Digital BW, The Print

Darko,

>If I want to try UT/C82 today, what C82 cartridges,
>inks and/or tools I have to order?

MIS has the C82 (through Amazon, I think) as do others on the internet and
elsewhere, the C82 empty carts (you may have to call MIS on this), and the
inks.

Eboni goes into the black spot.  For the warm, pure carbon tone, UT hextone
Light/Photo cyan goes into all 3 color spots.  (While the carts and inks are
the same, the chips are specific to the color -- at first.  So, the yellow
chip must be on the cart that goes into the yellow position.  After the
first use, however, that cart can then be put into the other spots.  This
becomes relevant if you want a medium warm tone where you'll be mixing the
warm and neutral ink carts.)

The neutral ink is a new mix.  I'd wait until MIS mixes it for you.  Mixing
small batches to the needed accuracy, especially without an expensive
scales, is a problem.

As to other tools, if you have Photoshop, that's great.  However, any image
editor will do.  I recommend Picture Window 3.5 as a starting program.  It
can be downloaded from Digital Light & Color for free as a trial and then
$50.  If you like it, the Pro version is 16 bit, which is nice.

One big reason I like Picture Window is that it is simple, cheap, and allows
use of Photoshop curves.  That gives you an easy migration route to the
bigger printers and more complex workflows.

As to scanners, it really depends on what your originals are.

>Do you recommend waiting for pre-filled
>cartridges or refilling is easy enough?

If you're just starting out, I think you might be better off waiting for
pre-loaded carts.  The carts MIS received were not what they expected, and
they are not easy to fill to capacity at home.  I'm only putting 12 cc into
them, whereas they should take 16 cc.  (Ink squirts out the vent holes when
more is put in via the easy bottom-fill method.)  So, I'll have to change
carts when the ink monitor reads only 75% used.  MIS (or their contractor)
can do it with vacuums, which is the best way to do these, but it's complex.

You might call to see when they'll be available.  (I'll also e-mail MIS to
see if I can get a schedule.)

If its going to be long, then touch base with me and I'll see what the
alternatives are to get you started.

Have fun.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com
______________________________________




______________________________________


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark"
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> Jim,
>
> > What would you all recommend as an affordable basic setup
> >consisting of a printer, inks, papers, software, and perhaps a
scanner?
>
> I just finished my "affordable & easy" printer project.  I've been
> determined to bring archival B&W to even non-technical types for as
little
> initial $ outlay as possible, and I think it's done.  My target has
been the
> genealogists and scrapbook makers who need to be able to copy,
restore, and
> archival old family photos, but this is a solution that is also
ideal for
> anyone who wants a simple, basic but very good archival printing
system.
> (Have you noticed how many of the people who lost their homes to
fire
> mentioned the loss of their old family photos as most heart-
breaking.  The
> valuable old ones should have been copied and given to relatives.
It's the
> best insurance.)
>
> While the Epson 1280 with MIS Ultra Tone ("UT") inks is the most
flexible,
> state-of-the-art combination, the Epson C82 with UT-derived inks is
the
> affordable, easy way to go.
>
> With the C82 there are no RIPs or special software.  Just print the
B&W
> files from any application.  There are some Epson driver settings
that
> matter (EEM paper type, "Best Photo", ICM, No Color Adjustment,
High Speed
> off).  But this is about as simple as it gets.
>
> The C82 is at the end of it's life cycle, but they are still
available from
> $69.  Epson probably has refurbished ones and others have new
ones.  The
> refurbs are as good as new and covered by a new warranty.
>
> The C82 is made for pigmented inks, using the Epson Durabrite inks
for
> color.  These are as durable as (probably the same as) the Epson
UltraChrome
> color pigments.  For color, these are fine for archival storage and
display.
> They have a 70+ year display life.
>
> The inks for B&W are from MIS (www.inksupply.com).  They are based
on the
> Ultra Tone inks.  This is a pigmented inkset which uses
predominantly carbon
> black.  For the warm C82 ink, the UT light cyan is perfect.  It
goes into
> all the color positions of the C82.  The black ink is MIS Eboni.
>
> For a neutral (slight "selenium" tone), I've just finished the
formula.  It
> basically ads 14% blue (cyan + magenta pigments) to the UT medium
gray.
>
> MIS will pre-load these inks into cartridges and, I assume, also
sell them
> as bulk inks.  I expect them to load the carts ASAP.
>
> These inks, in the UT or raw form, have been more fade resistant in
my
> initial fade testing than have the Epson Archival inks, which have
been
> rated at 200+ years of display life by Epson.  The carbon ink in
the UT
> inkset will probably last longer than our civilization when printed
on
> buffered cotton paper and stored appropriately; they are very
archival from
> what I can tell.
>
> The best papers for the system are Epson Enhanced Matte for medium
term,
> very affordable display.  (It's acidic, so it's rated at only 110
years of
> dark storage by Wilhelm.  High humidity and temperature could
shorten this
> significantly.  It's my main paper for general printing.)  For a
cotton
> paper that should be archival, Hahnemuhle PhotoRag is the most
popular and
> what I recommend for the C82.  It gives a dmax of 1.60, which is
very
> competitive for a cotton paper.  www.MediaStreet.com sells this
as "Royal
> Renaissance" for a reasonable price.
>
> For the old-photo restoration folks, Epson and Canon both have good
flatbed
> scanners for about $50.  If you do film get a 4000 dpi Nikon or
equivalent.
>
> For basic, affordable image editing the $50 version of Picture
Window seems
> to be the way to go.  A trial program can be downloaded from
Digital Light &
> Color at http://www.dl-c.com/Temp/.  One advantage to this program
is that
> is can use the Photoshop image adjustment curves that are needed to
control
> many of the more complex, partitioned B&W inksets if you want to
migrate to,
> for example, the 1280 & UT inkset for large (13") paper.
>
> Enjoy the journey.
>
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com



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