Digital BW, The Print

Thanks, Paul, for the information. At the Media Street website they 
state that their Enhanced Generations Black is rated by Wilhelm 
beyond 100 years before noticeable fading occurs. That sounds 
impressive. Any comments?

Chris Hargens

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> Tom,
> 
> You wrote:
> 
> >... could you list a ranking of the black inks
> >you have tested in order of their density?
> 
> I don't have a readily-available list.  Also, it depends on the 
paper used.
> But, I'll throw out a few thoughts on the inks that come to mind -- 
and I'm
> working form memory.
> 
> Excluding the dye inks (Epson then MIS) and the post-coating 
effects, the
> winner is Epson Archival black on Ilford RC paper (the Smooth Pearl 
is a
> winner.)  That said, I think the matte look is better in most 
circumstances.
> 
> For the more normal EAM/EEM the order would be Media Street 
enhanced K (I
> don't know if MIS has an equivalent) as the darkest of the "mostly 
pigment"
> inks.  However, it's only for those who don't care much about 
fading and
> warming.
> 
> For EAM/EEM the new high-load, all-pigment inks look to be the 
best.  Epson
> UltraChrome matte black is tops on EEM according to the 
densitometer, but I
> think PiezoTone Museum looks deeper due to it's cooler tone.  (MIS 
may have
> an equivalent, but the fade testing isn't done yet.)  Also, UC 
Matte black
> doesn't do all that well on non-EEM papers.  I have not done enough 
testing
> to know if the Museum black falls on other papers also.
> 
> Frankly, MIS VM/FS K on PhotoRag is hard to beat as a combination 
of depth
> of black, lightfastness and ink expense (but the paper is too 
expensive).
> 
> >Also, could you do the same in terms of lightfastness?
> 
> Again, I don't really have a list and paper matters.
> 
> The UC matte black is the best I've tested, but I think Epson 
Archival black
> is the best in the real world.  The simple light-box testers dry 
the inks
> and eliminate the advantages of the Epson Archival coating.  But in 
the real
> world that coating is probably very important.
> 
> The Museum K and MIS equivalent are in the tester now.
> 
> After the above inks, the VM/FS black is the best.  It may have 
some dye in
> it, but with the co-solvent pushing the dye around the pigment 
clumps, it
> tests closer to a pure pigment ink than any of the other older 
black inks.
> 
> Media Street enhanced K (25% dye) is fairly far down the list, but 
not bad
> given the amount of dye it has.  For some the greater impact is 
worth it.
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com