Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul,

It's always good to see a new competitor out there. 

>  www.image-alchemy.com

There doesn't seem to be enough information on the web (that I've found yet,
at least) for me to tell just what you're offering of interest in the B&W
sphere.  I'll need a bit more information to peak my interest.

> We are introducing a new graduated black ink set ("BLACK ART") 
> at the end of the month and we are looking for experienced 
> beta testers please.

> We will initially make inks for the following printers: 
> 2400, R1800/R800, 2100, 1290, R300.

Do you actually have a specific dedicated B&W inkset, or are you just
selling the individual LK, etc. inks that we use in our systems?

If there is a specific B&W inkset, some more information would be needed.
Is it a blended inkset?  What software is used, for example, Epson driver or
rip?

> We propose to sell the inks in our Digital Image 
> Print System (DIPS),

This looks like a continuous feed system.

> pre-filled and also as separate 
> inks to be used with refillable cartridges or other ink systems.

> Prototype inks are extremely stable. 

Our existing inks -- for example, Epson, MIS, Cone -- are also very stable.
It would be useful to see some comparative fade testing.

>... In many inks the ink suffers from from particle size 
> re-agglomeration, this means that the
> particles join together in the ink to make larger particles...

All pigment ink systems have dispersants for this.  The base, in fact, is
often referred to as the "dispersant."  There have been significant advances
in this part of the product.  The modern inks are in fairly good shape now.

> Our pigments are milled super fine ...
> The average particle size in our inks is 120 nanometer;

Epson and the third party inks have been at about 0.1 micron for some time.

> so small that it cannot be seen by the naked eye!

The printer dot size controls that, not the pigment particle size.  None of
the pigments used in ink jet printing are so large a person can see the
individual particles.  Large pigments last longer, but sink faster.


In general, more price and product information would be a good way to peak
more interest in this group.

I've always been a fan of open source systems, and I'm definitely moving in
that direction with respect to the inks I use.  Except at the entry level,
I'm not sure there is going to be much demand for more blended inksets.

But for the direction I'm going, if even one of your standard 2400 inks is
superior to what is on the market, if the price is right it would be of
interest and will probably sell. 

I'd be most interested in seeing evidence that either your LK or LM
outperforms Epson UC pigments or MIS pigments in fade testing.

Competition drivers the market.  Good luck with the new venture. 

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com