been very satisfied. They give a magenta cast
> and have to be severely tamed - - 15 to -20 in the controls and sometimes
> this throws off other colors. I have tried a variety of settings to no
> avail.
>
> Have you tested these inks? How does Inkgrabber compare? The Abacus
> cartrifdges are only $1.85 ea vs. $2.50 -- so cost is not a real issue
here
> and I probably should try a set of inkgrabbers. If you have any thoughts
I'd
> appreciate it.
>
> Abacus is at:
>
>
https://private.abacus24-7.com/(y5noe455bpdhtm45qgutdj55)/home.aspx?aspxerro
> rpath=/tpg.aspx
>
> Thanks
>
> Joe Arceri
> JoeMA on dpreview

MY RESPONSE:
I won't even bother with the Abacus-- as you've pointed out, the magenta is
screwed up-- and I suspect they get their magenta from the same place as
Colorbat, which had similar problems.

Both MIS, Computer Friends, and Inkgrabber brands have required no adjustment over Canon ink parameters, for my Canon s900 and i960 printers (and presumably all other Canon printers).

I would suggest you switch brands. there may be others, hopefully people will report their experiences here on the forum as well.

Thanks for your comments

Please join our new InkJet Stuff forum at:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/

we'll keep you posted of all new stuff!

Neil

 

[rduve]

The inkgrabber inks for my i9900 definitely are definitely off balance. Seems like the problem is with the cyan and photo cyan, resulting in a greenish hue. Does anybody have a suggestion which generic ink is the truest to the Canon originals for this printer?

 

[neilslade]

Yes, if you look at my ink test shootout page, I state that the inkgrabber cyan and photocyan are a slightly different hue than the OEM Canon and MIS cyan and photocyan.

For everyday use and casual photo use, this is not an issue-- for example, I print color CD and DVD graphics labels, and the color is just fine for those.

For more exact color of mid-tone grays and blues, I suggest using MIS cyan and photo cyan and the rest can be inkgrabber.

Specifically, the inkgrabber cyans are more cobalt rather than pure blue ultramarine, and this has an effect on mid-tone grays and can cause a green/blue tone in some printing- though not all.

Its not a bad idea to have some cheaper inkgrabber cyans around for less crucial purposes, then stick in the MIS for more exacting printing needs when they arise.
There's no problem mixing these carts, just keep in mind, you'll have to run one cleaning cycle or run a few prints (better for avoiding early waste tank error message) to get the color back through.

If you refill your carts with MIS, well, this is the cheapest way to go anyway, and then the cyan problem isn't an issue at all.

PS-- please note that the MIS carts are double the price of inkgrabber, although using a 4oz bottle to refill carts makes the ink half as expensive as inkgrabber. The MIS cyans are as close to Canon as I've seen-- Canon inks will give you absolutely neutral results-- but at a huge cost. For the small difference (indetectable for the most part) between MIS and Canon, its much more cost effective to make changes in printer/Photoshop settings rather than use the Canon ink. And bear in mind, these will be very very fine differences in color, indetectable by most people for most applications.