Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Martin Wesley" 
<mwesley250@e...> wrote:
> 
> 
> * -----Original Message-----
> * From: Tom Baker [mailto:tbaker1328@s...] 
> * Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 7:28 PM
> * To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> * Subject: Re: [Digital BW] clyde butcher carbon
> * 
> * 
> * All  -
> *  
> * (Here's a rant!)  I print with Ultrachrome, and I like it.  
> * But, Clyde is doing a VERY SERIOUS DISERVICE to all of us if 
> * he is using Ultrachrom inks and calling them carbon.  I don't 
> * know the man, but if any of you do, you should have a little 
> * talk with him.  The work that Paul Roark, and the rest of you 
> * are doing with the caron inks will be greatly set back by 
> * this sort of thing.
> *  
> * Tom Baker
> *  
> * P.S.  I he is using carbon inks, I respectfully retract these 
> * statements.
> 
> Tom,
> 
> Clyde is using UltraChrome inks and does not claim that they are carbon
> pigment. Boris mis-interpreted Clyde's statement on his site. There is a
> tendency to not recognized the difference between the color pigment inks and
> the carbon pigment grayscale inks. Not all pigment inkjet prints are the
> same.
> 
> Martin

Clyde is pretty clear that his prints use UltraChrome inks, but he does use
the term "archival carbon print" in his statement about digital prints.

I'm not sure but aren't the black and light-black UltraChrome inks based 
on carbon pigment?  The black inks are rated better than the color inks.

It seems to me whether someone is using UltraChrome inks with one of
the RIPs to use a minimal amount of color ink, or they are using one of
the quadtone ink sets, what you have on the paper is essentially the same.
In both cases you have primarily black carbon pigment plus a small 
amount of some color pigments to get the desired color tone.

The only issue I can see is the possible perception that the digital prints
are "cheap" versions of photographs.  I've certainly found that perception
come up regularly.  Those who make just inkjet prints want to think of
them as just another equivalent process -- i.e. you should charge the
same for the same image regardless of the process.  Those who want to
do both wet darkroom and inkjet prints may want to position them
differently to widen their market coverage.  I think both arguments have
merit but they are hard to reconcile.

Roy