Digital BW, The Print

Paul,

For me the most exciting recent development is QTR support for the x900
printers. 11 ink positions allows a broad range of b&w ink set options to be
supported simultaneously in one printer. I could never justify a large
format with just one ink set but if I can have 3 or more loaded at the same
time (with shared positions) then I am very happy.

Just waiting for Roy to release the Windows support.....

Mike

On 6 August 2011 22:06, Paul <roark.paul@...> wrote:

> **
>
>
> As I ponder my B&W printing plans for the coming year, which may vary from
> day to day, I wonder where others see the market going.
>
> I anticipate staying with 100% carbon for my fine art work. At the moment
> I'm probably going to stay with Eboni and MIS glossy carbon in the 7800,
> switching the order, however, to fit more with MIS's (and my) normal ink
> positions: Eboni-6 in the Y, LM, M, LC, and K spots; and MIS K4 LLK, LK, and
> (K = Eboni). These are all in their normal or default positions. MIS PK will
> be in the C position.
>
> While I will not be able to support all positions of a full Eboni-6
> installation in a K3 printer, I will be able to make the basic QTR profiles
> that use 5 of the Eboni inks in their usual positions. I will also be able
> to support an "Eboni-4" k3 installation, and I think a "dual quad" ink setup
> in a K3 printer makes a lot of sense for many. Eboni-4 or -5 QTR profiles
> made for the 7800 probably just need re-linearization for other k3 printers.
>
>
> While I was at one time thinking of moving the MIS glossy carbon out of the
> 7800, the demand for the old photo reproductions printed in "sepia" (MIS
> glossy carbon on Museo Silver Rag) is too great to ignore. It's been a very
> successful program for the local museum and for me; so I've agreed to
> continue to do their printing for the foreseeable future. I've seen no
> microbanding from just using 3 glossy carbons in the 7800. As such, I
> currently plan to stay with only 3 glossy carbons.
>
> I'm still hunting for the best glossy neutral, but I'm not sure any of the
> pigments excite me enough to move the large printer in that direction. HP,
> and to a lesser extent Canon, both are showing some green shift on glossy
> papers in some of the latest Aardenburg-Imaging (
> http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/) fade tests. See, for example, this
> comparison of the HP and Canon B&W results on gloss papers:
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Canon-v-HP.JPG (Note that the papers were
> different.)
>
> By the way, please be sure to continue or expand your donations to
> Aardenburg-Imaging even though the fade tests are now available free to
> non-members. It's an enormously valuable database to the industry. Just hit
> the PayPal button at the top of http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/
>
> I'll be experimenting with an Epson R3000 in coming months, using OEM inks.
> Realistically, the OEMs, and particularly Epson, have taken most of the
> market for B&W. While I'll always be experimenting with alternative
> approaches, I do want to keep track of where the main market is. I'll be
> curious what experimenting with the OEM setup produces. In theory I think
> RGB and ABW workflows should merge. If (a big IF) their gray substitution
> algorithms are good enough there should be no difference. That is part of
> what I'll be experimenting with.
>
> The most "fun" inkset I've come up with recently is the B&W dyes. (
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/BW-Dye.pdf) I have the WorkForce 30 set
> up with the easiest, single-gray setup, and the cards it's producing are
> very good. (See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/WF30-BW-Dye.pdf)
>
> While a Claria native printer like the 1400 or the smaller ones would be
> ideal for the full hextone inkset, the WF 30 is cheaper and simpler. The WF
> 30 is also less prone to banding due to paper transport issues, which can
> affect the 1400 near the edges of the cards and when the pre-scored bump
> hits a roller. I will probably buy a WF 40 next due to its smaller, 2 pl
> drop. I'll try to find some way to make the midtone ink available to others
> without mixing. Until Epson comes out with a K3 Claria printer, there is a
> big gap in the market here. I will probably start selling the cards made
> with these inks through my usual gallery (http://gallerylosolivos.com/).
>
> The 1400 will probably migrate back to full Eboni-6, so I'll support the
> 1400 and 1100 as the main desktop units with that inkset, which continues to
> be the top choice, in my view, for the most lighfast (and cheapest) fine art
> quality B&W prints.
>
> FWIW ...
>
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com
>
>  
>


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