Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message -----
From: "Loris Medici" <loris.medici@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2002 3:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Exposed INK


>
> Hi Martin,
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Martin Wesley" <mwesley250@...>
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 13, 2002 7:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Exposed INK
>
>
> > ...
> > I am sorry about your print recall. The Selenium-PT got me really
excited
> > about printing and I ran through a lot of expensive 13x19 paper over the
> > last few weeks. I am now in the process of tweaking the files to reprint
> > with the PT-K. I am not happy. I am especially not happy since I believe
a
> > lot of people may have went with this ink based upon my initial positive
> > posts.
>
> One of them is me... ;)
>
> My CIS kit arrived last Tuesday and I decided to wait until the weekend to
> install it hopefully letting myself to have time to read messages
mentioning
> this "PT black ink fading issue". I postponed the installation of the
system
> and I ordered a 4oz bottle of MIS-FSN black ink. I will install the system
> with the MIS-FSN black.

Loris,

Probably the wisest course for now.
>
> Some questions:
>
> 1. Can I print without problems using Piezography BW plug-in using my
> (MIS-FSN black + Selenium PT midtones) primed CIS? If not, what is the
> method to do it? What I should expect for such a hybrid set?

Well I did not have any problems making prints I liked using the current
profiles on my 1280 printer with the Sel-PT inks and with the FSN-black I am
finding I boost contrast and lower brightness a bit. If you are starting
from scratch you should not have any problems, or at least not anymore than
we all experience switching to digital B&W. Lot's to learn with scanning and
Photoshop. However, some people have reported problems with the profiles and
the Sel-PT but I think most of them were switching from original Piezo ink
where the profile to ink match is almost perfect and the change was very
noticeable. Tyler Boley suggestions on curve matching that Carolyn Frayn
posted may be of help. Also look for Tyler's method of using a custom Dot
Gain curve for creating a good on screen match to your prints. It is in the
Files section.

A note. If you do decide to give the PT-black a try I would recommend that
replace the black cartridge portion of CIS and completely clean the black
line and bottle. Standard procedure for changing inks in a CIS.

>
> 2. There is one point that I cannot understand:
> I have a color print from my Epson 890 hanging on my office wall. The
print
> was made on semi-glossy Tetenal Portrait Paper using standard Epson inks.
It
> was framed under a matte (some type of plastic - plexiglass?) surface and
it
> is hanging there since more than 8 months. There are 4 x 100W fluorescent
> lightsources at about 6,5' (2m) absolute distance from the print (always
on
> in worktimes). Guess what? I can't see any noticeable fading or color
shift.
> So if I'm pleased by the performance 4color x 100% epson dyes, what can go
> wrong with a 1color x (say...)25% dye PiezoTones?

Hard to say. One thing for sure, Fading it is not just an ink issue but
ink/paper combinations. Maybe this paper and the Epson inks are a great
match. Epson rates the display life of dye inks as high as 25 years on some
papers I believe so your results may not be surprising. I expect that in
general the carbon pigment grayscale inks will do much better but we have
seen exceptions. Some of my original Piezo ink on Torchon paper turned
orange in 9 months of dark storage. Other Piezo prints on many other papers
look fine 18 months later.

One key issue is that if all the inks in an ink set fade at the same rate
the fading will not be noticeable without taking measurements. The big
problems occur when one of the inks fades much faster than the others. This
quickly produces obvious color mismatches that are much more easily seen.

Martin