Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> Steve,
> 
> >...I too am just now setting up a 7500 for B&W fine art printing
> >...
> 
> >The partitioned workflow approach: When it works well, it works 
very
> >well also, but as far as I know,  there is only a set of curves
> >available for the MIS VM inks and the 7000,
> 
> If I don't get a solution soon to the problems I've run into with 
the new
> inkset, I'll just make an improved version of the existing vm-s 
inkset and
> write curves for the 7500.  Since the vm in the 7000 works, I'm 
quite sure
> we'll at least have some viable Epson-driver inkset to fall back 
on.
A 7500 version of the VMS inkset sounds good as a fallback, though 
the double-K idea sounds even better. I do hope you can overcome 
whatever control problems have presented themselves.
> What clear base are you using?  My initial experiments with the 
MIS clear
> base looked fine, but they did not do well in a fade test.  I 
don't know
> whether it is the MIS clear base or whether the Epson Archival 
black just
> does not perform well diluted.
That's not good news... I am using the MIS clear base. So you 
suspect the base is more to blame? Should I assume that if I dilute 
the Cone Museum K it too will do no better? What other choices are 
there for mixing your own, is the new base available anywhere?

BTW the overly dense blacks I reported when I first tested the 7500 
went away when I got rid of the GEN 4 K. Head slant alignment got 
rid of some of the grittiness, and between that and your suggestion 
to try the Watercolor setting, I'm getting some pretty reasonable 
results-which makes this ink problem all the more vexing.


Steve K