Best ink brand for Artbooks?

[generalbatzorig]

Dear Friends,

What is the Best quality ink brand for printing High-end art catalogs? I have been using inks from a Japanese company, Megami Inks. To be a little more specific: The company had a nice spot Violet ink in the past, that created a nice saturated Blue when combined with Cyan base. But in recent years they've stopped producing the same product (or substituted it with another stock) . The substituting ink was not delivering the same color quality as before. So I need to reconsider what ink to use for an upcoming project. I am in Asia, so a well established ink brand Asian market is preferred. But any company with a proven product quality and good selections of PMS inks will be considered.

Thank you in advance.

 

[turbotom1052]

Most any ink brand will have their own distinct lineup of inks with each formulated to perform best to the task at hand. Im assuming that "high end art catalogs" means lots of 4/process on either supercalendered uncoated paper, or satin or matte coated stocks. For the uncoated work I would encourage an ink set with a high pigment load. You will need lots of pigment to minimize dot gain and to aid in running a slightly reduced ink film thickness. This will allow your ink to dry a bit faster and be more resistant to setoff. I would discourage "stay open" inkset instead running a conventional set with a full dryer package. For the coated sheets you could go with a run of the mill inkset with stay open properties. You will not need the super aggressive drying package on coated stocks especially if you will be running an inline aqueous coating.