Digital BW, The Print

Steve,

>>...  The new UC clone inkset as a base for a new VM
>>(modified with some even better inks) is a winner.

>... is this under development do you know?  Is this the basis
>for the new 'RC compatible' set that is due in the next few weeks?

I designed the inkset and gave the formula to MIS.  It's ready to go as far
as I'm concerned.  MIS does it's own tests of inks to be sure there are not
going to be any surprises down the road (although any new product may have
characteristics that did not show up in tests), and I assume that is what
they are doing now before they produce the inkset.

The inkset is based mostly on MIS 7600 (UC clone) inks.  The MIS 7600 light
black did very well in my fade tests, is slightly warmer than the original
MIS quads, and is close to the right density.  It is a pure carbon ink, I'm
told -- and it looks and tests like it.  I fortified it with Epson Archival
K.  So, I think in the real world of moisture and oxidizing gasses, it'll
have a life that is longer than a pure carbon ink but shorter than the
coated carbon Epson Archival quads.

The midtones are all RC compatible.  You'll have to switch blacks to switch
paper types and get the dmax you're used to.

On my 1160 the standard vm curves all work fine.

The inkset is shifted slightly to the warm side.  This means that the nc
curve is more neutral.  The original vm "nc" curve was cool to account for
the expected warming.  The new inkset warms only slightly and at about
1/10th the rate of the old one, so no offsetting coolness is needed.

With a cool or cold curve, you can still go very cold.  However, the warm
curve is closer to the pure carbon -- probably just like the PiezoTone
sepia -- but not a true sepia such as the vm-s inkset can achieve.

The neutral tone is closer to the PiezoTone selenium.  Some have objected to
what they see as a greenish bias in the current vm inkset.  This is gone
now.

What is needed now is an easy way for people to switch between black inks.
I think Robert (correct?) is using a continuous inking system with no black
line/tube so that he can just pop in RC K or Matte K individual carts as
needed.  There will be a variety of black inks for either paper.  The
workflows are fairly tolerant of different density blacks.  The deep shadow
contrast is mostly what is affected.

I hope this new vm responds to a number of suggestions that people have had.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com