# Say What You Will About Cheap China Inks But...



## HeadhunterX (Oct 23, 2007)

You can say what ever you want to about cheap inks but here is proof they do exist and some do work so if you have never tried them don't knock them... I am also using 4 colors in an 8 color machine (Epson 7890) I had to do a little tweaking (but not much). I am using Colorgate 7 for a rip, Image Right Premium paper, I am using the stock Epson profile with a few tweaks for (enhanced double matte paper) China ink, 400 degrees @ 40 seconds, Med. pressure. Also these are some of the socks I have done , license plates, I have made mugs, shirts so far everything works like it should, so when someone preaches Sawgrass or nothing they are dead wrong.... I spent $400 for 8 liters instead of $2,000 for 8 liters. Oh, by the way the Hamburger Heaven shirt is for my restaurant and that is an actual burger I cooked and then took the picture, and then printed it.


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## HeadhunterX (Oct 23, 2007)

Wow!! 126 views and no comments... That has got to be a first....


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## daffyli (Apr 4, 2013)

I'm also using Chinese ink. I paid $200 total for a WF30, CIS and INK. After a few days of testing and finding the correct color profiles, the image quality is amazing. CHINESE INK for the win


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## infomatrix (Mar 28, 2013)

hello daffyli, may i ask were did you get the printer with cis and ink for $200?


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## Grovian (May 10, 2011)

Where did you find the inks?


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## Santana (Feb 3, 2010)

Where did you find the inks at? I'd be interested in these too. I don't do strictly shirts and if they work well on other mediums this could save some cost.


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

There are great quality inks coming out of China and surrounding areas, but there is also crap. It is dangerous advise to lump them all together. What brand of ink have you got - this is more important than it's country of origin surely in terms of advising others to use it.
We use InkTec which comes from South Korea.


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## 13 Stitches (Jul 31, 2007)

They look great!! I didn't even know you could buy direct and how would you find a great place to try. You wouldn't want to throw out even $200 each time in testing. Thanks for the pictures.


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## infomatrix (Mar 28, 2013)

i can get the same thing ( wf30 + cis + ink ) for around the same price ( $200 ) from cobraink.com (  we have to look out for each other ) but i would like to know were you got yours from...trying to compare, see which one i get...plus the cheap ( but decent ) china ink sounds intriguing....hope we get an answer..or at least a pm you know...cheers


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## HeadhunterX (Oct 23, 2007)

Sorry guys I somehow omitted the brand (NanoWin) when I copied and pasted that from the text file I was working on to go with the pictures. Just do a search and you will come up with several suppliers.


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## infomatrix (Mar 28, 2013)

Thank you headhunterx...appreciate it...


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## HeadhunterX (Oct 23, 2007)

No problem, good luck, hope it works out for you like it has me.


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## infomatrix (Mar 28, 2013)

hopes and dreams baby...hopes and dreams...


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## infomatrix (Mar 28, 2013)

for nanowin i found this..is it this one?..
Nano Digital Ink - An Ink Specialist


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## HeadhunterX (Oct 23, 2007)

Go here : INKWIN INKJET TECHNOLOGY( CHINA) CO.,LTD


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## infomatrix (Mar 28, 2013)

thank you for taking the time...God Bless....


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## HeadhunterX (Oct 23, 2007)

infomatrix said:


> thank you for taking the time...God Bless....


 
Same back at you!!


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## adninja (Jun 4, 2013)

This post came just in time. I am expecting some China inks right now (Lamborink) and I am glad to see that some people are getting nice results with China sourced inks. 

I am a wee bit worried about the ink since I only paid $42 for 600mL (100 per color for a 6 color printer), but the print proofs on their site looked great (easily staged, I know) and their customer service has been excellent so far. I'll be posting my results when I have them (around the end of the month).


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## obetski1977 (Dec 1, 2008)

HeadhunterX said:


> You can say what ever you want to about cheap inks but here is proof they do exist and some do work so if you have never tried them don't knock them... I am also using 4 colors in an 8 color machine (Epson 7890) I had to do a little tweaking (but not much). I am using Colorgate 7 for a rip, Image Right Premium paper, I am using the stock Epson profile with a few tweaks for (enhanced double matte paper) China ink, 400 degrees @ 40 seconds, Med. pressure. Also these are some of the socks I have done , license plates, I have made mugs, shirts so far everything works like it should, so when someone preaches Sawgrass or nothing they are dead wrong.... I spent $400 for 8 liters instead of $2,000 for 8 liters. Oh, by the way the Hamburger Heaven shirt is for my restaurant and that is an actual burger I cooked and then took the picture, and then printed it.


sir how do you get the right color for the gray... im having a 
problem on this color the gray color of my printing turns brown can u help me sir


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## obetski1977 (Dec 1, 2008)

do u use color profiling on that inctek ink?


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

Greys and reds are worst colours to achieve right. You need colour profile for your set up to get most of you rinks. I made custom icc's for few years now and i can tell you that any ink will give you descent results no matter where it came from as long as you have icc to tell your printer how to mix colours.


