Digital BW, The Print

Jerry,

I have not seen the PiezoTone cool inks.  I think Jon published a fade test
of them that was not quite as impressive as the warm-neutral or selenium,
but still very good.  Frankly, if you're happy with the vm inks,  I'm not
sure how much paying more for longer-lived midtones gets you if you are
using the hybrid Enhanced black.  Your existing midtone inks should outlast
that black ink anyway.

Paul
____________________________
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Jerry Olson [mailto:jerryolson@...]
  Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 7:48 PM
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Permanence - Paul Roark


  Paul, have you seen any results of the piezotone COOL inks yet?

  Jerry



  Paul Roark wrote:
  >
  > James,
  >
  > >...about to switch inks from the original Piezo/Sundance.
  > >.. replacing them with either Piezotones, or a blend of
  > >MIS FS-N (80%) & FS (20%) inks.
  >
  > >...ink/print permanence
  >
  > PiezoTone midtones are more lightfast than the FS and FS-N, although the
FS
  > are better than the old PiezoBW/Sundance.
  >
  > >... DSS syndrome
  >
  > This is not a problem with either inkset as far as I know.
  >
  > >I have read Jon Cone's published accelerated-aging tests of
  > >Piezotone inks in comparison with MIS FS inks, and his claims
  > >of under 2% fading of Piezotone, vs. a 17% fading, accompanied
  > >by significant color shift, for FS inks.
  >
  > The tests appear to be valid.  From what I can tell, I think that the FS
  > inks do have a bit of dye in them.  This burns off quickly at first.
With
  > the FS, this causes both some fade and substantial warming.  The FS-N
fades
  > just like the FS, but it does not warm.  So, visually, the FS-N would
look
  > much better in these comparison tests.
  >
  > Note that once the small amount of dye burns off, the remainder and bulk
of
  > the FS inkset is pigment, which will be much more stable than the
initial
  > warming/fading period might suggest.  That is, one cannot extrapolate
the
  > initial dye burn-off to the long-term relative fade performance.  The
fade
  > rate is not linear, it slows substantially with the FS inks.
  >
  > (I'm now assuming the black FS-K from which the FS inks are mixed does
have
  > some small amount of dye in it.  That is simply the best explanation for
the
  > performance of the FS midtones.  Neither I nor, from what I'm told, MIS
has
  > information from the manufacturer of the black ink about the dye
content.)
  >
  > >... FS-N is color/tone stable.
  >
  > Yes.  It does fade at the same rate as the FS inks, however.  If you mix
FS
  > and FS-N, you will get some warming due to the FS inks.
  >
  > (Comparison of different fade tests is apples and oranges.  So, I'm
avoiding
  > some of the numbers that have been mentioned.)
  >
  > >...I'd like your current thoughts on this matter of fade and
  > >color/tone stability of FS-N ink. ...
  >
  > I still use FS-N, which is reasonably stable and looks good for a long
time.
  > That said, the new PiezoTone midtones raised the bar substantially.
When I
  > originally mixed the FS-N, it easily beat the PiezoBW.  At that time
only
  > the Epson Archival inkset seemed to have an advantage, and it's
metamerism
  > made it unusable.
  >
  > Times have changed.  The PiezoTone midtones are excellent, as is the
  > UltraChrome inkset and it's ability to print reasonably good B&W.  When
I
  > did comparison fade tests, I saw that the FS and VM inksets really were
no
  > longer in the top performance category.
  >
  > So, now I'm upgrading the inks I use.  An Epson Archival black-based
inkset
  > (no metamerism in the black) is aimed at the high end of the neutral
  > Piezo-compatible inksets.  I hope that MIS will mix it, but that is
their
  > decision, and I have not received any from them.  I'll mix it if I need
to.
  > I think it will be the ultimate in ink permanence with today's
technology,
  > and that is where I want to go.
  >
  > Today, I'm fine-tuning a new VM inkset that is in the UltraChrome class.
  >
  > The direction I'm going is pure pigment (no dyes at all and fade tests
that
  > are consistent with this) and glossy-paper compatibility.  The two
inksets
  > mentioned above are ready to go as soon as MIS puts them through its
tests
  > and decides whether to mix then and when to release them.  A new vm-s
that
  > is Epson Archival ink-based will be next.
  >
  > So, in a few weeks there should be a full range of what I'd call "class
A"
  > (in the 100 year and up range) inks out there for B&W printers.  Right
now,
  > I don't think the FS or VM inks are in that class.  Technology has moved
on.
  >
  > >I am also concerned that the Piezotone inks may, in the future,
  > >lead to DSS or other problems affecting Epson print-heads. My
  > >understanding is that the MIS FS and FS-N inks have not
  > >exhibited clogging or DSS problems. Are you aware of any
  > >reports of DSS with the MIS FS and FS-N inks?
  >
  > I can't speculate on future ink performance.  I am told by MIS that they
  > have a number of tests that avoid some of the problems that other inks
have
  > had.  However, this could be competitive puffing, and I don't want to
get in
  > the middle of that.  With any new product, there is some risk of
  > unanticipated problems.  Reputations and track records are obviously
  > important in this respect.
  >
  > Paul
  > http://www.PaulRoark.com
  >
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