Digital BW, The Print

Quentin,

>... informal test results at
>http://www.livick.com/method/inkjet/pg1.htm
>... suggest Ultrachromes on PhotoRag (my paper of choice) have
>pretty good longevity, better than Piezo inks.

I think that the tests at the above URL were with regular PiezoBW inks, in
which case, there seems to be no question that the UltraChromes are more
lightfast -- by a major margin.  The old PiezoBW midtones would probably be
close to the same as the FS inks, but only after the dyes have burned off --
making the print brown.  At that point the remaining carbon should act a lot
like the FS coated carbon inks.

However, the next step, and what I beleive the PiezoTone inks have done (and
what I'm hoping to do), is to use more pure carbon -- maybe even uncoated --
and tone it with coated carbon pigs.  Also, the pigment load should be
increased.  There are several ways to do this, including new bases that can
hold more carbon.

>...I am using ImagePrint 5 with an Epson 7600, and
>at this early stage, B&W prints look completely free of crossover ...

In a couple of weeks I'll have some data on whether we can expect
cross-overs to appear due to differential fading.  Of course, that issue is
a tough one to totally predict because different display conditions and
oxidizers can cause the various inks to fade at different rates.  That is
what caught Epson (and Wilhelm) off guard with the 1270 orange shift.  The
cyan dye is relatively lightfast, but only in still, unpolluted air.

> Digital printing is a moving target.

Yes, and that is good news and bad news.

>We're all beta testers now.

That's the bad news.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com