Caligo Inks - any success

I went a bit overboard awhile back and bought a stack of Caligo Safe Wash Relief inks:http://www.caligoinks.com/

Every single time I have printed with them I have had problems - essentially the ink never seems to dry/set, and even if I have something sitting on the rack for days, the ink will still smear if I rub it, something that doesn’t happen with any other ink I use. It doesn’t seem to matter what cardstock I use, or what the weather is like.

Before I abandon the ten tins or so that I own of this stuff, does anyone have any tips or hints? Or should I just cut my losses, find an art school to donate them to, and buy some other ink?

Thanks
Natalia

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Is this rubber-based or oil-based ink?

Try force drying several printed pieces with a heat gun or hair dryer. The website states that you might want to add more dryer. The amount of dryer that is in the ink maybe not enough for your purposes.

Thanks Chuck. I looked at that, and since I don’t really have any experience with mixing stuff in to inks I thought I would check here first. But looks like I might want to add some dryer in.

I would contact Caligo, tell them your problem, and ask what they recommend. From their website it looks like you can contact them at [email protected]

Inkmakers are used to helping users deal with ink problems.

If they recommend adding drier, ask them what specific dryer they recommend and how much to use.

If you don’t get enough info that way, I see that they list Graphic Chemical and Ink Co. as one of their suppliers in the US (where I am assuming you are but I guess you may not be). I think Graphic Chemical and Ink Co. would be more likely to have the technical expertise you need than the other suppliers listed, and also could have the drier you might need.

Thanks Geoffrey. I contacted Caligo but they haven’t gotten back to me yet. I am in the UK, so I will contact the supplier I originally got them from, they might be able to advise what to do.

photobiblio - just curious if you ever heard back from them or got any advise from the supplier….I will be trying these inks as well.