Color Profiles of Alternative Inks

[neilslade]

I began doing another comparison of various inks today spurred on by subtle differences in colors I detected while printing out some CD labels today-- will update both on the site and here, providing printed color bar charts for easy comparison... stay tuned

 

[neilslade]

OKAY- I've added the MIS inks to my ink shootout page-

MIS remains my favorite ink, because it color matches Canon inks extremely closely, and at 1/12 the price when you buy 4 oz bottles and refill your carts.

Again, I use Computer Friends replacable blug rubber plugs to shut the refill hole however, because I do not like the MIS black rubber stoppers AT ALL! Too hard to handle.

 

[fotofreek]

Neal - I tried the Computer Friends plugs in the MIS carts and I couldn't get them to fit - plugs too large. Are you using these plugs in MIS carts??? I do use them in OEM carts and all but one worked fine. The one that didn't work well keeps trying to creep up after I seat it. Perhaps I damaged the fill hole when I tapped the ball into the reservoir. It still seals as I seat it and then use a piece of scotch tape to hold it down. The tape is not meant to seal the fill hole. It just holds the plug which makes the seal. Are there aftermarket carts that these plugs work in or do I just buy a new OEM cart and start over when it stops working?

 

[neilslade]

I've been pretty clear about this on my web site--

I DO NOT LIKE the MIS refillable carts-- never said I did. In fact, I state that the refill holes and plugs are a total pain in the ass.

The are partially recessed as well, so even though you may enlarge the diameter them with a small swiss type phillips head eyeglass screwdriver the diameter of the Computer Friends blue plugs, they may still not work with these plugs.

I recommend MIS ink, and FILLED carts only- which WILL work with the blue computer friends plugs easily.

If a blue plug creeps up, the hole is too small- just tap with the right size screwdriver and voila. No need to use tape ever.

You can refill Canon, inkgrabber, or any other standard cart and use the blue plugs--- except, as said, the MIS REFILLABLE carts, which are meant to be used with their ridiculous little black stopper plugs.

 

[hseeng]

You can refill Canon

Any problems refilling Canon carts that still have Canon ink in them with MIS ink?

i.e. The first time switching Canon carts over to after market ink. When the inks mix together is there any separating, thickening, changing colour?

 

[neilslade]

No problem mixing any inks, save the color variations-- extremely little between Canon and MIS, greater between Canon and inkgrabber cyan and photocyan only.

If you need EXACT mid-tone grays- stick with MIS
If this is not a great issue, inkgrabber is fine.

 

[fotofreek]

Neil - You mentioned refilling the MIS carts that come prefilled with ink. These are from China and arrive filled with an ink formulated in China which MIS says is comparable to OEM inks. What has your expreience been with ink color and compatability with the I960?

 

[Dennis]

Neil,
I REALLY enjoyed reading your web page on inks, papers, and photo quality inkjet printers. Per your recommendation, I purchased a Canon i960 to replace my H-P 720C, and LOVE it!! Now the dilemma: I now need to refil my OEM cartridges and wish to buy bulk ink. I wanted to use MIS, but the posts I've read here indicate recent viscosity problems with MIS and Colorbat inks, which is putting me off. What looks like an alternative is the Formulab inks.

What iis your opinion on my concerns? Do I really need to be concerned about using recent MIS inks in a Canon cartridge? How do Formulab inks compare? Have you tested these also?

I'm also interested in anyone else's recent experiences in this area.

THANKS!!

 

[neilslade]

Been using MIS ink for YEARS without ANY problem. There ink has been excedingly accurate in color and in my use.

The viscosity issue came up because some people started EXPERIMENTING with ALTERNATIVE DESIGN cartridges.

I used these myself - but stopped IMMEDIATELY because THEY ALL FAILED. The supplier (Colorbat for me) didn't even realize these carts were failing until I notified them of this fact.

I immediately went back to the STANDARD CART DESIGN, and using MIS ink continued to work without any issue whatsoever- in weird carts, yes- but then it didn't matter WHAT kind of ink you used. If MIS ink was too THICK-- then it should not have RUN- which is what some people are claiming -- and then others complaining its too thick--! It can't be both.


>>>>>>In my mind, viscosity was NEVER an issue-- trying to use weird ass designed carts was always THE issue.<<<<<<

I would never hestitate to recommend MIS ink, and I still continue to use it without any problem.

I am NOT a paid endorser of MIS ink in any way shape or form. Nor do I get free ink from them.

I do, in fact, not like the MIS refillable carts. I refill either CANON or INKGRABBER carts or COMPUTER FRIENDS carts using the nice little blue Computer Friends Blue Plugs to seal the ink refill hole.

Hope this clears up this issue about ink viscosity, at least in my experience- maybe I'm missing something, but.....

 

[Dennis]

Thanks for the rapid response, Neil!!! MIS it is!

Dennis