Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "neilhfolberg" 
<folberg@n...> wrote:
<snip>

 There are those 
> of you who love to tinker and fuss and in this you will find 
> happiness. But for those of you who are more interested in the 
> image I will give you this advice: learn to use the technology to 
> your advantage.


Wise words. I have been banging my head against my printers for over 
two years just trying to keep the ink stable and minimise clogs. I am 
ready to give up: I just found an 2200 through a retail store friend 
contact and probably will go IP5 as I want to print, not fuss more.


  Every printing process has its strengths and 
> shortcomings, but you can usually take a good process and turn 
> what you might consider a liability into an asset. in this case I am 
> referring to the "softness" of the Ultrachrome B&W inkset.  I can 
> make prints with this process that use a full and delineated tonal 
> range that rival those beautiful contact prints from 8x10 negatives 
> printed on number 2 paper done in the 40's and 50's.  They are 
> perhaps a touch "softer" in the deepest blacks than a print made 
> on a glossy paper - but they have exquisite range and depth and 
> very beautiful print color which I have never been able to achieve 
> in a silver print.

Do you have an opinion comparing an UC matte print to a MIS or PT 
matte print?

<snip>

  as what I get now 
> with the ultrachrome inks on Hahn Photorag paper. So I am 
> delighted with this combination.  the paper does have a small 
> tendency to flake off tiny little spots but since the inks are not 
> damaged by water, you can spot it with spotone like an ordinary 
> print.  On a 20x24" print you might find one or at most two little 
> tiny little spots.  I spray the prints with a fixative like that 
used for 
> charcoal drawings and that prevents damage by scuffing.

I had more flaking problems then this with photorag. I used William 
Turner more and this was also bad. But I must add that the humidity 
here is low. What happens after you spot print and frame it, only to 
discover that it flakes more hanging on the wall? Or does the fixative 
prevent all future flaking? What brand spray do you use in that event?

> 
> The color prints are unrivaled by and are superior to ANY color 
> commercial process in depth, color range, color accuracy, 
> saturation, subtlety and I think permanence.  I have returned to 
> working in color because of this printer after years of absence.  I 
> stopped working in color when the Evercolor pigment transfer 
> process died.  Only these epson prints rival those evercolor 
> prints.

I've been thinking of doing some b&w prints with small areas of spot 
color added which IP5 folks tell me is possible IF I run IP5 to print 
RGB.
Jim H.


> Neil Folberg 
> www.neilfolberg.com