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## obetski1977 (Dec 1, 2008)

SaB said:


> Greys and reds are worst colours to achieve right. You need colour profile for your set up to get most of you rinks. I made custom icc's for few years now and i can tell you that any ink will give you descent results no matter where it came from as long as you have icc to tell your printer how to mix colours.


what is your printer by the way sir .. can u share me the icc profile that you are using realy need help sir thnx


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## kaboom713 (Sep 21, 2011)

Does anyone know where to get cheaper sub inks for Ricoh 7700?


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

obetski1977 said:


> what is your printer by the way sir .. can u share me the icc profile that you are using realy need help sir thnx


I use brother printer. You will need custom icc done to match colours correctly. 
What is your set up? Sp i see if i have anything for you??


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## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

SaB said:


> i can tell you that any ink will give you descent results no matter where it came from as long as you have icc to tell your printer how to mix colours.


The issue isn't getting "decent" colors. Dye sub is about brilliant colors that explode off the surface. In a competitive environment it is all about designs and colors. I could care less if ink is free if it only provides "decent" colors.

All inks are far from created equally not only considering what colors they can hit but as important their wear and tear on print heads.

Example - wide format shops clearly have a much higher total ink cost than desktop. Saving "x" dollars per liter can add up fast when you are burning through liters of ink yet I personally know of no wide format shops using no name Asian ink. Surely there are some out there but they would be in the minority.

If you are in a competitive envirnment that demands colors that pop - ink truly matters whether you are desktop, wide format or grand format.


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

I do agree with you. But that colours pop out or not it depends of the colour gammut. And i profiled loads of different inks in the passed and all of them had pretty much same amount of gamut. 
I can provide comparision of profiles if you like. But agree with you. If your colours not poping out then you wont achive to much in this business.


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

obetski1977 said:


> do u use color profiling on that inctek ink?


Yes, we make our own ICC profiles in house


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

Paul, I'd love to see a comparison of the different inks/printers you have profiled.


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

here they are. randomly picked but all 4 ink setups.
White shows sRGB color space. 
rest of the spaces are random printers profiled with different inks and papers. some of them with descent, high quality paper and some with cheap rubbish that is difficult to work with...


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## WindoraBug (May 29, 2013)

I don't think it is just bashing a certain origin of product. I know on my end it is more of having a reliable state side source of product that if there is a problem encountered, they will fix it at their cost. As well as having guaranteed arrival, and consistency for higher volumes. There's nothing wrong with being frugal and still producing quality, that's amazing when done correctly. But not all are able to gamble like that with volumes being shipped daily. 

Beyond those major reasons, my only other concern would be to test the cheaper inks against the big players inks in UV, water and corrosion tests, and beyond to see how well they compare. As mentioned you can dial in any ink/gel with proper profiling and taking the time. But will it still look that good after use/abuse? Just the only thought i'd have beyond support.


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## SaB (May 15, 2007)

very good points there! nothing will replace great support and consistency.

but reference to ink...
red color space is well known artanium ink in supported printer. it gave us excellent end products.
the yellow one is epson S22 with inktek inks. 

i can ensure you that both inks acting this same in dishwasher. perfect!


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## Cleolivia (May 3, 2013)

Cobra Inks... there is no such thing as "gel inks" don't let Ricoh/Sawgrass fool you


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Ricoh does not have a gel ink but it is a thicker viscosity. 

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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

Whether the "gel ink" thing is marketing or not, I can say from experience that normal sublimation ink that we use perfectly in Epson printers, comes out blotchy and streaky in a Ricoh. I couldn't get it to print well enough to make an ICC profile, or certainly any print good enough to be commercial.


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## Pokeedot Signs (Nov 15, 2013)

Hi, I am having some almost massive trouble adjusting my colors with an ink called disink that I ordered on Amazon. Would it be possible to help me get the colors straight. your stuff is really amazing!

Thanks
I would appreciate all of the help I can get. Christmas is around the corner and I have a lot of money tied up in equipment and such.


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## Pokeedot Signs (Nov 15, 2013)

SaB said:


> Greys and reds are worst colours to achieve right. You need colour profile for your set up to get most of you rinks. I made custom icc's for few years now and i can tell you that any ink will give you descent results no matter where it came from as long as you have icc to tell your printer how to mix colours.


Is it too hard for a newbie with little experiance to make an icc profile for my printer and ink. Can I use inkscape for graphics program?
I would appreciate any help you could give me on this.
Thanks


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## pisquee (Jan 8, 2012)

A newbie with the correct kit for making printer icc profiles can make their own easily enough, as the profiling software will walk you through what to do. The lower end profiling kits will only do your screen. You need to pay more for the ones that also do printers.
I don't think Inkscape is suitable for colour managed work (am bound to be corrected if it is) you need photoshop, illustrator or coreldraw.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

pisquee said:


> A newbie with the correct kit for making printer icc profiles can make their own easily enough, as the profiling software will walk you through what to do. The lower end profiling kits will only do your screen. You need to pay more for the ones that also do printers.
> I don't think Inkscape is suitable for colour managed work (am bound to be corrected if it is) you need photoshop, illustrator or coreldraw.


You are correct about Inkscape not being suitable. The app has not implemented full color management even though there are menus for that. Just never got finished.

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