Digital BW, The Print

At the moment I am using MIS-FN ink and 3 different workflows on my 1160,
each depending upon the image: PiezographyBW, the Epson driver with John
Woolf's curve and the Epson Driver with Jeff Randall's curve.  I loved the
original Piezo ink, but got tired of wrestling with clogs and banding.  I
switched over to MIS and never had a problem with either.  I tried the new
Piezotone ink and developed banding again, though no clogging.  So I'm back
to MIS, and I'm very happy.  I use carts rather than a CIS since I tend to
change inks off and on, if that makes a difference.

  S T E P H E N   J E N N I N G S
            P h o t o g r a p h e r
    Cambridge, MA 02138-3960
       sgjennin@...
http://www.stephenjennings.com


> 
> As my original Piezography inks begin to run out, I, like many others
> before 
> me am faced with a decision of what to buy now. I print with an Epson
> 1160 
> and a CIS. I have been relatively happy with the old inks, but have
> never 
> really been able to get prints through the Piezo driver without some
> microbanding. I have found myself using the Epson driver most often
> and find 
> the quality to be nearly as good if not better for my photographs and
> there is 
> no microbanding.
> 
> I realize this amounts to heresy to many on this list, but I don't
> even really use 
> a special workflow ;-)  What looks good on my screen in rgb mode
> generally 
> looks good on paper with a few tweaks in Photoshop. Although I've
> never 
> suffered from the major "greenies" I do find that on some papers
> there is a 
> slight greenish cast to the inks that I don't like.
> 
> I admire all of the people on this and other lists who seem to have
> unlimited 
> time for testing and re-testing inks and papers and workflows etc.
> With a full 
> schedule and a baby on the way, I don't have the time or energy to
> screw 
> around any more. I just need to make some prints. I've never once
> printed a 
> step wedge or a gray ramp and I'm sure many purists would say my
> prints are 
> lacking in tone definition somewhere.  As a people photographer and
> former 
> newspaper photojournalist, I like my black and whites to be snappy. A
> little 
> compression in some shadows is fine by me.
> 
> I tell you all of this not to bore you, but to explain why I don't
> want to get 
> sucked into the minutiae of quadtone printing.
> 
> So what's my best choice? I certainly like the price of the MIS inks
> and think 
> they would probably do the job for me, but I have a couple of
> questions. 
> What's the latest real-world experience with fading of these inks? Do
> they 
> suffer from the "greenies" either major or minor? Are there any other
> drawbacks?  If I thought that Piezotones would be foolproof, I would
> spend the 
> money, but I'm not sure they are worth it until they have been around
> a bit 
> longer. I have no interest in shelling out the money for Imageprint
> right now 
> either.  
> 
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
> -- 
> Jeff Thompson Photography
> 715.838.9962
> www.jeffthompsonphoto.com
> jeff@...
>