Digital BW, The Print

How do the MIS Ultratone hextone inks compare to the VM (Variable 
Mix) inksets?  My cartridges will run out soon, and I'm wondering 
whether to switch from VM to Ultratone. 

I've been printing with VM for some time on an Epson 1280, using the 
1290 driver (which prints with smoother gradation) and Paul Roarke's 
1290 curves.  I use prefilled cartridges.  I'm reasonably happy with 
the VM inks. Things I'd like to improve:

1.  The density of the blacks, which are not as good as I got 
printing B&W with color inks. 

2. It would be nice to go back to the 1280 driver.  

3. Proneness to clogging.  I have experienced some clogging with the 
VM inks after not printing for a week.  Most took just a cleaning 
cycle to clear up, but I had a "clog from hell" recently that 
required Windex and hot water injections to clear. (And thanks to 
everyone who helped me with that recently).

I print matte now. I wouldn't mind trying something glossier at some 
point. When I printed in a chemical darkroom, I used mostly glossy 
paper without ferrotyping, or the old Kodak N "smooth" fiber papers. 

Thanks,
--Peter Klein
Seattle, WA