Digital BW, The Print

Having recently set up several B&W dye inksets, from a complex variable-tone hextone to very easy WorkFlow 30 and C88 that require only 2 ink bottles (K + one dilute LK mix), I've concluded that the WF 30 with the easy 3-LK quadtone makes the best combination.  

With the sequentially starting curves embedded in ICCs it is smooth enough that only pixel peepers will see the dots, and I'm not concerned about them.  We're way past the need to hide the fact that we're using inkjet technology.

The WF 30 makes excellent images without visible banding at edges (unlike the 1.5 pl printers).  Cheapest and best works for me.

I might note that these sequential PS curves in ICCs have proven to be very portable among papers.  All I have to do is run an 80-100 test strip to determine the ink load, and then a second 21-step with a curve that has been modified to reflect the ink load.  Only the 50 to 100 area of the existing sequential curve needs to be changed.  It's just a straight line.  Multiple trials have not been needed -- just one 21-step and it's ready for Create ICC-RGB to make a linearized, color-managed ICC profile.

With this kind of success, I'll set up the 1100 with this kind of dye and Eboni workflow also.

So, basically, at this point it's Eboni for matte and Noritsu-Epson dyes for glossy (where long term display image permanence is not a major factor).  I'll probably take a look at the R3000 with OEM inks to fill in the middle of the scale and deal with the variable tone options.

(Am I the only one interested in these dyes?  If you might be interested in buying pre-mixed Noritsu-Epson LK, please contact me off list.  The B&W glossy cards, and maybe the inks are going commercial.)

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com