Digital BW, The Print

In a 1280 the ink should flush out with a couple of purge pattern prints.
If you really want to mess with a QTR curve to just flush LK then simply
create a new curve with LIMIT_LK=100 and all other inks set at 0 and adjust
the partitioning to one ink etc - pretty straight forward.  You should try
using an RC QTR curve instead of EEM.  With levels as high as 120% you will
start to incur the tint of the glop - according to Carl it is not perfectly
clear.  Why don't you edit a curve and add the glop (15-20% flat coverage)
as the ink is laid down.


> From: Steven Karafyllakis <steve@stevekphoto.com>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 02:21:24 -0000
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [Digital BW] More on Glop overcoating
> 
> 
> 
> A further report and observations on overcoating with MIS gloss
> optimizer. Some bad news, I'm afraid, at least for those of us using
> the MIS UC inks.
>  After switching my K from the 'Universal' to MIS PK and gloss-
> coating with the 1280, I started getting some very good dmax, far
> better than I've gotten with matte K on Photorag. The problems
> however, started a few hours after making the prints, when the gloss
> coat really started to dry. The dark gray areas gradually lost their
> gloss, and in some cases actually bronzed up again, and looked very
> flat. Not the results I'd gotten with the full color prints.
> The glossy papers hardly suffered at all, but the semi-matte showed
> the effect heavily, especially with low-key but not black areas. The
> problem seemd to involve only the dark grays, IOW the LK printed
> areas. I then did a full-page gray-scale, and coated 5 sections with
> 5 different levels of glop, using the Epson driver sliders to
> control the lay-down.
> After dry-down, 2 things became obvious: 1) While the 100% K band
> retained the gloss, the bands from 95% to about 75% matted and
> bronzed again. 2) The heaviest glop coat retained the gloss most
> consistently. 20% may work if you're mixing it into the ink, but
> this way, you need more like 120% for a solid coat.
> 
> A later test of the Epson Premium semi-gloss was more successful: a
> day later the surface felt dry, no visible dry-down effects, and a
> killer tonal range. So far with this ink combination, the Epson
> premium semi-gloss is the winner.
> 
> Other papers tested:
> 
> Epson PGPP
> Epson Prem. semi-matte
> Oriental Graphica luster
> Proof-Line semimatte DP and Glossy DP
> Kirkland Glossy (the Swiss-made)
> 
> I'm hoping that this problem has to do with the MIS LK ink, so I've
> ordered a cart of the Epson to test; If the Epson ink is better, A
> much lighter coat might do the job.
> This of course means switching and flushing the LK line, so I'd like
> to put out a request to those list members running QTR on PC who
> have an idea how to do this, for a curve that will run the LK
> channel only, at full tilt. Or a description of what it needs to
> look like at any rate, or a link to that info if it is already
> available.
> 
> Some further observations-
> 
> Drying the prints before gloss-coating does not seem to be
> neccessary. The prints I've had least trouble with, I dried quickly
> with a few seconds of hair drier blast, and fed right through the
> gloss coat stage.
> 
> If you use a desktop printer for the gloss, the pizza-wheels MUST
> go. Even at the slowest feed setting the glop coat is too soft to
> take the abuse. This causes problems with last half-inch of paper if
> you're overcoating all the way out. Easy enough to allow for it with
> a border.
> 
> Nozzle checks need to be done on an instant-dry glossy or semi-gloss
> paper, so you can see the reflection on the pattern, and so the
> other ink colors don't get on your rollers and then on your next
> print. I had been using the back of RC paper-the zero absorption
> makes the gloss coat easy to see, but cost me a couple of otherwise
> good prints.
> 
> I've had the glop cart in the 1280 for a couple days now, no
> clogging problems yet, only the occasional cleaning cycle needed, so
> far so good. It hasn't been as trouble-free as running dyes, but
> easier than pigments.
> 
> The glop is easy to refill in the annoying 1280 carts. I've found I
> don't have to pull out the remaining ink/foam-I'm getting 10-15ml in
> the bottom with no BS. Wonderfull, considering these carts are small
> and coating an entire piece of paper eats the stuff up in a hurry.
> Good thing it's cheap in bulk.
> 
> QTR is working very well for this. So far I've used only the EEM
> profiles for all the RC papers I've tested, and I have no problem
> fine-tuning any given pair without-split-toning, crossover or
> visible metamerism. I do have to use the 1440 super and
> unidirectional printing to get as smooth and micro-banding free a
> print as I like, but I would use that setting regardless.
> What the heck, I think I'll go ahead and pay for it...
> 
> Print protection being an issue, I tried waxing a couple of the
> prints that dried properly-it works well, the wax goes on smoothly
> and easily, and buffs up nicely. No more skid-marks or fingerprints,
> thank you. Very different from trying to wax a straight UC print. I
> don't know how much protection wax adds, but it's got to be good for
> something more than just smudge resistance.
> 
> That's it so far;
> I'd be interested in hearing from others trying this out,
> particularly anyone using straight Epson UC inks; any problems?
> 
> Steve Karafyllakis
> 
> http://www.stevekphoto.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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