First try of pigment ink on the Canon 6600D printer

[pharmacist]

Smile I did, just check it a few hours ago. Hmmm, there is a guy in Canada and he sells pigmented Vivera compatible refill ink for the HP B9180 large format printer. I sent him a message, but I'm still waiting for a reply from him......

I cannot use the Epson style pigment ink, because bubblejet technology (Canon and HP) will boil the ink to make ink drops on the paper and I'm afraid the Epson ink will clog the printhead, since piezo based printheads pushes the ink onto the paper by sudden pressure changes from the vibrating crystal inside the printhead.

There I'm looking for guys who wants to supply me with ink samples from pigment based Vivera or Lucia pigment inks (OEM or aftermarket). Small amounts will suffice (about 10-20 ml per colour) of each of the CcMmYK colours.

The test with pigmented black in the PM CLI-8 cartridge works well, now the other colours and also on the long term and larger area's filled with ink. Those (ink resellers) who are willing to supply me with the inks will be rewarded with the exact specifications of the mixture I use for printing if the test will succeed.

After this I want to test the print results of test photo's in pair with those made with dye ink and see if there are any differences (bronzing, metamerism) between the 2 inks.

 

[Smile]

After this I want to test the print results of test photo's in pair with those made with dye ink and see if there are any differences (bronzing, metamerism) between the 2 inks.

I would suggest that colorimetric analysis must be done to ensure the prints are OK or better with pigment ink in comparison to the ones made with dye ink. I have all required equipment so I could assist you in this field.

The profiles would be made for "rewarded with the exact specifications of the mixture", please contact me if you are interested.

BTW I did not receive your answer to my pm about ink viscosity.

 

[pharmacist]

Finally I've got some colored inks for testing, see pictures below:

To show you that the cartridges have indeed pigment ink: have a closer look at the cartridges and not the difference in dye and pigmented ink. The pigmented ink looks milky (opaque) !

Now you can see the difference between light magenta and magenta: the left is printed with the light magenta, giving the picture a greenish cast and on the right the colors are on spot. This is amazing: true pigmented ink in Canon BCI-6/CLI-8 cartridges is possible and it so far -keep my fingers crossed- no clogging at all.

Only one problem with pgimented ink: the ink flow is lower than dye ink and therefore high speed printing is impossible. Look at the last picture where made a solid block of magenta in a Word document and use normal paper to print on.

I will update as soon as possible on this experiment, for the moment it looks very interesting and pigmented ink can be used in the dye based BCI-6/CLI-8 cartridges !!!

 

[lin]

hi pharmacist,

when you mixed dye + pigment, the mixed ink will have the characteristic of the dye as well.

So you need to include 'this' as part of your test after you have tried your mixture for all the rest of the color. Try gentle rubbing the photo printout and see if whether the pigment gets rub off massively or little. Otherwise you have have to find an appropriate photo paper that will accept your dye + pigment mixture.

Even for epson aftermarket compatible pigment ink, some are better then the other. Some have the tendency to rub off more than the other, while some have very good adhesion on photo paper. So you have to find suitable and appropriate photo paper.

However a point to note is that, most of the time, under normal circumstances, no one will ever go about deliberate rubbing their photo printout. It all depend on your intended purpose. For those that were printed with pigment ink that get rubs off easily, I wouldn't let the children or adult who may accidentally handle the photo roughly without any cover or surface protection.

 

[pharmacist]

Lin,

I'm using microporeus paper (Sihl X 280 gsm high gloss) which is 100 % compatible with both dye and pigment ink printers and does not smudge at all. So far it looks really great, and I can see even some gloss differentials on the print where the (light)magenta ink is sprayed on, which is a known problem with pigmented inks.

 

[lin]

Lin,

I'm using microporeus paper (Sihl X 280 gsm high gloss) which is 100 % compatible with both dye and pigment ink printers and does not smudge at all. So far it looks really great, and I can see even some gloss differentials on the print where the (light)magenta ink is sprayed on, which is a known problem with pigmented inks.

It is good that the current media (high gloss paper) that you tested on is taking your mixture well. But it's best that you include that 'gentle rub test' of your mixture on all colors and not just a single color on photo paper at a later stage when you manage to test on the rest of the color, this is just to be certain. As now your current dye-pigment mixture test, only cover the LM & M while the rest remind dye.

I am just suggesting the 'gentle rub test' so that you don't forget to cover that aspect in your pigment test.

 

[pharmacist]

Hmm, why should I test the gentle rub test ? This microporous paper is drawing the ink below the microporous ceramic layer and therefore it cannot be rubbed off. This is inherent with microporous papers to cope with both dye and pigment inks. The protective microporous surface is doing this.

The greatest problem now is that the ink is not so limpid as dye ink, making the ink feed to the printhead (the dye nozzles) a bit problematic at higher speeds (see last picture). I can try to reduce the viscosity of the ink, but this will increase the risk of precipitation of the pigment particles.

One thing: the last test page with the magenta block was put under the tap to see if the ink was bleeding. It does not, so I can conclude the pigment particles firmly adhere to the cellulose fibers of the paper. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of it to show it to you.

 

[lin]

Hmm, why should I test the gentle rub test ? This microporous paper is drawing the ink below the microporous ceramic layer and therefore it cannot be rubbed off. This is inherent with microporous papers to cope with both dye and pigment inks. The protective microporous surface is doing this.

The greatest problem now is that the ink is not so limpid as dye ink, making the ink feed to the printhead (the dye nozzles) a bit problematic at higher speeds (see last picture). I can try to reduce the viscosity of the ink, but this will increase the risk of precipitation of the pigment particles.

One thing: the last test page with the magenta block was put under the tap to see if the ink was bleeding. It does not, so I can conclude the pigment particles firmly adhere to the cellulose fibers of the paper. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of it to show it to you.

If the media you used is good with your mixture test which doesn't rub off in anyway, then just ignore me my above-mentioned 'gentle rub test'. What matter most is your test at your end is giving you good result.

 

[pharmacist]

Besides: can you see the CLI-8 cartridges are 100 % backwards compatible with the BCI-6 cartridges ? Another clue that Canon just invented the chip to make refilling more difficult and to force you to buy new chips (that is: buy new cartridges) if the original chip had broke down after a while, even you do have a resetter. Hmm, not bad at all for Canon.......

 

[lin]

It's not really necessary for me to see your magenta water tap test. Whatever that works for you, is what really counts as you are the end user. I am happy for you that you were having good result with your dye-pigment mixture with media that works for your experimentation. Just carry on with your post and ignore me mentioning about the 'gentle rub test'.

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