Digital BW, The Print

Jerry,

>Can the Ultrachrome inks from MIS give as good a black as the enhanced
>generations 4 black?

Only on RC paper.

>(I'm looking ahead a bit as to what inks I should
>get if I get a 2200 Printer.

The MIS UC clones have some very good points.  Epson Archival black gets
better dmax on RC paper than the MIS Photo black.  I am going to use the
Epson Archival black, and I think MIS will be selling it in bulk.  They will
by the 10000 Archival black carts and decant them.  I use the Archival K in
the formulas, so they already have it and know I intend to use it until
something better comes along.

> what is a High load matte black?

The big change/advance in the field is not the pigments, but the base.  The
new bases that are available to all -- Epson and MIS -- can hold a more
pigment powder.  For example, Epson Archival K is about 3% pigment.
PiezoTone Museum K is over 6%.  Epson matte black is even higher.

The high load means greater gamut and deeper blacks.  For color, this means
a higher-gamut color pigment inkset.  For B&W, this advance means a deeper
black *without* the need for dye.  So, the high load Museum K and MIS matte
black that I'm now testing exceed the dmax of the VM/FS K on EEM, even
though they (allegedly) have no dye and no co-solvent (a source of trouble).

The high load blacks still cannot reach the depth of Media Street's Enhanced
K, however.  But, if longevity is important, then the high load blacks are
definitely the way to go.  For your uses, Gen Enhanced may still be the best
choice.

>Enhanced gen 4 still the winner of deepest black?

For a "mostly pigment" ink on matte paper I think Gen Enhanced is still the
winner.  But for those who like RC paper, Ilford Smooth Pearl (a nice but
clearly not matte finish) with Archival K is the champ.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com