Digital BW, The Print

Hello Norm,

>I'm using the Epson dye ink.  

You are comparing apples and oranges.  The dye ink will fade within a
few months.  If all we want is good Dmax and black blacks with no
worry about longevity then we could have all gone home years ago and
lived happily ever after.  

The primary reason for existance for this forum is the search for
solutions for fine art BW printing, which means ink/paper combinations
that _don't_ fade or color shift, with longevity comparable to silver
prints.  

With the current state of the art that means carbon based inks. 
Unfortunately carbon is dark brown, not black, resulting in warm
chocolate colored prints.  As a result, we have all the various
approaches to overcoming that, which you read about here.  Every
system has its strengths and weaknesses.  In spite of being dotty, BO
has enough advantages that lots of people use it.  Eboni happens to
combine the coolest black with the greatest longevity ratings, and
therefore is much preferred by most BO users.

None of the approaches are perfect so people keep improving their
techniques and trying new things.  The result is what you see here. 
If you don't care about longevity then your search is over.  If you
do care, well, join the club.  This is a great place to hang your
hat and keep up with the latest.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm