smearing

[jrsboone]

I recently bought refill kits from Atlantic Inkjet for my Canon iP4000. I was printing brochures on HP glossy brochure paper when after about 50 copies I noticed that each page that came out the black ink was smearing on the previous page as it slid across it.
At this point I stopped and let the print job set for a couple hours. Even after setting you can take your finger and smear the black text.
At this point I started testing the ink and also found that the ink would start to bleed if a drop of water was dropped on it. I used 3 kinds of paper, gloss, matte card stock and plain paper, I got the same results.
I e-mail Atlantic Inkjet concerning this and was sent an RMA # for a refund, so that's something.
My questions are, has anyone run into this problem before and where is the best place to buy bulk inks of tested quality?
Thanks,
jrsboone

 

[Grandad35]

Did you try this paper with OEM (or any other) inks? Some papers have trouble absorbing certain inks, and the HP inks may be formulated to work with this paper.

It is also possible that you "overloaded" the paper with the AIJ ink - try lowering the "Intensity" setting by 10 or 20% and see what happens. You might be able to get away with just lowering the Black intensity and leave the other colors alone. I had a similar problem with the AIJ black on Kirkland photo paper (all of the ink wasn't being absorbed into the paper, giving a muddy brown mess on the darkest blacks). Lowering the black or overall intensity helped, but this lightened all of the colors. A second (replacement) bottle of the same black did not exhibit this problem.

Why not send several pieces of your paper along with a copy of a print with the color intensity that you need to several bulk ink suppliers and have them print your artwork using their inks? It is difficult to guarantee that any specific ink set will work on a given paper without testing it first. You also need to compare the appearance of the final print to your test print to make sure that the same ink coverage is being achieved in all cases.

Do you have the same problem when using the AIJ inks on a common photo paper (e.g. Kirkland)? If so, there are probably people on the forum who already have direct experience with various bulk inks.

 

[jrsboone]

Thanks for you response.
AIJ is the only brand I had trouble with. I dug up some older generic black cartridges and the ink was fine.
OEM inks were fine. Before I wrote in I tried lowering the intensity on the black, the job quality suffered ,also it would still smear and bleed if it got wet. I tried printing on a sampling of 4 kinds of paper and 4 different brands, all with the same results.
thanks for your ideas,

 

[Grandad35]

You certainly have done enough tests to point to this particular ink as being the problem.

I use Formulabs bulk ink and don't suffer from any problems with smearing, bandng, clogging, etc. It WILL exhibit a different color cast than the Canon ink, but no worse than the AIJ ink (although it will probably be different than the AIJ color cast). With a custom printer profile for the ink and paper, I get colors as good as with Canon ink for a fraction of the cost. Make sure that you get the "old" Magenta - see (http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=435) for details.

FYI, I have been keeping detailed records for 5 weeks, and I am averaging about one cart for each (12) 8x10s that I print (running to "Empty" - when the printer won't print any more). Using OEM ink, this would average to $1 per 8x10 photo for the ink. At an average of 10 CCs/cart/refill, I am using about 1 CC of bulk ink per 8x10 (allowing for spillage), or about $0.05 per 8x10 for bulk ink.

I know that others are likewise successful with other ink sets, but I will let them speak for themselves.

 

[drc023]

Don't forget that there are two distinct types of photo paper for inkjets. Microporous and swellable polymer. Microporous, a.ka. instant dry does not have a problem with ink smearing. The paper can be held under running water without damage to the image. Swellable polymer, like HP & Kodak, has no moisture resistance. Damp fingers will smear the ink regardless of how old the print is. More water, even a few drops will cause severe damage to the image and running water will completely wash the entire image and surface coating off the paper.

 

[fotofreek]

I've used MIS bulk inks now for about a year with good color match and no problems. Formulabs bulk ink is carried by Alotofthings. as granddad mentioned, be sure to get the "old" magenta. I've printed on Kirkland glossy photo paper, Epson glossy photo paper, Canon pro, Epson double sided Matte, and Staples photo supreme double sided matte. Good color response and no problems with smearing, etc. I did try Kodak paper a few years ago with my Epson Stylus Color 900 (dye-based) with OEM inks and got poor results with ink not drying and bronzing in dark areas. at that time I didn't know about the two main technologies of inkjet photo paper that drco23 described above. Probably the same problems you are experiencing with the HP paper.

 

[jrsboone]

I've read in alot of areas of this forum about the fact if you order formulabs ink, order the old magenta. Is there a item number or stock number to go by? How do I know if I'm getting the old or reformulated magenta?
Thanks

 

[drc023]

www.Alotofthings.com has Formulabs ink. The surest way to find out which magenta they are now shipping would be to email or call them. I've dealt with them for a long time and they are very easy to deal with. Hobbicolors.com doesn't carry Formulabs, but they are getting some very positive reviews from satisfied users. Their prices are excellent. You may want to contact them as well.

 

[Grandad35]

This post says to order (IJC-4420) Magenta, not (IJC-4424). I have noted this in my "Printer Supplies" file, but I have not actually used this number to reorder yet. Since the web site does not mention these numbers, you will have to place your order over the phone to get the proper ink.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2750#p2750

 

[jrsboone]

I found this on www.Alotofthings.com if anyone needs to know.

IJC-4424 vs. IJC-4420

Formulabs Canon compatible BCI-6 IJC-4424
Formulabs Canon compatible BCI-6 IJC-4420

Formulabs modified their very succesful Canon BCI-6 Magenta ink (IJC-4420) for unknown reasons. The result was an "enhanced", more vibrant color BCI-6 Magenta (IJC-4424) that did not meet the needs and desires of the majority of our customers. As a result , we no longer will carry the enhanced, more vibrant IJC-4424 BCI-6 Magenta ink from Formulabs.

Beginning August 1, 2005 all orders shipping with BCI-6 Magenta ink shipped with the IJC-4420 ink, the previous ink to the "enhanced", more vibrant ink.

The use of the "enhanced" IJC-4424 ink resulted in color shifts on a variety of media in several print modes commonly called red-shift. There is no risk of damage to the print heads in using the IJC-4424 ink.

If you purchased Canon BCI-6 Magenta ink from Alotofthings.com and Paradise Shareware between July 1 and August 29th you should have already received an email regarding the IJC-4424 vs. IJC-4420 ink.

If you did not receive this email please feel free to email us at support@alotofthings.com . Please include your order number in your email.