Pigment or dye based inks for decaling?

That's a " if a piece of string is x/y long, what colour is it? question... 

Generally, you get what the printer mfr wants to put in the carts, & that's more to do with marketing, as each mfr claims that 'their system is better than sliced-bread'

Max DPI & a 'photo' enhanced options would have more bearing here as well.

I know Epson used to do a printer that could take 'extra' carts, specifically for printing enhanced photos,  in addition to the CMYK carts, but I don't know if they still do.

Perhaps better questions, to get more informed answers, would be:

"I have xxxx model printer, how do I get the best out of it?"  or " I want to buy a printer for doing decals, what do you guys use/think?"

Good Luck

I have to agree with Jon on this one. Some folks have a preference of printer brand over others so it's impossible to tell you which one is better than the other. This is something you have to figure on your own to make a decision. Do you want b&w or color? What is your budget on a printer? Read the consumer reviews of the printer model you're looking at. Good luck.

I find JM's question thought-provoking.

Dye and pigment inks both have some unique properties, most of which I have forgotten as I don't do much lab-quality printing lately. But the big one stands out; Pigment inks are better in the archival quality dept (they, in general, or more resistant to fading than dye inks).

I, personally, would not buy a printer which uses dye-based pigment ** ink cartridges.

Since we all want our decals to last as long and possible, I'd think this would favor pigment inks for decal printing. (Emphasis on "think")

That said, though I've printed enough dye and pigment to verify that pigments inks are more fade resistant (by a long shot),  I've never printed a decal in my life and have no idea if the eventual sealing of the decal would negate the fading inherent to dye inks.

**Edit: As Don pointed out, there is no such thing as a "dye-based pigment" and that was an inexcusable typo on my part. Sorry.

I have worked with both, and find it depends more on brand.  Some brands of printers use different technology in different printers.  I have also found hte more recent the printer model, the better success I have.

What is a dye-based pigment?

I've read that humidity makes the dye ink 'move', air makes it react with certain chemicals and light makes it fade. Sealing it with a clear-coat might mitigate these first two but the light would make it fade in about 15 years. Since most of us won't expose our models to direct sun, this might not be a problem either.

You pays yer money, and you takes yer choice.

Don Stauffer

What is a dye-based pigment?

Oops! What a stupid and misleading typo on my part. Of course, you are correct, Don. There is no such thing.

Thanks for catching that. My post above has been corrected.

As others have said above, Pigment based inks 'may' have the lead, but getting the mfr's spec sheets will help, as I've been out of the print industry for a long time.

Your Softwares' colour space (RGB vs. CMYK) & getting a matched profile for the printer you use will also affect quality.

E.G. RGB puts 3 Red/Green/Blue 'dots' of colour on your screen & the printer profile helps 'translate' that into the printer colour Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black (no white btw).

That means every 'dot' of colour on the page could be made up of up to 4 dots of varying sizes of CMYK (the Resolution).  

The method used will also sometimes give a checkerboard/tartan look (most often with re-scanned magazines/papers).

The 'holy-grail' of short-run decal production was the out of production ALPS printer, which could print white, used dye-sublimation not CMYK & was eye-wateringly  expensive.

A Cheap Ink-jet is just that, cheap, & the higher quality ones needed for decals would put a colour laser printer in reach, especially if you consider other uses for it. DPI is always the primary concern for quality, but you will also need to consider the cost of replacement carts as well.

A third option would be someone like Fantasy Printshop, & others.

Read carefully his requirements & tips for production, but I think 25 A5 sheets of a popular subject, shared with a hobby club wouldn't be too bad on cost, esp if you could produce white decals.

Good luck.

In the early days of inkjet printing dye inks had a longevity problem.  This is no longer much of a problem.  It may be a question of thirty years vs sixty, or something like that.  Just keep models out of direct sunlight!  In fact, the UV in direct sunlight is bad for the paint as well as decals.

Makes me love my ALPS more every day...

Ashley

Makes me love my ALPS more every day...

Not Jealous at all!     but out of my budget, I take it you can still get carts?

Not sure, years ago I laid in a good stock, and haven't had to look for any.