Digital BW, The Print

There is a reason I call my blend a "generic" base.  These things have a lot in common.  The surfactant mix is a major area where there is variability and where there might be room for improvement.
 
 A huge class of chemicals.  The trick is to find the "cocktail" that works the best and is easily available in small quantities.

 One reason I used the Photo Flo and Edwal is that they were readily available in small quantities and the darkroom types I expected to become ink mixers were familiar with them.  Additionally, they've been used for years, and I expect potential negatives associated with their use would have been fairly well known and documented.  
 
Paul www.PaulRoark.com
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I think most consider Pauls contributions to carbon printing ink formulas to be above and beyond. I certianly with an education in chemistry and organic chemistry would not have the equipment to analize how the different possible mixes compare.

As for the information in the HP Patent it appears that they just tried different mixes and made short term measurments. It did not look like they were using exceptional knowledge rather they were just mixing a batch then changing one component and trying that one out. The use of a week latex dilution in some mixes made me think of offset lithographic inks which used Latex to help the ink adhere to the offset plate or drum. So some of this inkjet technology is just trying what worked with other inks and retesting.

Paul did what I might have done as he said buying most of these specialty alcohols is not available in small quanities many are available in 55 gallon drums or railroad tank cars. A few that work well with common uses like farm chemical application enhancers are available in gallon and 5 gallon containers but this is not the norm for these compounds. So finding easily locatable comercial compounds that have these properties makes the formula available to a wide audience. While I considered using water Surf AC-820 and isopropyl alcohol and making my own "Edwal" I opted to follow closely in the footsteps of someone who knows his subject and is demanding in the look of the finished print.

From my searches and reading on inkjet ink formulations it appears that the use of two surficants one that has some slight "detergent" action and the other which has a "spreading' action are present in all formulas in addition in some there is a flourinated alcohol 

Bill Lewis