Digital BW, The Print

Steve,

Thanks for your input. Actually, now that Clayton educated me on the proper
PS working space to use (Dot Gain 20)
for BO printing I'm seeing some very positive results. As a matter of fact,
I just e-mailed Clayton, offlist, to give him the
news! I also just ordered some PR (my supply ran out) to see how BO does on
this paper now that I have the "workflow"
down. My initial tests on PR, as Clayton is aware, left a LOT to be desired.
However, I am very encouraged by my latest
BO trails.

The 1270 will print max 1440. Not an issue, though, now that my 1160/VM
setup is performing admirably with BO. I may
try the Gen4 K. I know Jerry O. likes this black quite a lot.

Once I see what BO on PR brings to the table, I'll be sending Clayton an
example for his review and opinions. Assuming, of
course, that I like what I see! <g> If you have the time, I would be
interested in your opinions, too.

Alan Huntley

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Karafyllakis" <stevek@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2002 10:57 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Seeking black-only workflow info


> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "A. Huntley"
> <leicam6@a...> wrote:
> Alan;
>
> Clayton & I live a few miles from each other, & we've been comparing
> his BO prints with my 'customized'(used to be a VM set) MIS set for
> a while now; While my prints are smoother and also WYSIWYG (no
> partitioned curves or other such annoyances) they give us both the
> impression that there is simply too much ink being thrown at the
> paper, resulting in a loss of highlight clarity and a few other
> related minor problems. So I tried his way yesterday, and discovered
> much to my frustration that while I can do quite well with the dye
> ink on my 1280, and get flawless color pigment prints, I get a lot
> of microbanding with the MIS black ink. My suspicion is that the
> microbanding is viscosity related, so I'll test that theory soon by
> diluting the black a little-but that's another subject.
>  I do have a couple of suggestions for the dye BO setup -I tested
> the 2880 dpi (will a 1270 do 2880 dpi?)and the result is worth the
> extra wait, you go from 'digital Tri-X' to 'digital Plus-X' or even
> finer. As for the longevity issue, I wonder how the Gen-4 black ink
> would work? Might be worth trying, the lifespan would be much better
> if all else works well.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve K
>
> http://www.stevekphoto.com
>
> >
> > An unexpected surprise, though, came about when I decided to try
> printing on
> > my Epson 1270, on EAM, using the Epson
> > standard dye inkset for this printer. I chose BO ink, and printed
> one image
> > at gamma 2.2 (I think this is the value Clayton uses
> > on his 870) and one image at gamma 1.8. The overall tonality was
> stunning,
> > contrast was certainly within any acceptable
> > range, and the prints looked quite neutral. The 2.2 print was too
> dark for
> > my taste, but the 1.8 print was just about perfect! OK,
> > what am I trading off, here? Longevity? Since I'm fairly old now
> and I don't
> > sell my prints, longevity is not a major concern
> > of mine. Gorgeous print quality is! :>) Yes, dots are visible
> under a
> > magnifying glass or loupe and, also, to my daughter's young
> > eyes when examined a very close distance, but, at normal viewing
> distances,
> > you would be hard pressed to see any dots. I'm
> > finally encouraged and "fired up" to continue experimenting with BO
> > printing. Are you listening, Clayton? I'm not saying that BO
> > printing will replace my VM prints, but it could be another useful
> quiver in
> > this photog's toolbox. I think that with certain
> > images--old wooden buildings, stormy landscapes, etc--BO printing
> could
> > provide an extra "edge." I wouldn't use it, for instance,
> > for something like a snowscape; dots in the infinite number of
> lighter grays
> > would probably be much too noticeable.
> >
> > Just thought I'd toss out my latest findings playing around with BO
> > printing. Clayton - this is basically what I was going to send
> > you, offlist.
> >
> > Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving holiday,
> > Alan Huntley