Digital BW, The Print

Hi Keith

Actually, it's been more like a whopping six-eight(!) people 
specifically mentioning SG problems, which is obviously still very 
low, but I think there are two other reasons for this - 1) very few 
people use SG inks any more - most of the people on this website are 
smart and knew to use pigment inks from early on, and 2), and I've 
heard this from quite a few incredibly experienced long-term inkjet 
users not directly through this forum, they didn't believe Lyson's 
claims. "A load of BS" was the most oft-used quote about Lyson's 
claims for SG longevity. My sales guy at Inkjet Art said sales for SG 
have plummeted in the last eight months and everyone's ordering MIS. 
Of course, it could also be because the MIS inks are so much cheaper 
as well.

You wrote - 

> I'd certainly be interested in seeing two things:
> 
> 1)    Whether the lot numbers of the inks were the same, or if you 
and your friends got inks via the same vendor or distributor...  (It 
may well have been a case of inks subjected to extremes BEFORE you 
received them)

We checked, and these were all different batches of inks over the 
course of a year and a half - in cartridge form and in bottle form.
> 
> 2)    If you and your two friends live in similar atmospheric 
areas... 
>  It could well be something atmospheric particular to your 
locations..
> 

Yes, it was one of the first things we considered, and actually we
all 
live in Mediterranean dry Southern California with very low humidity. 

So, in closing, all the possible areas have been covered. At the end 
of the day, you have to come down to the fact that the SG inks are 
dyes, with all attendant problems, and pigment is the only way to go. 
(Although 4 months for a green shift is crazy.)

Nick

.......................