revised December 28, 2016

Our Pigment Technology

Vermont PhotoInkjet develops its own inks using proprietary pigment technologies. The secret to delivering a clog-free formulation is to provide a way to prevent pigment particles from clumping (agglomeration). Both Epson and HP have developed proprietary methods by which they encapsulate their pigment particles in polyester. Vermont PhotoInkjet developed a proprietary method which accomplishes the same means, but using an acrylic co-polymer. Each of our pigment particles is encapsulated in a micro-thin layer of acrylic co-polymer. We are the only 3rd party ink company in the world with this capability.

Some of our pigment particles receive this treatment five times in order to promote better gloss adhesion. This micro-thin layer of acrylic co-polymer serves two purposes. Initially, it absorbs additional UV radiation. However, its main purpose is to insulate the static charge of the pigment particle. By eliminating the static charge of each pigment particle, we are able to make ink in which the pigment does not clump together through attraction, and better resists settlement. This is the secret to ConeColor's non-clogging formulation.

The encapsulated inks can be left unattended in the print head for as long a period of time as the OEM without causing any additional problems. Our encapsulation process ensures a waterproof result. The encapsulation process also gives our inks a very long and stable shelf-life of at least two years from date of manufacture. ConeColor PRO, like Epson Ultrachrome inks, must be shaken regularly to insure best performance.

Installation

ConeColor ink is compatible with Epson Ultrachrome ink so you will not need to flush out the Epson inks before installing ConeColor. You can actually change one ink position at a time so that you do not need to waste any of your current ink supplies. Customers of ConeColor will experience similar printing performance to that of Epson inks.

Cost Savings

The average large-format customer purchases 4 sets of OEM ink per year at a low street price of $2,848. The equivalent amount of ConeColor ink, including the reusable cart system costs only $1,094 or a savings of 62%. The second year's cost of ConeColor ink is only $796 or a savings of 73%. In two years time, the average customer will have saved $3,806 and will not have thrown away 64 empty plastic ink carts and the enormous amount of packaging and shipping materials that accompany such purchases. ConeColor bottles are recyclable and require only a rinse. The ConeColor packaging is minimal.

Two New Black Options!

In late 2016 we introduced two new super dark black inks. We've rolled the new HD Photo Black into the complete sets we sell at InkjetMall starting in November. We designed this new HD Photo Black to meet the standards set by the new Epson SureColor HD Photo Black. This new Photo Black is an upgrade to your existing Epson printer because it increases the glossiness and dMax past anything Epson has to offer your printer.

When it came time to redesign the Matte Black, we took a look at the new carbon technologies that have been invented to produce extremely dark black. Super dark carbon is mainly in use in aerospace, defense, medical, and scientific research. When used in its highest concentration, objects painted with it appear invisible to the human eye because more than 99.95% of all visible light is absorbed by this special carbon. But, we did not produce a black that is unnaturally dark. And we did not produce a black that is difficult to print with. And we certainly did not produce a black costing $3,000 per liter! What we have produced is the perfect dark black ink in a reliable non-clogging formulation that is both stable in your printer and will be stable for generations on your prints.

We measured the new Ultra HD™ and Epson SureColor HD matte black inks to compare them by printing and drying a single channel of ink using the same printer and the same standard settings in QTR Calibration mode. This way we compared apples to apples, or carbon to carbon. Ultra HD™ Matte Black produces a dMax of 1.82 on Epson Hot Press Bright White and Natural White paper. By comparison, Epson's newest SureColor P-800 HD Matte Black produces a dMax of only 1.74 on the same papers. If you know your dMax - that's a WOW!  

You can Choose to be Green

It is estimated that Americans throw away more than 450 million ink carts a year. Many still contain valuable ink. The OEM designs them so that they cannot be refilled. The consumer is left with the choice of throwing the cart away or having it incinerated by an OEM "recycling" program. We conceived ConeColor inks as an environmentally-friendly product. We supply a simple to use, transparent polyethylene cartridge that can be filled over and over again. For some model printers, the cartridge does not need to have its ink use recording chip reset. For some model printers, we supply a chip resetter. The customer needs only one set of refillable carts for the lifetime of their printer. Ink refills are available in minimal packaging ranging from 250ml to 1000ml, reducing wasteful packaging materials even further. The bottles are recyclable.

While the cartridges are designed to last the lifetime of a printer, the small semi-conductor chips can only be reset so many times. Also, being prone to static failure and shorting...you can expect to replace the the ink use recording chip on your cartridges from time to time. We supply these at a very low cost. Some of our customers prefer to use a new chip each time, rather than to use a chip resetter. They make this choice to insure they have a "new" cartridge each time they refill it.

We are a company that practices what it preaches, and preaches what it practices.

ConeColor is designed by Jon Cone who has a long distinguished history in inkjet as both an innovator and one of its most highly regarded practitioners. Since 1984 he has continuously operated the world's first digital fine art printmaking studio, Cone Editions Press. Cone was IRIS Graphics Development and Marketing Partner for Fine Arts from 1994-1997 providing equipment, ConeTech software and fine arts inks, and training for 45 of the USA‘s first fine art Giclée studios including David Adamson Editions, Hunter Fine Art, MuseX Editions, Robert Rauschenberg, SaffTech, UDC, The Cook Editions and many, many more. Cone established InkjetMall in 1999. Since 2000, his Piezography carbon black & white inkjet systems have been second to none and spurred b&w efforts by Canon, HP and Epson.

Cone has continuously been setting the standards in photographic and fine art printmaking producing Gordon Parks' "Half Past Autumn" color prints for the Corcoran (one of the earliest digital museum exhibitions) and Richard Avedon's last portfolio "In Memory of the Late Mr. & Mrs. Comfort". Most recently, Cone developed the inks and printing methodology for Gregory Colbert's monumental "Ashes and Snow" Nomadic Museum exhibitions in Santa Monica, Tokyo and Mexico City which drew more than 13 million viewers - a record for an art exhibition.