Sericol Ink

[M@CK]

Hey gang, I'm new here and ill take the occasion to say HI !

Here's the deal, wen I bought my mimaki JV3 one year ago the rep also "gave" me a bulk ink system with the machine ( the machine was in a demo room and the bulk was already installed ). The ink in this bulk system was Sericol BP inkjet solvent ink. Until now I have only printed on fabric and paper and gotten away with it. Last week I got a little job to print on vinyl banner canvas and I tried matt canvas, gloss canvas, I tried different brands.... The ink just wont stick correctly ! if I hit the print or just rub on the ink with my hand the ink smudges.

My question is, is it the Ink thats no good ?
Is it my heat settings that are wrong ? I put around 40/45 pre and 35/40 print
Also if I try to put more heat I get hot spots between the pinch rollers !!!!

the customer tells me he will give me more work but I need to solve this issue.

many thanks for your help
M@CK

 

[ColesCreations]

Have you tried to talk to your dealer, or Sericol?

They may be able to give you a fast answer...

 

[M@CK]

Hi ColesCreations, id as my dealer an according to the lot numbers on the ink... everything is good !

Any one got recommendation on other bulk ink's ?

 

[visionsigns]

Any one got recommendation on other bulk ink's ?

We use Triangle bulk ink system on both of our printers - Mimaki JV3 & Roland. They make a full solvent (JVS) and a mild/eco solvent (MLD)

We absolutely love it. There are a lot of people who use it - check out printingdigital.net forum to read what a lot of people who use it say.

 

[gabagoo]

your heads set to thick or thin?

 

[M@CK]

Thank visionsigns, I have considered Triangle Bulk Ink, I'm just not sure about the availability here in Canada.

gabagoo, I'm printing on a 13oz reenforced gloss or matt vinyl and the head is at thin, all nozzles fire right and are perfectly aligned.

I'm pretty sure its the ink, I'm just scared of switching to an other brand. Not sure how cleaning my Bulk system will work out.

Thanks for the help group.

P.S. is anyone else using sericol BP ink here ?

 

[eforer]

I highly recommend the JVS full solvent triangle ink. The stuff is pretty indestructible, easy to work with and with the wide gamut magenta, much better looking than oem. I haven't worked with Sericol ink nor do I know any other Mimaki owners who have. I do suggest looking on the yahoo mimaki users group. They are a great bunch on there and very knowledgeable.

 

[gabagoo]

I found that printing anything in thin with Mimaki oem inks had scuffing problems. I was afraid to let anything go without a lamination of some sort. Just look at it wrong and there was a mark. I had the heads raised for printing easier on banners and the benefit I have noticed is that the scuffing has gone away. I can print a banner now and not coat it with clearshiled for fear of scratching them. There are a few issues with printing in the thick position that I have but the good far aoutweighs the bad.

Sericol bulk ink is the bulk ink that ND graphics uses for their system and seeing that you rin Montreal, it may not be a bad idea to phone and ask them what the issue may be. Now when you do call post the response as I am interested in going ahead with the sericol in the distant future.

 

[M@CK]

Hi eforer, thanks for the info ill consider the JVS ink, any one know the availability in Canada ? If not is it hard to get it across the border ?

gabagoo, I'm still awaiting an answer on the problem. we know its not a batch issue, but it still might be contamination issue.

Thanks gang for the moral support !
every little bit helps

 

[eforer]

I found that printing anything in thin with Mimaki oem inks had scuffing problems. I was afraid to let anything go without a lamination of some sort. Just look at it wrong and there was a mark. I had the heads raised for printing easier on banners and the benefit I have noticed is that the scuffing has gone away. I can print a banner now and not coat it with clearshiled for fear of scratching them. There are a few issues with printing in the thick position that I have but the good far aoutweighs the bad.

Sericol bulk ink is the bulk ink that ND graphics uses for their system and seeing that you rin Montreal, it may not be a bad idea to phone and ask them what the issue may be. Now when you do call post the response as I am interested in going ahead with the sericol in the distant future.

I print everything on thin head height up to and including 13oz banner material. I profile for every mode and every material and am very careful about ink limits and have no scuffing with the JVS ink. Do you do your own profiling? The scuffing could be a profile issue.

 

[gabagoo]

you are probably right about the profile use. I don't do my own profiles as of yet, but have found that any and all in the thin position were a problem for me. Maybe in the future I may try doing my own profiling, but if profiles are built for my machine by others on the given materials why wouldn't they work the same for me? I amy just move the heads down to thin when I need to print certain colours as I usually print unidirectionally and the Mimaki self adjusts, or so I have been told.

 

[M@CK]

WO! The JV3 as no self adjust feature what so ever !
If you run SS2 inks and someone else runs SS2 inks you can trade profiles, but you still need to relinearize the printer for this profile in particular to get optimum results, this is probably the only way to get around doing your own profiles. I'm personally from a prepress background doing calibration to match offset presses,
profiling for posters is a breeze for me.

Here's a nice pdf from OCE explaining what Linearization dose
http://files.oceusa.com/media/Asset...fitsofLinearization_v1_m56577569830547194.pdf

You can find more tips here
http://www.oceusa.com/main/product_...older_id=2534374302163115&bmUID=1192993331045

 

[eforer]

you are probably right about the profile use. I don't do my own profiles as of yet, but have found that any and all in the thin position were a problem for me. Maybe in the future I may try doing my own profiling, but if profiles are built for my machine by others on the given materials why wouldn't they work the same for me? I amy just move the heads down to thin when I need to print certain colours as I usually print unidirectionally and the Mimaki self adjusts, or so I have been told.

Honestly, every printer is different to a point, you'd be surprised how different the prints from two machines running the same profile and material can be. I hate to say it, but the mere existence of a profile for your media/rip doesn't mean that said profile is any good to start with. I can't think of many companies that have had great profiles for SS2 for Flexi and I can't think of any that have had acceptable JVS profiles. Profiling isn't hard to get into and not that expensive. Its really worth it and it will make your life a lot easier in the long run. Even the built in profiler included with most RIPS is a good start.

BTW, I didn't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with running your head in thick mode. It certainly reduces the risk of head strikes. The quality of course won't be as good, but on banner material it won't matter for most customers anyways.

Uni-D ehhh, you must be a patient guy!