Digital BW, The Print

On 07/05/2012 05:49 PM, Paul wrote:
> This could be interesting. Epson now has a white UltraChrome ink. See
> http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Pro/SeriesStylusProWT7900/Overview.do
>
> The MSDS doesn't add much in term of what it's made of. See
> http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=154103&infoType=MSDS
> <http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=154103&infoType=MSDS>
>
> Has anyone tried any of this to see what the color(s) are? It sounds
> like it simply picks up light from the room and reflects it. I'm
> thinking it might be a better way to control too-bright OBA's or give
> more brightness to natural paper highlights.
>
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com

Paul,

That white ink announcement is more than 2 years old. I have seen prints 
on the Drupa 2010. The particles are hollow and scatter the light, 
similar to foam and dispersions of transparent mediums (milk in a sense) 
that look white. Primary use is for white backgrounds on transparent, 
metallic, colored and dark substrates in graphic designs. It could do 
something with the images on natural papers but I doubt that image look 
will become more than a fashion niche. It will be hard to control in the 
drivers we use for B&W and color, even the alternative drivers like QTR. 
Laying down a full white background first and then the image is a 
possibility but to do it in one print run will be complicated. Then 
there are issues with the particle size:

http://www.epson.co.uk/Explore-Epson/Innovation/Ultrachrome-Ink-Overview/Ultrachrome-HDR-Ink-with-White/1227966491104


-- 
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

Dinkla Grafische Techniek
Quad, pi\ufffdzografie, gicl\ufffde
www.pigment-print.com