Digital BW, The Print

I know this is for the most part a matter of taste, but I'd like to 
hear what others have say about the difference between matte and 
glossy papers. I say this not to provoke an argument but to better 
understand the merits of each kind of paper.

Chris Hargens

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "dirkhobman" 
<dhobman@h...> wrote:
> I have been using the Ultratone inks for some time now and have 
found 
> them to be a significant improvement over the old VM inks. I print 
> with an 1160 printer and generally use semigloss papers. The 
> following are my experiences with these inks:
> 
> 1) There is nothing comparable for black and white printing on 
> semigloss or glossy papers. Forget about Piezography. The old VM 
inks 
> required an overcoat spray to prevent rubbing off. This is no 
longer 
> a problem with the new Ultratone inks. Personally, I have yet to 
see 
> a digital black and white print that looks even remotely as good on 
a 
> matte paper as on a semigloss paper. Typically, comparisons of the 
> same image printed on a matte paper vs. a semigloss paper (with the 
> appropriate black of course) leave the image on the matte paper 
> looking extremely flat and muddy. I suppose this must appeal to 
some, 
> but I have been surprised that more individuals do not seem to have 
> been bothered by the inability of black and white inks to print on 
> semigloss or glossy papers. The Ultratones now give this 
flexibility. 
> I have had most success printing on Pictorico's Premium Photo 
Glossy 
> Paper and Epson's Professional Glossy Paper (reasons noted below).
> 
> 2) Unlike the old VM inks, the Ultratones do not seem to have even 
> the slightest problem with clogging. I am using the photo black in 
> cartridges (not a CFS yet) and I have yet to experience a single 
> issue with clogging. I have left the inks sitting in the printer 
> unused for well over a month and been able to start printing 
without 
> a head cleaning (or at most just one). I should note that I live on 
> the Front Range in Colorado at 5000 feet and am in an extremely dry 
> climate. The old VM black caused so many clogging problems in this 
> climate that I eventually had to replace a head on my printer.
> 
> 3) The new curves Paul has made for the Ultratones on the 1160 are 
a 
> significant upgrade over the old VM curves. I had puddling problems 
> with the old VM curves and the new Ultratone inks. The new curves 
> solved this issue. Not only that, but they lay down less ink and 
> consequently result in markedly improved image quality with 
smoother 
> transitions on the grey scale (Note that all of this pertains 
> particularly to my experiences printing on semigloss paper. I am 
sure 
> the same would hold on matte or glossy papers however). On 
semigloss 
> papers, there are now absolutely no visible dots in higlights on 
the 
> 1160. It's quite impressive. This was not the case with the old 
> curves and the VM inks. In general, my experience has been that 
> printing on glossy or semigloss papers is considerably more 
demanding 
> from the system as a whole than printing on matte papers. Matte 
> papers seem to smooth out any imperfections, whereas semigloss and 
> glossy papers readily show any weaknesses - be it in the printer 
not 
> having perfectly clean heads or the inks not being perfectly 
> linearized etc.
> 
> All this said, areas for improvement with the Ultratones might be 
as 
> follows:
> 
> 1) The new curves for the 1160 are just about perfect on matte 
paper. 
> They will need some adjusting on glossy/semigloss papers. I have 
> found there to be a large jump between 100% and 95% that can be 
> visually distracting. I have yet to fix this. Paul is ultimately 
much 
> more qualified to deal with this than I am. 
> 
> 2) Bronzing is apparent on some glossy or semigloss papers. I found 
> there to be some distracting reflectance issues with the Ultratones 
> on some papers. It is not horrible, but it can be an issue. The 
> reason I print on the Pictorico paper and the Epson Professional 
> Photo paper is that these two papers seem to almost completely 
> eliminate this problem. (I should note I'm still experimenting with 
> other papers at this time.) Epson Premium Semigloss seems 
acceptable, 
> but not quite as good in this respect when compared with the two 
> aforementioned papers. Premium Luster does not fare quite as well. 
I 
> would encourage you to experiment for yourself if interested.
> 
> All in all, I highly recommend these inks. They are a vast 
> improvement over the old VM inks, and Paul and MIS deserve much 
> credit for their hard work and effort and for providing this system 
> at such a reasonable price.
> 
> Regards,
> Dirk Hobman
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, BOB KRAMER 
> <bobkramer@c...> wrote:
> > Jeff, you might consider buying the small 2 oz. bottles of the 
> Ultratone
> > inks and a set of virgin cartridges.  It won't cost you much more 
> than a set
> > of preloaded carts, and they are quite easy to load yourself.  
This 
> inkset
> > is great!  Much better than the original quad and VM inks that I 
> had been
> > using previously.  You really should give them a try.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > 
> > Bob
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jeff Magidson [mailto:jef.jef@v...]
> > Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2003 6:23 PM
> > To: digital bw group
> > Subject: [Digital BW] MIS Ultra-tone inks
> > 
> > 
> > Hey Everyone;
> > 
> > Does anyone know what the status of the MIS ultra-tone inks are? 
On 
> the 
> > MIS web site they are still listed as "experimental" and only 
> available 
> > in bottles. I would like to buy a set in carts to give them a try.
> > 
> > I did make some nice prints with the VM set...printing mostly 
with 
> the 
> > medium warm and warm curves. However, after these prints where 
> exposed 
> > to indirect light for a short time they warmed to great degree... 
> much 
> > MUCH greater then the moderate increments of the medium warm -vs- 
> the 
> > warm curve. For me that does not make this inkset usable. I have 
> heard 
> > that when printing with the more neutral curves or cool curves 
the 
> > prints do not warm much.