Water ink. The most important facts about printer ink

Having decided to buy a color inkjet printer, the buyer inevitably faces the problem of choice. And not surprisingly, many printers from different companies are now being produced, with a different number of colors, with different type ink. What printer to choose?

First and most important tip. If you do not have unlimited finances, first look at the online consumables store AdisPrint.ru Find out which printer models already have compatible ink, refillable cartridges and CISS. So that it does not happen that you buy a hot new product, and compatible consumables for it are not yet released. And you will have to buy only expensive original cartridges.

Now let's try to determine the type of ink. Currently, there are two types of ink for home printers, pigment and water soluble. So what is the difference between them? In water-soluble, a substance that dissolves in water is used as a dye. In pigment, a substance that is not soluble in water is used as a dye. For clarity, let's take a household example. If you take a spoonful of sugar and pour it into water, it will dissolve and the water will remain clear. Water-soluble ink is produced according to this principle. And if you take a spoonful of flour and pour it into water, it will not dissolve in water, small particles of flour will be in the water in the form of a suspension, the water will remain opaque. Pigment inks are made according to this principle.

Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages of water-soluble ink is the lack of moisture resistance. If you print text on office paper and get water on it, the ink may "float", the text will be slightly blurry. Things are better with photographs, some photo paper is waterproof. Photos printed on such photo paper will be moisture resistant.

Another disadvantage of water-based inks is UV fading. But this is a long process. Epson claims 100 years of light fastness for their ink, provided photos are stored in an album. Even if your photo hangs in the apartment, in a frame, it is already protected from UV rays. window glass. Therefore, you should not worry too much about this shortcoming either. The main advantage of water-soluble ink is a more natural color rendering. When printing a photo with water-soluble inks, they are absorbed deep into the photo paper, mix well with each other, and natural shades of the primary colors are obtained. The photo is resistant to mechanical influences. Water-soluble ink printer - Epson Stylus Photo P50 with CISS.

The main advantage of pigment inks is higher light and moisture resistance compared to water-soluble inks. But they also have disadvantages. Multicolor pigment inkjet printers good quality photo prints are usually very expensive. Cheap models of inkjet printers are usually four-color. Therefore, the quality of printing photos is not the highest. Inks of different colors mix worse than water-soluble inks. In addition, getting on the surface of photographic paper, the pigment is not absorbed into it deeply, it remains on the surface and there is a possibility of accidentally erasing it from the surface of photographic paper. Therefore, you need to use special photo paper for pigment ink. When you print with water-soluble ink on glossy photo paper, its surface remains glossy. When printing a photo with pigment ink, the glossy surface of the photo paper will be covered with a matte finish. Some printers, to overcome this shortcoming, used a gloss optimizer that was applied over the photo to eliminate the matte effect. Pigment ink printer - Epson Stylus S22 with CISS.

Summarizing what has been said. Water-soluble inks are not as light and moisture resistant as pigment inks, but they are better suited for printing photographs. They are cheaper than pigment and compatible with a wide range of photo papers. Pigment inks are noticeably more moisture and light resistant, but less suitable for printing photographs. Also, they are more expensive and require specialized photo paper.

Very often the buyer asks what ink you would recommend for my printer! From experience, on any 4-color printer, you can install CISS or PDA (Refillable Cartridge Kit) both on pigment (originally native) inks and on inks based on soluble dyes (also called "dropsy", "water-soluble", etc. .d.). What can not be said about photo printers, originally using ink based on soluble dyes, pigment, according to the few experiments that have been carried out, it does not work well!

WHAT IS PIGMENT INK?

The coloring matter in pigment ink is a water-insoluble organic, or more commonly inorganic, compound (usually special types of carbon black). Pigment is colored solid particles that have the characteristics of a solid body, such as volume, diameter, etc. Pigments are used in ink in a very fine form: the particle size is less than 0.1 microns (for example, the thickness of a human hair is about 50 microns). The particles are so small that they freely pass through the nozzles (diameter 15-50 microns) of the nozzle plate of the print head.

Pigment particles are not wetted by water (hydrophobic) and no matter how small they are, when thrown into water, they will stick together (flocculation or agglomeration process) and precipitate (sedimentation). To prevent this from happening, a special component is added to the ink - a dispersant, which helps the pigment to stay in the water in a suspended state and not precipitate. This physical difference from dye-based inks causes pigment inks to look different in a clear vessel and appear hazy rather than clear. As a dispersant in Lately more commonly used polymer materials(not ionic manufacturing technology). A long polymer molecule has one end (non-polar) adsorbed on the surface of a pigment particle, while the other end is in water. In this way, the pigment particles are protected from sticking together (spatial protection). In addition, pigment particles are well fixed on paper and do not crumble after drying. However, when using non-ionic ink technology, the pigment retains the properties of solubility in water (the ink can flow when exposed to moisture). When using ion technology, the pigment is stabilized by an ion-containing polymer by the mechanism of a double electric layer with a neutralizing component, and the resulting image becomes waterproof.

