Digital BW, The Print

I would describe the two approaches as two different systems.

This is not meant to be a criticism of Paul Roark, who we can all agree has done an amazing amount of work to provide additional options for dedicated black and white printing. It is that the open-source model can lead to confusing or inaccurate information when people are forced to hack around with the epson driver and make things work in ways they were never intended.

My biggest criticism is with the MIS Associate website. It is confusing about what inks are compatible with what printers, what is actually included in the inksets (products) offered, ambiguous product names, and outdated documentation. It is great that they supply the base materials for mixing your own inks, which I intend to do later this year. However, when trying to read more information about the products brings you to blocked pages, 404 errors, and things being added to your cart when you just wanted more info about. Yes, I could contact them and get a clear answer, but what is the point of the website if you need to contact them any way. That might be a criticism of the business and not the product, but it is all "part of the product". When something is open-source, these things are often excused because they really aren't expected to work. Why should something work if people really aren't willing to pay for it?

The Cone system on the other hand is very clear about what each product is and does (in as much as the writing is able to) butK7 is seven shades of black, just like k6 is six shades of black. Carbon, Selenium, Neutral, Warm/Neutral are different print color, his supplied curves are intended to work from one set to the next. It isn't slick; it is just well thought out and (more or less) clearly described. As David said, he is in business, and part of "being in business" is creating a supportable product that doesn't require the user to figure it out on their own. I personally don't care for the included profiles and the limitations put on the printer/ink combinations, and came up with a way to make my own that incorporates the ability t print with his QTR curves as well as create my own. I was able to do that because the products were described well enough in the first place.

Like I said in the other thread, it isn't about being a Jon Cone cheerleader, but being able to understand what the product is, and how it is used. In knowing those two things, you can then understand what is involved in creating custom inksets, workflows, and profiles for different media. If it was easier to understand what was included with the MIS inksets I would have been more likely to start working with them earlier.

I think in many cases it comes down people's preference to the open-source vs closed source/plug-in-play product models. In some way it is similar to people wanting to use GIMP instead of giving Adobe the $10 a month for Photoshop (on principle alone, rather than functionality).