Hobbicolors ink - not particularly impressed!!

[BD]

Hey, all.

Using a Canon Pixma 5000. I blasted through dozens of photos, and the
results were outstanding.

I ordered the Hobbicolors ink, and as the Magenta cart drained first, I
chaned that one first. And, on the next photo I printed, I noticed a
significant difference. The greens were not as rich, for one thing.

Then the Cyan and Magenta drained, and I changed those out with
Hobbicolors ink and printed the same photo again. And, the resulting
image was different again. What had been a rich green now looks more
like pea soup.

If anyone's interested I'll post links to scans of some of the de facto
test images, printed with original ink and then with Hobbicolors.

But my issue is that I'd been led to believe that the color gamut of
Hobbicolors was _very_ close to OEM. This is.... not...!

I think I will run those scans, and email them to Hobbicolors for their
opinion.

Any comments/agreements/protestations?

Thanks,

BD.

 

[zakezuke]

Hey, all.

Using a Canon Pixma 5000. I blasted through dozens of photos, and the
results were outstanding.

I ordered the Hobbicolors ink, and as the Magenta cart drained first, I
chaned that one first. And, on the next photo I printed, I noticed a
significant difference. The greens were not as rich, for one thing.

Then the Cyan and Magenta drained, and I changed those out with
Hobbicolors ink and printed the same photo again. And, the resulting
image was different again. What had been a rich green now looks more
like pea soup.

If anyone's interested I'll post links to scans of some of the de facto
test images, printed with original ink and then with Hobbicolors.

But my issue is that I'd been led to believe that the color gamut of
Hobbicolors was _very_ close to OEM. This is.... not...!

I think I will run those scans, and email them to Hobbicolors for their
opinion.

Any comments/agreements/protestations?

Interesting... somewhere around here I have scans of putting
hobbicolors wc8 ink in a non-cli8 printer. My experence thus far for
hobbicolors on the ip5200 has been mostly pleasent, save the pigment
black which to be honest i'm only 1/2 pleased with though i'm reserving
actual judgement till I get the real deal and compair. color though
seems to be spot on, but again this is wc8 and not what you bought,
well, not unless you accidently got wc8.

But do share your scans... i've never bought the older hobbicolors ink
for the ip4000/5000. I "was" thinking about buying some for my old
ip3000 but I'll wait till I get your information.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=12198835
http://www.neilslade.com/Papers/inktest.html

MIS is something I have used on the ip3000 and have given it to others
on the ip4000. It is something I would reccomend. Though I'm
surprised that your experence is only soso on the ip5000, but as we are
using different formulas I can't say it's impossible.

 

[BD]

But do share your scans... i've never bought the older hobbicolors ink
for the ip4000/5000. I "was" thinking about buying some for my old
ip3000 but I'll wait till I get your information.

I'll do them tomorrow - one with all oem, one after changing magenta,
one after changing the other two 'colors'.

Weee-yurd.

 

[frank]

I'll do them tomorrow - one with all oem, one after changing magenta,
one after changing the other two 'colors'.

Weee-yurd.

When switching from one ink product to another, it is best to make the
complete switch immediately-all carts must have the same brand of ink.
No mixing.
It appears your problem is that you're mixing oem with hobbicolors. I
use hobbicolors in my i9900. I use their carts and refill them with ink
specifically formulated for my i9900. My results are outstanding to say
the least.
Frank

 

[Tony]

I'll do them tomorrow - one with all oem, one after changing magenta,
one after changing the other two 'colors'.

Weee-yurd.

It's not uncommon for compatible inks to perform differently on different
paper. Have you asked the supplier which paper they recommend?
Tony

 

[BD]

When switching from one ink product to another, it is best to make the
complete switch immediately-all carts must have the same brand of ink.
No mixing.

Fair enough. I won't get too concerned yet. Really, though, I will
only need to change out the 6BK black to make that change effectively
complete. the 3e isn't used on photo paper (or so I've been led to
believe)...

 

[BD]

It's not uncommon for compatible inks to perform differently on different
paper. Have you asked the supplier which paper they recommend?
Tony

Not as yet. _But_ I'd be genuinely stunned if this much difference
could be accounted for by paper.

What I'll do is change out the 3BK, and then do a test print of the
image that's seemed so different. I'll post some scans, for all to
peruse...

 

[frank]

Fair enough. I won't get too concerned yet. Really, though, I will
only need to change out the 6BK black to make that change effectively
complete. the 3e isn't used on photo paper (or so I've been led to
believe)...

And I'd forget about sending Hobbicolor those scanned results as they're
misleading and meaningless. Best to wait until all of the oem ink is
completely flushed from the printhead and only Hobbicolor ink remains.
Then and only then you can start doing meaningful print comparisons.
Frank

 

[zakezuke]

What I'll do is change out the 3BK, and then do a test print of the
image that's seemed so different. I'll post some scans, for all to
peruse...

Besure to include some color blocks of each tank, or the spiffy nozzle
check.

 

[BD]

And I'd forget about sending Hobbicolor those scanned results as they're
misleading and meaningless. Best to wait until all of the oem ink is
completely flushed from the printhead and only Hobbicolor ink remains.
Then and only then you can start doing meaningful print comparisons.
Frank

Hmmmm... Fair enough - I'll do about 10 full-page prints and test
again.

