Digital BW, The Print

>...
> Are you experiencing the warm chocolate color shifting
>that I found?  I've also been using the VM set.

My tests show that the original vm inks warmed about 8 of 256 units with
light exposure.  This is similar to or less than what the other pigmented
quads did at the time.  That was why the "nc" curve was 4/256 cool.  That
amount of off-neutral tone looks OK when isolated.  However, when hanging
next to each other, it is noticeable.

My need for a neutral quad that did not warm-shift is what caused me to make
the FS-N formula.  This was the first non-warming B&W inkset.
(Additionally, the VM-S uses the FS-N inks.)  Also, now the new PiezoTone
midtones (definitely not the original PiezoTone black) are non-warming.

For some of us, the non-warming is important.  When in close proximity, the
warming of prints is the most obvious defect that one sees in these
products.  In my view it exaggerates the fading that will happen and reduces
the perceived quality of our prints.

Warming is seen as deterioration, but there appears to be an irony in this.
The warming is probably mostly the formation of a layer of broken colorant
molecules on the surface of the pigment particle.  This layer appears to
actually protect the pigment from further damage -- similar to the
protection that a layer of oxidized aluminum or iron gives to the underlying
metal.  In my tests the rate of fading decreases after the warming has taken
place.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com