Author Topic: Bad Formulas in IMS  (Read 4784 times)

Offline Atownsend

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Bad Formulas in IMS
« on: December 01, 2023, 06:32:38 PM »
Anyone else getting a lot of bad formulas out of IMS? We’ve been mixing a lot of ink lately, as we’re working with a new contract customer with different ink sets. I expect to have to make custom formulas sometimes to nail a color over a base… but we’ve been getting a lot of bad formulas lately.

Last order of the day today, we’re all crushing. Moving fast it’s Friday, got a new ink to mix unexpectedly. Punch in 5763C, get my formula, mix it down to .01 on the scale and it’s totally freaking off…. Crap brown… not grass green as expected. Way too much blue in the formula. Just got a crap brown.

It’s a stupid fast week so I subbed for something close. Shouldn’t have to do this though. We’re not printing discharge here. What’s going on with IMS??!! Before IMS we used the web version from rutland and it was pretty great 95% of the time.

We always print the formulas and attach to our buckets. Some of the old web versions from a few years ago are totally different than what IMS is spitting out.

This is all Rutland M3 for the record. Not sure if wilflex is having the same issues. I will say however, that the Rutland color lab has been very helpful for helping us make custom formulas…. But we shouldn’t have to do it every time. IMS should get us somewhat close out of the gate at least for a white shirt. Riiiight?




Offline Frog

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2023, 08:14:27 PM »
When I was working with the early Union mixing system, they took input about problem colors and often developed alternate formulas.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2023, 12:05:23 PM by Frog »
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Offline Doug S

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2023, 09:18:31 AM »
I've been having the same problem with wilflex rio in ims.  The last color was 364 for John Deere green.  It was too yellowy.  I did it twice making sure I was down to .01 also and they came out the same both times.  Luckily, I still had enough from when we were using the wilflex pc mixing.
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Offline Rockers

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2023, 04:05:51 AM »
Anyone else getting a lot of bad formulas out of IMS? We’ve been mixing a lot of ink lately, as we’re working with a new contract customer with different ink sets. I expect to have to make custom formulas sometimes to nail a color over a base… but we’ve been getting a lot of bad formulas lately.

Last order of the day today, we’re all crushing. Moving fast it’s Friday, got a new ink to mix unexpectedly. Punch in 5763C, get my formula, mix it down to .01 on the scale and it’s totally freaking off…. Crap brown… not grass green as expected. Way too much blue in the formula. Just got a crap brown.

It’s a stupid fast week so I subbed for something close. Shouldn’t have to do this though. We’re not printing discharge here. What’s going on with IMS??!! Before IMS we used the web version from rutland and it was pretty great 95% of the time.

We always print the formulas and attach to our buckets. Some of the old web versions from a few years ago are totally different than what IMS is spitting out.

This is all Rutland M3 for the record. Not sure if wilflex is having the same issues. I will say however, that the Rutland color lab has been very helpful for helping us make custom formulas…. But we shouldn’t have to do it every time. IMS should get us somewhat close out of the gate at least for a white shirt. Riiiight?

Offline Admiral

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2023, 12:36:38 PM »
We use the Wilflex EQualizer system.  We check the date on the formula before mixing and email Wilflex to get an updated formula from the lab if it's not new.  We've been doing this for 6 years...still not all updated.

Perhaps you could do the same but I don't know how the mixing works / software with Rutland.

Also...I heard Wilflex EQualizers will be cancelled - that stinks, I don't want to move to a finished mixing system (Rio) or pigments.  This one is easy, doesn't overburden you with storage and isn't as messing / easy to mess up as pigments....Anyone else know?

Offline Rob Coleman

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Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2023, 01:29:24 PM »
We use the Wilflex EQualizer system.  We check the date on the formula before mixing and email Wilflex to get an updated formula from the lab if it's not new.  We've been doing this for 6 years...still not all updated.

Perhaps you could do the same but I don't know how the mixing works / software with Rutland.

Also...I heard Wilflex EQualizers will be cancelled - that stinks, I don't want to move to a finished mixing system (Rio) or pigments.  This one is easy, doesn't overburden you with storage and isn't as messing / easy to mess up as pigments....Anyone else know?
Curious where you heard EQ being discontinued. I can tell you that is unfounded rumor. As Wilflex’s largest distributor, we sell a LOT of Equalizer. We communicate on a high level with them and not a hint of that happening has been dropped.


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« Last Edit: December 06, 2023, 01:36:56 PM by Rob Coleman »
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Offline Admiral

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2023, 02:31:43 PM »
We use the Wilflex EQualizer system.  We check the date on the formula before mixing and email Wilflex to get an updated formula from the lab if it's not new.  We've been doing this for 6 years...still not all updated.

Perhaps you could do the same but I don't know how the mixing works / software with Rutland.

Also...I heard Wilflex EQualizers will be cancelled - that stinks, I don't want to move to a finished mixing system (Rio) or pigments.  This one is easy, doesn't overburden you with storage and isn't as messing / easy to mess up as pigments....Anyone else know?
Curious where you heard EQ being discontinued. I can tell you that is unfounded rumor. As Wilflex’s largest distributor, we sell a LOT of Equalizer. We communicate on a high level with them and not a hint of that happening has been dropped.


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Offline bimmridder

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2023, 02:50:39 PM »
I also heard it, a few months back, from a rep at GSG
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Offline BRGtshirts

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2023, 11:40:45 PM »
Funny this thread is started because my ink mixing people have been bringing this up for a few months now at least and today I said I would look into. I completely agree: IMS is giving out bad formulas. We use Rutland's C3 system. We know there have been historic colors that we have to use our own formulas (e.g. 7499), but seems like a lot of the new four digit colors are also not mixing correct.

Offline nicolas

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2023, 04:28:41 AM »
Just to chime in here, we have had a lot of issues with IMS with no help or support from Avient, so we stopped using it and switched to another mixing system. Still have few of the colors left in gallons of the Rio on the shelf. Went trough almost a gallon of the sunshine yellow trying to mix a color using an ims formula with no luck till we ran out and not about to order more. thought we were doing something wrong and even bought a more sensitive scale, but still couldn't get some of the colors close. The system we switched to has been working fine, not 100% but close.

Offline sunday

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Re: Bad Formulas in IMS
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2023, 10:02:51 AM »
Honestly, I use IMS mainly as a jumping-off point for matching Pantones and also for storing custom formulas. Most of their supplied formulas need some adjusting, especially the waterbased formulas, so once I dial them in I ignore IMS's stock formulas and use our custom mixes. Still, though, if they're going to supply formulas then the least they could do would be to actually check if any of them make what they say they will.