Digital BW, The Print

FWIW, I just tried a set of Lyson Quad Black cartridges in my Canon S9000 
(a 6 ink set) on a variety of papers, including Ilford Smooth Pearl and 
Smooth Gloss.  In daylight the prints are as neutral as can be, but under 
incandescent they have a definite reddish cast.  The color shift under 
fluorescent light was very slight.  I don't have any halogen lamps to 
experiment with, so can't tell you what that light would do. The Ilford 
Smooth Pearl showed less of a color shift under incandescent than did the 
Smooth Gloss paper, which I generally prefer, to the point where if I 
decide to go with these inks I will probably switch to the pearl surface..

The Lyson cartridges are even more expensive than the Canon brand color 
carts, which will produce tolerable but not great B&W prints on Ilford 
Smooth Gloss.  I can't afford to run the pre-filled Lyson carts on a 
regular basis, and so have given up on Lyson unless and until they offer 
their inks in bulk, in which case I will happily refill my own cartridges 
and print beautiful B&W all day.

Wouldn't it always be worth the cost of a set of cartridges to try a new 
inkset before you plunge into a CIS?  No matter what I or some other user 
tells you about our experiences, the final question is how a print made 
with your particular printer, ink, paper and workflow combination looks to 
YOUR eyes in YOUR circumstances.

Cheers,
Kip

At 1/6/2003 02:40 PM +0000, K2 wrote:
>I have the occasional need to print on semi-gloss and am considering
>Lyson inks.  There has been talk of metamerism in the past, with both
>quad black and SG.  I wonder if this has been overcome.
>
>Is anyone out there using either of these inksets with semi-gloss
>papers?  How do they fare for metamerism?  I don't need toning
>ability so either inkset is a possible candidate.
>
>I intend on using the Ilford Smooth Pearl, which has a really nice
>surface and weight.  It's also mega cheap here.  Any thoughts as to
>print life where clients are likely to keep the prints in an album?
>
>Lyson inks are expensive, so I'd like to jump right in with a CIS on
>an 890, rather than try out first with carts.