Digital BW, The Print

Ken,

I use the third-party pigments from MIS or MediaStreet.  Bought in bulk,
these are very cheap and, for my uses, very good.  I tried to do B&W with
the Gen3 pigs (relatively weak yellow in Gen3 has been upgraded in Gen4),
and found the tone shifts unacceptable.

I now have a fade test going with Epson 2200 and PiezoTone-selenium test
strips in the fader.  The third spot in the fader is a test strip printed
with MIS archival pigments, but with the new, tougher yellow (same as the
Gen4 yellow, I believe) and the MIS FS/VM black (the best I've found).  So,
the best of the 3rd party pigments are up against the new UltraChrome inks
(best combination of color and stability yet) and PiezoTone-selenium quad
(best quad midtone).

One thing I want to see is if these color inksets still have unacceptable
color shifts due to differential fade.

It is way to early to draw any conclusions -- only 100 hours now.  At this
point, both the UltraChrome and PiezoTone 50% patches show a 0.01 tone
shift, but that could be less, since that is the smallest amount the X-Rite
densitometer can read.  The MIS Arc pigs show a 0.03 drop in magenta.  While
it's too early to make any conclusions, this is a bad sign.  It may be
shifting green.

So, stay tuned.  The fade test will reach 300 hours at the end of next week.
That is typically where the old warm-shifting quads started to stabilize
into a predictable, linear fade pattern.  So, it may be a place where we'll
have a much better basis for some judgments about tone stability.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com

____________________________________________
  -----Original Message-----
  From: heliar333 [mailto:heliar@...]
  Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2002 8:18 AM
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: Re: [Digital BW] PS Quadtones vs. a dedicated system


  Paul -

  If I follow, there are 3 considerations: tonal integrity, longevity,
  and price. No doubt, dye inks are a poor solution with respect to
  longevity and price. If, however, we were to use a color inkset with
  excellent longevity and value, then the question boils down to tonal
  integrity.

  Perhaps I can re-state the question: Given pigmented inkset of
  comparable economy and longevity, what is the compelling reason to
  favor quadtone printing done with 4 or more inks, versus
  the "virtual" or "simulated" quadtone available through Photoshop ?

  Thanks !

  - Ken Lee



  > A perfectly-profiled 1280 with Epson dye ink can make B&W prints
  that look
  > very good -- in some light and for a little while.  However, even
  if you get
  > the cross-overs/color tints out of the system when the print is
  fresh, with
  > differential fade of the dyes there will be color shifts.  Also,
  the photo
  > will suffer from "metamerism" -- tone shifts as the display life is
  changed.
  >
  > Probably most of us have gone through the drill of trying to use
  color inks
  > for B&W.  The 2200 might make the grade, but until I have seen the
  results
  > of long-term fade tests (which I, among others, are doing) I'm
  going to
  > remain a bit skeptical that Epson has entirely solved the problem.
  >
  > Actually, a big factor you might want to consider is cost.  At
  least with
  > the MIS ink, the cost is very low compared to Epson inks --
  especially if
  > you buy bulk ink and either load carts yourself or use a continuous
  inking
  > system.
  >
  > So, a spare printer with quads might make experimenting with
  digital photos
  > both more satisfying and less expensive.
  >
  > Paul
  > http://www.PaulRoark.com


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