Building a pure B&W printer... advice needed

[BWlover]

Sorry for the confusion... I am only using black dye ink (Inktec CLI-8 black). I diluted with 1% propylene glycol, 1% NH3 (max 5% household solution), 2% isopropanol.
If you use this ink, it turns out to have a rather warm character (a bit to the sepia side: mind you, definitely not sepia, just a bit in that direction), but the color is different for different types of paper. I already knew that there was an effect, but did not realize it was so strong. The above is on GP-501 paper. If I print on the high resolution paper (for which I have a rather odd weakness: it really like it, despite the fact it is a bit too thin for my liking; I will also try the matte paper) the tint is definitely on the greenish side.
Now my plan is too mix a bit of the BCI-6 black ink. The canon ink was definitely blueish. I hope that the Inktec ink will be either the same (than I mix it with the CLI-8 replacement ink) or more in the middle (than I don't have to mix). Does anyone have the BCI-6 black dye replacement ink and can tell you me what the color is (especially when diluted, put 'rubbed out' on a paper should also make it visible...).
I realize that if I make the 'perfect ink' (that is: the one I like personally the most - it will always be subject) it will be only in combination with a certain type of paper. BTW I am planning to go for a slightly cool tint. Perfectly neutral gray (from the gray card) looks a bit 'warm' too me: most people have this reaction. Apparently we are used to cool tint as 'gray'; could be entirely subjective also of course.
Many thanks for your inputs!

 

[ghwellsjr]

I have lots of Inktec black ink for BCI-6Bk cartridges. What exactly do you want me to do? I need to know the dilution ratio, what to dilute it with. I have the ingredients listed above but don't you also include some water? I need to know what kind of paper and how to apply it. I don't know what GP-501 paper is. Also, since I'm color blind, I'm not sure how I can tell if there is any tinting going on. To me, printing in greyscale with the normal color inks produces no color. I guess I could ask my wife and son to look at the experiment.

 

[BWlover]

You should be able to see it use a wet brush with some ink and then putting a line on photo paper. The GP-501 is cheap photo paper from Canon ('everyday photo printing paper' they market it here; I like because it is cheap (~22 euro 100 A4) and very white, maybe a bit too thin). Any photo paper should do for the 'main' colour direction. You can only see it after the ink is dry: so far all of them have been purple when diluted with water (tested from the cartridges). The original Canon ink is VERY blue when diluted...

 

[ghwellsjr]

How much dilution are you talking about? Do I need to mix in the other ingredients? I still don't know exactly what you want me to do. I need something like: take 20% dye black ink, 76% water, 2% isopropanal, 1% propylene glycol, 1% ammonia. The ammonia I have lists its ingredients as ammonium hydroxice and surficants. I don't think it is diluted. Will these other additives matter or can I just dilute the ink with water?

 

[BWlover]

Just with water: the other co-solvents are just for the ink cartridge and will hardly affect colour. Dilution can even happen on the paper itself: as long as you dilute it so much that you get a light gray: as long as it is black it is very difficult to see the tone (unless you have it is very small droplets like in a printer).

I have run into something interesting: if I compare the colours I have now with the colours of the 'nozzle check' or compare with a print with 'grayscale printing' (only black dots on my printer), the colours look pretty good, especially in B&W mode photographed with a digital camera, but a printed photo is still to light. I can easily fix it with levels and/or curves, but this is of course not ideal: the printer will print from the darker colours (C and M) and the result will be less smooth. I will make the colours a little bit more concentrated still next time. If two dark, this is not a real problem, since correcting the other way around will not affect the smoothness too much (the light dots are of course much less visible). I will wait until I have the correctly coloured ink before doing that since mixing and replacing all the ink is still quite a lot of work (much more than only refilling the catridges with ready-to-use inks).

 

[ghwellsjr]

You still haven't told me the dilution ratio. Do you just want me to take some dye black, put it in a bottle, brush some on photo paper, add an equal part of water, and keep repeating? You just want to know as it gets lighter and lighter, if the grey tones are pure grey?

 

[BWlover]

Dilution ratio does not matter really: just one big line until the brush runs out of ink... At the end (when it is thinner) you can see the color tone.
Wondering about it: I just received a pixma IP4700 printer yesterday. Took some ink with a brush carefully from the sponge. This is ink is rather neutral, bit blueish. Compared to the BCI-6 original ink: really quite blue. If I compare it to the CLI-8 Inktec black dye ink: this one is really brownish in comparison...

 

[ghwellsjr]

Are you saying to take undiluted ink on a brush and make a long line on photo paper until the brush runs out of ink?

 

[BWlover]

A slightly wet (soft is best) brush is best, but: yes...

 

[ghwellsjr]

Slightly wet with just ink or slightly wet with water before you dip it in the ink?