Author Topic: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?  (Read 4758 times)

Offline Shawn (EIP)

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What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« on: March 14, 2012, 04:12:50 PM »
Thinking about changing my black and looking for a good matte black ink that prints super soft out of the bucket. Does it exist?


Offline Socalfmf

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2012, 04:14:23 PM »
we use wilflex..


Offline ebscreen

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2012, 04:19:03 PM »
CCI Baja Black.

Offline JayzTeez

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2012, 04:22:00 PM »
Black Cream by W.M. Plastics

The name says it all.

Black Cream has a super smooth body for easy printing.
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Offline brandon

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2012, 04:24:13 PM »
Yup, Matsui Jet Black water base. Nothing as matte, black, or as soft

Offline Homer

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2012, 05:42:34 PM »
I tried cci baja based on your love for it,...it was ok. . . .IF we could get it out of the bucket, it's like scooping water. we use triangle batman black. . .nothing like a matte black. . .not a fan of gloss, but sometimes in a design I will use both for a cool tonal effect. . .pretty jazzy . .plus batman is dirt cheap.
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Offline alan802

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2012, 06:15:27 PM »
I used batman for a while but the squeegee liked to vibrate and jump on every print stroke.  It didn't really affect the print but it always bothered me.  I'm using some really cheap generic stuff with about 30% reducer in it so it will print.  My favorite black of all time was QCM WOW.  I never could get the stuff without waiting a few weeks so I gave up on it.  I might try to get a supplier to stock it specifically for me.
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Offline Printficient

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2012, 06:23:56 PM »
We have a nice black.
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Offline Shawn (EIP)

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2012, 07:29:42 PM »
I ordered a 5 gallon of IC 718LF black  but I just found out about this new stuff called 3818 Sentri from IC that is sopposed to look and feel like waterbase black. 3818 Sentri also comes an additive.

Homer, where are you getting that super cheap batman black? I found it for 210.00 , I used to get 5 gallons of IC standard 716 for 140.00 but no longer...

Offline Shawn (EIP)

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2012, 07:32:45 PM »
I used batman for a while but the squeegee liked to vibrate and jump on every print stroke.  It didn't really affect the print but it always bothered me.  I'm using some really cheap generic stuff with about 30% reducer in it so it will print.  My favorite black of all time was QCM WOW.  I never could get the stuff without waiting a few weeks so I gave up on it.  I might try to get a supplier to stock it specifically for me.

That happens to me too when I over thin my inks down, it's enough to rattle your nerves.

Offline Colin

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2012, 09:03:32 PM »
The Sentri series is International Coatings version of Wilflex's fashion base, Union's ultrasoft, Rutland's Chino, QCM's Softee, etc...

It will not matte the fibers.  Any super soft black will not matte the fibers.

You get a Matte finish either by adding a little puff to the ink, which breaks up the smooth surface.

or

By having a very specific additive in the ink.  Wilflex is the only one I have seen with that additive.

Alan, that QCM WOW black was my favorite black to print of all time as well.  Sorry to see you can't get the stock when you wanted it.  Is that true now of all the QCM products?
Been in the industry since 1996.  5+ years with QCM Inks.  Been a part of shops of all sizes and abilities both as a printer and as an Artist/separator.  I am now the Ink and Chemical Product Manager at Ryonet.

Offline ZooCity

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2012, 09:12:41 PM »
Hey Colin what's that additive you speak of in the WFX?  Or, what does it do?

I've noticed their Matte Black is very matte and has excellent matt down as well.  It's kind of my favorite I guess. 

I do still keep it in the five straight and add soft hand base at 30% or so in another bucket. It seems quite thick straight but once it's moving it's a different story.  I used to do the same and had a similar experience with QCM 911 though the WFX has a much different hand to the finished print. 

Offline alan802

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2012, 09:51:54 PM »
The Sentri series is International Coatings version of Wilflex's fashion base, Union's ultrasoft, Rutland's Chino, QCM's Softee, etc...

It will not matte the fibers.  Any super soft black will not matte the fibers.

You get a Matte finish either by adding a little puff to the ink, which breaks up the smooth surface.

or

By having a very specific additive in the ink.  Wilflex is the only one I have seen with that additive.

Alan, that QCM WOW black was my favorite black to print of all time as well.  Sorry to see you can't get the stock when you wanted it.  Is that true now of all the QCM products?

I stopped using that supplier over a year ago.  One of the reasons I left them was because I ordered 3 different gallons of some XOLB inks and 2 of them came in within a few days and one of them took a month to get to come in.  I was never given an explanation and I always wondered if QCM was the reason or the supplier so I basically stopped using both.  There is another supplier that carries QCM that I'm using for various products but they aren't stocking the WOW black or hardly any of the WOW series.
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it -T.J.
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it -T.P.

Offline brandon

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #13 on: March 14, 2012, 10:10:02 PM »
Yeah, we just switched from one Distro to another for our QCM and they have everything, I mean everything we need to us the next day. 5 gallon buckets of this, that, and gallons of the QMX for mixing or whatever we need. So I am feeling lucky with the horror stories I hear these days. But we are exploring other ink options as I am afraid of what is most likely going to happen to that line sooner or later.

Offline Prosperi-Tees

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Re: What's your favorite "BLACK" ink?
« Reply #14 on: March 14, 2012, 10:16:40 PM »
Who is that Distro Brandon? I need to find QCM at a reasonable price. The last place I ordered from took foorever to ship and when it arrived a qt was broke in the box, what a mess.