Digital BW, The Print

Hi All,

Thought the list members might be interested in a post by Jon Cone over on 
the PiezoPro24 list.  It deals with some users' questions regarding how to 
describe the inks to prospective buyers of fine art produced with the PT inkset, 
and some of the technology behind the pursuit of print longevity...

 
Dave,

These are not such troublesome questions. What a lot of people do not
realize is that carbon is not BLACK. Carbon Black is in actuality a very
dark dark brown. In larger masses such as globs of paint or printers ink,
the carbon mass appears to be black. But in the thin film of inkjet ink, the
mass-tone appears black. Additionally, ink chemists have had a tough time
suspending carbon black with other pigments. This was then. So they used 
dye
in small amounts to neutralize the warmth of the carbon and arrive at a more
neutral tone.

The newer inks use pigments in place of dye. The technology is smarter. 3
years smarter. 

We never advertised the PiezographyBW inks as pure carbon. We have 
always
been very forthright about their properties and early on suggested which
papers would cause more warming from the loss of dyes from light-exposure.

Archival?? This is a two-edged sword. Archival means can it be preserved.
LONGEVITY implies display life under light. Use each term with intention.

Archival - yes under the right conditions.... AN EXPECTATION? NO. A c-print
for example is not archival - not even in a freezer. IT has a chemical life.
Carbon inkjet prints can be archival however, unlike a c-print. With the
older inks - they do not have the stable longevity of the newer inks.
PiezographyBW's dye content does not have the stability of the PiezoTones
which use pigment (very stable pigment) as a colorant to offset the brown of
the carbon. So PiezoBW inks warm (nicely) to their final carbon tone
depending upon the paper to varying degrees. Then they stay that way.
PiezoTones are intended to stay their tone even under extreme light.


PiezoTones are a contemporary Quad Ink which uses technology which has 
not
previously been made available in an inkjet ink. We looked at stability and
longevity in addition to archival nature. While the photographic and art
world separated these conditions - inkjet and digitalphiles apparently do
not. To them it meant the same.

Are both inkset families archival? Yes.
Do they both offer the same stability? No.
Do they both offer the same longevity? No.

While we have blue wool data of the new inksets and these are very
impressive, they do not indicate display life. We took responsibility as
manufacturers of PiezoTones to do complete testing with RIT at great
expense. We will be able to give direct comparison results in a matter of
weeks. And the results will be in display life rather than in factors.

When?

We hope the longer from now the better. Because, we are paying for finite
end tests to determine display life. And we hope no news for some time
because the longer the test proceeds the better the results will be! We have
conducted Xenon Arc testing of both inksets and are confident that the
PiezoTones offer unprecedented longevity. We are offering an ink which we
believe is both archival and has the greatest possible longevity. It just so
happens that our inks have aesthetic qualities which are also unparalleled,
but this is a result of our personal convictions. That they are more trouble
free, is a result of listening to our customers and responding in a
responsible way.


If you are happy with your original inks, you will continue to be. However,
ConeTech and ConeEditions and ConeStudio are not known for resting on
laurels. We have developed some pretty startling mono systems over the 
years
and Piezographers deserved to be treated to the best ink technology
currently available so that all Piezographers will have the best chance and
opportunity of trouble-free ink delivery. The aesthetics and new stability
are just some additional icing on what is widely perceived as a pretty nice
piece of cake!



--------------------------------
may your highlights be dotless
and your tonal scale smooth,


Jon Cone
jon@c...
Piezography(tm) software and inks
http://www.piezography.com


Cheers,
Phil
http://philbard.com
http://laphotoworkshops.com