*BUT* - if there were a process of 'flushing' ink through the heads,
I'd have thought that the difference would have been a little more...
progressive? - instead of *boom* change the cart and there's a big
difference right away.

Anyway... It's all rather irritating. Good thing I have a spanky new
ip4000 with original carts in case I need to print something 'good'
while I go through this breaking-in process with Hobbicolors...

 

[frank]

Hmmmm... Fair enough - I'll do about 10 full-page prints and test
again.

*BUT* - if there were a process of 'flushing' ink through the heads,
I'd have thought that the difference would have been a little more...
progressive? - instead of *boom* change the cart and there's a big
difference right away.

Anyway... It's all rather irritating. Good thing I have a spanky new
ip4000 with original carts in case I need to print something 'good'
while I go through this breaking-in process with Hobbicolors...

Didn't you state that you changed one cart to hobbi and left the others
oem, printed and saw the big difference? The heads will flush rather
quickly but its the mixing of the carts with different brands of ink
that will mess up any real comparison results.
Keep us updated, ok?
Frank

 

[BD]

Keep us updated, ok?
Frank

Okay - yes, I'm starting to catch up now. Brain not so good anymore.

I'll keep cranking stuff out, and hopefully keep track of what I'm
changing each time. Lots of variables here. 3 kinds of paper, 2
printers, OEM/aftermarket ink...

*whew*

 

[George E. Cawthon]

When switching from one ink product to another, it is best to make the
complete switch immediately-all carts must have the same brand of ink.
No mixing.
It appears your problem is that you're mixing oem with hobbicolors. I
use hobbicolors in my i9900. I use their carts and refill them with ink
specifically formulated for my i9900. My results are outstanding to say
the least.
Frank

Don't know the OP's problem, but I must be one
lucky person. When refilling HP cartridges you
definitely do not want to run the cartridge dry in
fact, refilling at maybe 1/2 full is a good idea.
I did that and my first try was successful and I
could tell little difference in the prints (not
saying someone else might be able to tell minute
differences).

I did the same with my iP4000. Took the
cartridges out when the yellow said empty, some of
the colors were 1/4 to 1/2 full, and refilled
them. At the same time I filled new cartridges
and put them in. No detectable difference in
color. The original cartridges (with mixed ink)
are back in and I cannot tell any detectable
difference. Ink in both case was from the
sometimes maligned Alotofthings.

The OP's problem could be a glitch in his batch of
ink, wrong ink for the cartridges, something the
OP did when refilling that he hasn't mentioned,
and least likely that the inks were incompatible
with the OEM inks if he used ink specifically made
for that printer.

Couldn't get more mixed up within colors and
between colors, than my experience. Paper in my
case was not a factor as I used the same paper for
photos and the same paper for general purpose
(cartoon prints).

 

[BD]

The OP's problem could be a glitch in his batch of
ink, wrong ink for the cartridges, something the
OP did when refilling that he hasn't mentioned,
and least likely that the inks were incompatible
with the OEM inks if he used ink specifically made
for that printer.

As it happens, I did order the incorrect ink kit - BUT the kit I
ordered still had BCI-6Y/C/M and BK. It was the 6-color instead of the
5-color kit, which I should have gotten. It has a couple of other BCI-6
inks, which I DID NOT USE (proof's in the levels on the bottles) - and
it did not have the larger black, which I believe is only used for
plain paper.

I discussed my error with the vendor, and with the exception of one
physically larger cartridge, and the absence of the 3eBK (which is on
the way) they confirm that the inks I got are correct for the 4000 and
5000 printers.

As to paper - I gotta say I'm NOT impressed with the Canon glossy
paper. I see the tracks from the pinwheels in the paper, and if I look
very closely at the printout, the 'blending' of the colors is extremely
rough. I've not confirmed 100% that this particular symptom happens
with OEM ink _and_ Canon paper, or just the Canon paper regardless. A
few too many variables here to exhaustively try every permutation.

But - the color here is still waaaay off. I was able to get it _closer_
to what the OEM printed, but only by a few adjustments to the image in
Photoshop - a specific adjustment to the Blue curve, and then some
saturation and contrast adjustments.

Still haven't gotten around to the scans I said I'd post - I have folks
over this evening, and I've been tidying all day.

However. I will get to the bottom of this.

One variable I haven't accounted for fully is the printer itself. I'm
testing on a new 4000 with OEM, and a used 5000 with Hobbicolors. Since
they both take the same ink types, I am not expecting _dramatic_
differences in how they behave and how they present color. So I am
tending to discount that as a variable.

But, I _could_ just pull all the OEM carts from the 4000 and put them
in the 5000. I dunno.

Anyhoo. Experiments continue. ;-)

 

[Yianni]

There is no need for flushing. One cleaning cycle or a few prints are
enough. Even one full page is enough.
The test, -as you stated in another post- should be done after you replaced
the c/m/y. No need for replacing the blacks. Then print the same image.

 

[measekite]

This is as I expected. Canon produces better results, had better
fadability, and will has the lowest chance of a print clog.