Digital BW, The Print

Steve,

>... - what are the pros and cons of using the MIS black
>vs. the Gen4 black?

Less fade and warming v. deeper black is basically it.

I've felt for some time that the Gen4 K is a good solution for those who
need deeper blacks.  However, the warming difference is substantial.  See
the scan of a short fade test I did with the two inks in it.  The scan is in
the Files section of this forum.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/

Then follow the folders to >Ink Sets > MIS

There you'll find the image file, "Indelible v MIS VM K 300Hr Fade.jpg."

The bottom test strip is the Gen4 K.  After only 100 hours in the fader it
has warmed very substantially compared to the control strip above it.  The
middle pair is the MIS VM black.  It has changed hardly at all in the same
period.  Note that these are "black ink only" test strips that show the tone
change more than would be the case where the ink was relegated to the
deepest black, but the midtones just show in a more visible way what is
happening, and 100 hours in my old fader is a very short test.  The dyes
fade and warm quickly.

>Gen4 black is reported to be 25% dye and produces
>more black density.

Correct.

>AFAIK - there is no compatibility problem.

Correct, as far as I can tell.

> But what about esthetics? ...

I don't like excessive warming, especially with cool inksets.  If you are
printing the vm-s mostly in the sepia range, it's not a major problem.  At
the neutral end or the range, however, when the black ink warms considerably
you could see it in the deep shadows.

That said, some on the list who love cold prints use Gen4 K and swear by it.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com