Digital BW, The Print

I have uploaded dMax_finder01.pdf to share some of my current 
research into how black inks perform across a variety of papers
and printers. It can be found in the Files section of the group within
the folder Ink_Sets.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/Ink%20Sets/

This is work-in-progress; the numbers given for dMax may be affected 
by many other variables besides ink, paper and printer. 
Their usefulness is in how they compare to each other rather than 
in absolute terms. Once profiled, these combinations of 
printer/ink/paper is likely to show a slightly lower dMax, 
but I expect that the relationship between numbers will still hold.

Also, please remember that maximum black density by itself isn't the
only criterion for choosing a paper. All the other important factors
are NOT in this pdf: paper white, texture, cost etc. Also, the list is
currently incomplete. I have tested the most popular papers with
the most popular inks and printers - but who knows.... there may
be great combinations I have missed. The purpose of the upload
is to share current results and perhaps get some feedback.

About the method used: I made a profile in IJC that prints only
the black ink. I deliberately did not linearize it, letting the scale
plug up as more ink is laid down. The test scale that IJC prints
has 26 steps. After printing the scale, and letting it dry overnight,
I read the steps looking for the darkest step beyond which there
in no more increase. 
This is an important point: I didn't base my results just on step 26. 
Instead I read the scale from lighter to darker. At some point the
numbers start looking the same or even decrease. The step that
gave the highest number before there was no further increase,
determined the dmax. This is the same method used to determine
ink limits in IJC. For obvious reasons, no limits were set for printing
scales for  this test. 
 If a scale reached its maximum density at step 26 it was a sign that
perhaps the printer was not capable of putting down all the ink
that the paper could take.

Anyone with OPM (OS 9 or X) can use the profile I used and compare 
results against mine -assuming they use a calibrated X-Rite 810. 
I will upload it in the IJC/OPM area later. If you have IJC, you  can easily
make a profile by turning on only the Black ink, leaving the limits
to 26 and the ink curve as a straight diagonal line.




And now for some of the surprises:

1. The king of dMax turns out to be the Pictorico Watercolor, a thin,
highly textured paper that doesn't come in anything over 13x19.
I don't remember it being particularly popular, but it brought in
a whopping 2.12 (when Hahnemuhle tops out at 1.66 under the 
same conditions ! ).

2. A 1280 printer loaded with MIS Ebony is way outperformed by a 7500
with the same ink. Which goes to show that little desktop printers
made for dyes may not give pigment black inks their best shot.
Not really a surprise, but now confirmed in real tests.

3. The 2200 with the Matte Black (marked as MK in the pdf) matched
or outperformed wide format printers loaded with either the same ink
or Piezo Museum Black. Often it was outperformed by Ebony in a
7500, however.

4. UC Photo Black (in the 2200) outperformed the MIS UT Photo Black
(in the 1160). The 1160 produced its darkest at step 23, well before
the end of the 26-step scale. I am inclined to think that it wouldn't get
any better with this ink on a big printer.

5. In the large format category, Ebony in a 7500 often beats Museum Black
in a 9500 - sometimes by a wide margin. Photo Rag gets to 1.74 with
Ebony when it only hits 1.66 with Museum Black. That same 7500/Ebony
seems to produce the overall better black with the matte papers - though
not always.

6. Epson papers in this test - not surprisingly perhaps - did better on the
2200 with Matte Black than on the 9500 with Museum Black.

That's it for now. No Gospel here, just some initial results that I found
eye-opening in many cases.

Antonis