Advantages and disadvantages of pigment ink:

• The stage of pigment grinding in special bead mills, dispersion, stabilization in solution are additional stages in the production of pigment ink, which leads to an increase in labor intensity and an increase in the cost of the process. Solid particles are abrasive, like any solid body, so cartridges fail earlier.
• Coated paper does not print as bright and saturated as dye-based inks. This is due to the duller color of pigments compared to dyes. When printing with dye-based ink, the fibers of the paper are stained, and the solid pigment particles are fixed on the surface of the fibers or “fall through” between the fibers, i.e. there is no continuous staining. Pigment inks are not suitable for printing on transparencies due to long drying times and poor adhesion (i.e. they do not stick to the film evenly).

But these are only their shortcomings. There are also huge benefits:

• Printing is clearer, characters do not blur even on the worst paper.
• And most importantly - the images are light-resistant and waterproof. This makes pigment inks indispensable when printing images for outdoor use. That is why they are called outdoor.

You need pigment ink if:

• The main work performed on the printer is printing on plain paper, whether it be documents, images, tables, graphs, etc.
• Do you print advertisements, flyers, and other material that will be exposed to external environments(moisture, sunlight, etc.)
• We need bright and colorful images on plain paper, see the images attached below.

You need a dye-soluble ink if:

• You will use the printer most of the time to print photos using glossy, matte, or other specialty paper.
• Your printer is designed to use dye-soluble inks.
• Much more.

Test photos were printed on Epson printers Stylus Photo R290 using InkTec E0010 ink and Epson Stylus T27 printer using InkTec E0007 ink. Two identical images were printed with the settings in both cases: quality: Photo, paper type: plain paper, color correction was not applied.

Printing sample with water-soluble ink on plain paper. Scans of print made on Epson Stylus Photo R290, ink based on soluble dyes.

Sample print in pigment ink on plain paper. Scans of print made on Epson Stylus T27, pigment ink: 874x1200, 206 kB. It can be seen from the scans that on plain paper, pigment ink wins, brightness, saturation and other indicators are much higher than the same print on ink based on soluble dyes!

Scanned photos, on Epson Glossy Photo Paper 10x15, 225 g/m:

Unfortunately, a scan of glossy photo paper cannot show the difference in prints, additional photos will be taken, after which they will be added to the article. The difference can be described as follows. The pigment gives a less bright picture, the shine of glossy paper is lost, the photo is lighter, it seems that the print was made on matte or semi-glossy paper! The photo on ink based on soluble dyes is bright, clear, and the shine of the gloss is perfectly visible. Conclusion: for printing on glossy paper, inks based on soluble dyes ("dropsy") are more suitable!

Pigmented and water soluble. Ink for inkjet printers.

Most often, when choosing a device for printing at home, preference is given to inkjet printers or inkjet MFPs. These devices use special inks, which, when mixed, allow you to create fairly high-quality prints. It is clear that not only the quality of printing, but also the durability of the printer depends on the quality of the ink.

Pigment and water-soluble inks

The first ink used for inkjet printing was water-soluble. They are a dye dissolved in a liquid. The advantage of these inks is their low cost, but the prints obtained with their help do not differ in quality. It often happens that the picture is “blurred”, this is especially noticeable when using cheap paper. In addition, copies are extremely short-lived, they quickly fade.

In an effort to meet the ever-increasing demand for affordable yet high-quality printing, HP has created a fundamentally the new kind inkjet ink, so-called pigment ink. Their main difference is a special dye. Synthetic pigments act as such. They do not dissolve in a liquid, like an ordinary dye, but are contained in it in a suspended state.

Unlike ordinary ink, in which the paint is absorbed into the paper along with the liquid, the pigment settles on its surface, sticks to it, moreover, exactly in the place where the color dot is supposed to be.

The composition of the ink is selected in such a way that the particle that sticks to the paper is securely fixed on it. This ensures that the print will be contrasting for a long time, the color is bright and juicy. And given the fact that the size of one pigment is negligible, it does not exceed 0.15 microns, the quality of inkjet printing increases many times over. It is safe to say that inkjet printing using pigment inks is approaching laser printers in terms of clarity and contrast.

An additional plus is that printing with this type of ink is possible on paper of any quality. The print will look great both on office paper and on a cheap envelope.

The development of a new type of ink was hampered by the need to stabilize the suspension. It was necessary to prevent the pigment particles from sticking together and not settling to the bottom of the cartridges. These phenomena are known as adsorption and sedimentation. In order to achieve a good result, chemical stabilizers were introduced into the composition of the ink.

