KMP Ink : Success - Now a question

[ghwellsjr]

I did not know at the time that I sent my sister the Inktec ink that it had a clogging problem. I had decided to switch to another pigment black ink because I believed that it would smear when a highlighter was used on it. Here is where I first mentioned changing from Inktec pigment black ink to another supplier:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=15575#p15575

It was over a year ago that I sent her the Inktec ink. Here is the first mention of the Inktec pigment ink having a clogging problem:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=26813#p26813

What's funny about this is that it turns out that the Inktec pigment black ink did not have a problem with highlighters which I didn't figure out until just a couple months ago:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4960

So if I had known this earlier, I would not have sent the bottles of the Inktec ink to my sister, I would have instead purchased the small syringe/bottles of black pigment ink just like the syringe/bottles of Inkted dye ink that I sent her. She did not need to have highlighter smear resistance for what she is using the ink for so it wouldn't have mattered to her if the Inktec ink had the highlighter smearing problem.

 

[websnail]

Alligators, swamps and concrete shoes aside I figure the reason the earlier inks were more prone to clogging probably comes down to basic common sense ie: larger nozzles, larger pigment particles, and possible subtle chemical differences that promoted clogging together... but it's a wild assed guess at best..

It is always interesting to see the other side of a maintenance or printer longevity issue though as I know I've rarely considered the potential for waste ink pads to clog up and create what amounts to a concrete dam. The likelihood for backups, printhead soiling, etc then becomes quite a scary prospect so food for thought indeed.



BUT... we're on a different topic here, namely KMP inks so if you lot don't mind me dragging you kicking and screaming back on topic that'd be good...

So, the question remains, does anyone feel it's worth me splashing out for both types? I'm guessing the answer depends entirely on whether the specialist stuff is any good and/or improves on the generic version, which apparently does the job anyway...

My guess is that we're ok with the generic so I think that's my start point and if, as I said, I can get a limited amount of the special blend we can do some testing to see what's what.



Any other comments (on topic ones that is! ).. ?

 

[ghwellsjr]

I have purchased another ten used MP780's and none of them had clogged purge systems. Most of them used Canon OEM inks and a couple had third party cartridges and one had refilled carts. I have replaced the ink absorber pads in two of them and in an MP760 that a friend had that used my Inktec pigment ink refilled cartridges. The two MP780's were at 44% and the MP760 was at 38%. The MP780's had ink saturating the absorber pads in the vicinity of the purge pump and soaking up into the pads that straddle the length of the printer and no evidence of any kind of dam building up. The MP760 only had ink in the area of the purge pump and it was thick like yogurt and did not soak up into the pads that straddle the printer. The purge pump deposits the ink in a hole in the pads and these were dry for the MP780's and had thick deposits of ink forming a dam for the MP760 and the tube running through the peristaltic purge pump was clogged. So I'm confident that the Inktec ink is different from the OEM ink.

So Websnail, I think you can see my reason for wanting to test the KMP ink. In fact, I'm going to change my mind and request a liter of both kinds of KMP ink so that I can test both. I sure don't want to be supplying all my friends with another round of ink that clogs their purge systems and having to replace all their absorber pads prematurely a few years from now.

 

[websnail]

So Websnail, I think you can see my reason for wanting to test the KMP ink. In fact, I'm going to change my mind and request a liter of both kinds of KMP ink so that I can test both. I sure don't want to be supplying all my friends with another round of ink that clogs their purge systems and having to replace all their absorber pads prematurely a few years from now.

Totally understand... The only trick is that unfortunately trying to get responses from KMP is like trying not to smack your head on a wall when running at it... Poor analogy but I feel like that's what I'm doing..

What I've opted to do is buy an initial stock of the generic ink as that's the one that apparently everyone has raved about...

Probably worth noting though that the KMP pointed out that the "special" blend is intended to match the qualities of the OEM as closely as possible so my guess is that the special stuff is actually not going to have the qualities that make the KMP generic ink so popular.

To be honest my main concern is that the distributor for this stuff requires a calendar in terms of response times and it's a lot of hard work to get a reply so I think start small and expand later if things work out.

 

[websnail]

Right... Just to update...

I finally have a proper price list (minus any shipping costs) and with a little luck I should get some final costs in the next couple of days so I can place an order to get stock in.

As an initial foray into the world of KMP I'm getting the universal ink in in a reasonable quantity and a litre each of the PGI-5 and PGI-220 pigment blacks that are supposed to be a closer match.

Depending on what folks decide they actually prefer I'll then figure out how often and how much to stock on a regular basis...

 

[ghwellsjr]

Thanks for your efforts. I, for one, really appreciate it.

 

[websnail]

Good grief Charlie Brown, this thread reads like a trek across the Himalayas but I can finally confirm that I have an order placed so probably 2 weeks before it's here and available.

Price wise...

Universal:
100ml 4.95
250ml 11.95

iP4200 Specific
100ml 6.25

iP4600 Specific
100ml 8.50


I'll do litre amounts (or larger) if required but right now this takes into account bottling, the sheer amount of work involved in getting someone to actually sell to me and all the associated scutt work... It should come down depending on what happens with actual sales and Euro / Shipping costs.



I do hope this has been worth it... *collapses in large heap*

 

[NoixPecan]

My concern about the different kinds of pigment black ink is [...] whether they will clog the waste ink absorber pads.

What does it mean for absorber pads to be clogged ? Do they become saturated with ink before the waste ink counter says so ? Can they still be washed ?

 

[ghwellsjr]

Ink is supposed to soak through the absorber pads until they are all saturated but the Inktec pigment black ink would not do this. Instead, it would only soak into the very beginning of the pads and build up a thick barrier right at the point where it was deposited preventing any further ink from flowing out of the purge pump. It would then clog up the tubing in the purge pump and in the purge pads where the print head parks. Eventually there would be no more printout from the pigment black. The waste ink counter was around 40% when this happened on a friend's printer that was not routinely cleaned with Windex. On my printer which had a lot of Windex deposited on the purge pads, the clog never happened but the waste ink counter reached 100% and shortly thereafter, the waste ink was overflowing out the bottom of the printer.

I would not recommend washing the waste ink absorber pads since you can buy new ones for $7 from Canon.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Good grief Charlie Brown, this thread reads like a trek across the Himalayas but I can finally confirm that I have an order placed so probably 2 weeks before it's here and available.

Price wise...

Universal:
100ml 4.95
250ml 11.95

iP4200 Specific
100ml 6.25

iP4600 Specific
100ml 8.50


I'll do litre amounts (or larger) if required but right now this takes into account bottling, the sheer amount of work involved in getting someone to actually sell to me and all the associated scutt work... It should come down depending on what happens with actual sales and Euro / Shipping costs.



I do hope this has been worth it... *collapses in large heap*

This is great news.

I would only suggest that you link the iP4200 ink to the PGI-5Bk cartridge and the iP4600 ink to the PGI-220Bk cartridge.