Help identify inks: BCI-3e or BCI-6 blacks

[Desdemona]

Hi,

I need some ink experts to help me identify a couple of bottles of ink. The
labels I had put on two little bottles of black ink fell off. How can I
tell which is the BCI-3e black and which is the BCI-6 Photo black?

Are there any telltale signs, characteristics (tests I can do) pertaining
to only one and not the other?

The yellow, cyan and magenta were easy .

-Desdemona

 

[Ron Cohen]

Wet a cotton swab with a little of the ink and then wipe it on a scrap piece
of photo paper. The pigmented ink (BCI-3e) will have a somewhat dull finish
while the BCI-6 black will have more of a shine.

 

[Desdemona]

Wet a cotton swab with a little of the ink and then wipe it on a scrap
piece of photo paper. The pigmented ink (BCI-3e) will have a somewhat
dull finish while the BCI-6 black will have more of a shine.

Thanks very much for your guidance. It worked out quite well. I was able
to distinguish between the two. The pigmented (BCI-3e) black did have
that somewhat dull finish to it. I then noticed that holding both up to
a strong light, the BCI-6 black was a bit see through as a reddish/
purplish black while the pigmented BCI-3e black showed no transparency
at all. Ah, there is a visible difference!

Desdemona