The range of pigment inks available for sale is very wide. Even inks are produced that have water-resistant properties that ordinary water-soluble inks certainly cannot have.

Of course, the production process of pigment ink is much more complicated than the production of conventional ink, their price is higher, but the quality is noticeably higher. To keep the price down, some manufacturers offer a mixed version. These are ordinary water-soluble inks, into which a certain percentage of pigments is introduced. The inks are cheaper, but do not have all the properties that are present in real pigment inks. They are not resistant to water, prints quickly fade.

But not everything is so rosy, pigment ink also has disadvantages.

1. It is not advisable to use them for printing official documents. Due to the fact that the pigment only sticks to the surface of the paper, it can be scraped off with any sharp object.

2. For the same reason, film printing is not possible. Particles practically do not stick to its even, smooth surface.

3. The use of these inks is bad for the life of the printheads. This is due to the abrasive properties of suspended particles.

Printing sample with water ink.

Printing sample in pigment ink.

A sample of printing with water-based ink and pigment on photo paper. On the left, water, and on the right, pigmented.

Correct - a guarantee of long-term operation of the cartridge

Many of those who use inkjet printers have experienced problems. Sometimes, recently filled with expensive ink, the device refuses to work. The printer does not print, or stops after printing multiple sheets. The problem can be solved only by replacing the cartridge. Most often, ink manufacturers are accused of poor product quality, but the reason may not be in them.

Perhaps many do not know this, but the cartridges used in the devices of most leading manufacturers were not originally designed for refilling. Manufacturers deliberately reduce the price of the printer, hoping to make money on the sale of original cartridges.

That is why cartridges are very sensitive to mishandling. They break easily, therefore, when refilling an inkjet cartridge, you need to be extremely careful. This is especially true for filling with a syringe. This procedure is very responsible, in no case should you rush. Do not press hard on the plunger of the syringe. The pressure must be minimal.

Cleaning should not be neglected either. This step can only be skipped if the cartridge was refilled with regular ink and will be refilled with regular ink as well.

Like ink, cleaning fluid is also subject to high demands. There are many manufacturers on the market, it is often difficult to choose the best among them. Here it is worth conducting an experiment, drop ink on the glass, let it dry and place the glass in a cleaning liquid. A good liquid will dissolve the ink and color itself, a bad one will peel off the ink, they will float in flakes in it.

You can sum it up. The use of good ink will certainly please you with high-quality prints, but only if no gross errors were made at the refilling stage. Carelessness in relation to a refillable cartridge may lead to the need to purchase a new one.

How to visually distinguish photo ink (water-soluble) from pigment ink?

Depending on the type of the latter, hp printer inks are divided into two main types:

Water-soluble - made on an organic dye that dissolves in water.

Pigmentary - on pigment dyes that are not soluble in water and form a suspension.

Often, users do not know which ink for hp is better, and cannot make a choice even on https://www.vseprintera.ru/ink-for-printer-hp/, where consumables are presented in a wide variety. To facilitate the task, you should know the features of the first and second options.

Water-based dyes

Such liquids have several important advantages:

Reproduce a bright, rich, colorful image;

Perfectly absorbed into paper;

They dry quickly (the print does not get dirty);

Allow to use any photo paper (matte, gloss, super gloss) and art paper;

They have a completely homogeneous consistency and easily penetrate the nozzles of the print head without clogging it.

The disadvantage of paints is that they spread on ordinary paper, especially if the sheet is damp or water gets on it. Therefore, it is not always possible to print fine details (lines, font, symbols, etc.) with high quality. In addition, prints fade quite quickly in the sun, so they need additional protection.

Pigment dyes

Pigment is colored solid particles of a very small size (less than 0.1 microns), due to which they freely pass through the nozzles of the head. HP pigment inks offer very high quality printing, comparable to laser. Their main advantages:

Water resistance (prints, even made on plain paper, do not spread under the influence of moisture);

The widest range of shades of colors, more realistic color reproduction, the accuracy of transmission of small fragments and lines;

UV resistant;

The ability to firmly fix on a matte surface.

The disadvantages include the relatively high cost. Also, if you want to buy pigment-based hp printer ink for printing on glossy media, it's not worth the risk. The pigment does not adhere well to such a coating and begins to crumble.

Before switching from pigment inks to water-soluble inks, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the CISS head and ink tanks. When working with pigment liquids, you should especially carefully care for the equipment.

Both types of inks can be used in Hewlett-Packard devices: as a rule, water-soluble inks for printing color material, pigment inks for black-and-white documents. But mixing them is not recommended. In general, inks for refilling hp cartridges are selected based on the tasks that you want to perform.

Summing up

As practice shows, water-soluble inks for hp cartridges are excellent for photo printing (even professional ones) and for home use. If you need to create high-quality matte photographs, as well as tables, diagrams, drawings and other products for which accuracy and detail are important, use pigment paints.