Digital BW, The Print

On 12-09-05 3:35 AM, "pdesmidt tds.net" <pdesmidt@...> wrote:

> Right now, I'm looking for an inkset for a 7600.  Paul has mentioned that
> he gets a low dmax with his 4000 and Eboni, a printer of the same
> generation as my 7600.

I got exceptional Dmax with Canon's PK on my 2200, which is the same
generation of printer as your 7600. When I moved to the full 6KPlus set,
using the MIS PK, I unfortunately had problems with a cartridge and with my
old 2200. It was just bad timing on a very old printer, so I decided to go
directly to the 3800 (my ultimate target printer) to test and implement the
full 6KPlus inkset. While I can't confirm the Dmax of MIS PK on a 2200 I
would be surprised if there was an issue. I suspect Paul would tell you that
the 4000 is a bit of a different animal.

> Making an inkset decision is a difficult matter.  I was drawn to the HP ink
> because of it's good Aardenburg ratings, resistance to pigment settling,
> and lower viscosity, which should mean less clogs.   It sounds like
> diluting it with glop would undermine the last quality, and 2nd pass glop
> sounds unappealing as well, for the reasons Paul states.

For perspective, I was prepared to run the GlOP-diluted HP inkset in my
2200. While I did experience more clogging, it was not at a "show stopper"
level. Relatively speaking however, there was more clogging with it.

> Terry's investigations are very useful, as I'm hoping to use Canson's
> Plantine.  Terry, I see that you sprayed some of your prints for display
> without glass.  Would spraying be needed to avoid bronzing and gloss
> differential of the prints were mounted behind glass?

To my eye, bronzing is virtually non-existent. I see very little of it,
other than in large areas of solid black.

Gloss differential is more evident, but only with specular highlights, and
only when the image catches the light the "right" way. Whether that's an
issue will vary from photographer to photographer (and image to image), but
it is something worth assessing. The paper white has less gloss than the
inks. A paper with more gloss would show less gloss differential.

Two or three coats of Premier Art Print Shield addresses all of this. PS is
pretty unobtrusive as far as sprays go, but it is indeed toxic. The A2000
product is a different animal. It leaves a much thicker coat and removes
most, but oddly not all, of the gloss differential.

If it would help, I'd be happy to make a test print for you and pop it in
the mail. Then you can see for yourself what a base print looks like.
Contact me off-list if you're interested.

Terry.