Digital BW, The Print

Jon Cone wrote:

>MIS-FS black is comprised of minimum 10% AZO dye to temper the
>warmth of the carbon and add density.

I have no idea what is in MIS VM/FS black, but it performs just like the old
PiezoBW black, and so far, only the UltraChrome matte black has done better
than it in my fade testing.

It's the bottom line that matters.  I'm sure as ink technology advances
we'll get better blacks.

> MIS-FS carbon is warmer than the carbon in Portfolio Black.

I different element perhaps?!

>In regards to UV light: pigments are susceptible to UV wave length
>while dye and metal complex are more susceptible to visible spectrum.

My reading sure suggests that dyes are very susceptible to UV fade.
Consider the following June 2002 Ink World Magazine quote:

"Ink Jet Inks: Dyes vs. Pigments
... Because of their makeup, dye-based inks ... tend to be affected by UV
light. This results in the color changing over time, a process otherwise
known as fading. ...

"Pigmented inks use a solid colorant to achieve color. ... In addition,
pigmented inks are much more UV resistant than dye-based inks, meaning that
it takes much longer for noticeable fading to occur."
(http://www.inkworldmagazine.com/jun002.htm)

>...Xenon chamber is an industry
>standards that any manufacturer can duplicate ...

The Xenon "Weatherometer" is the standard for outside exposure.  Wilhelm
uses glass-filtered fluorescent light.

While we're on the subject, note the extent to which "reciprocity failure"
of the accelerated tests gets more serious as the illumination level
increases.  Barbara Vogt reports, "A recent study, with high and
low-intensity light exposures of ink jet materials, showed that the fade
rate is about two (non-porous media) to three (porous media) times faster on
average under the lower exposure conditions.  Thus, accelerated
light-stability tests ... might not reliably predict the behavior of the
tested material in long-term display under normal conditions."  ("Stability
Issues & Test Methods for Ink Jet Materials, Vogt, 2001
<http://iaq.dk/pdf/inkjet_stability_72dpi.pdf>)

In short, if one tries to project "years of display" without considering
reciprocity failure, the exaggeration of the predicted life could be huge.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com