Digital BW, The Print

Jeff,

You wrote:

>I have begun to experiment with the MIS VM inkset on the 1280. I have
>also tried the VM inks on my 1160. Although the 1160 is very good, I
>wanted to try the 1280 to see if I could get even smoother output.  So
>far I have found that the 1280 is only a very slight improvement.. and
>only a visible improvement on some images on close examination.

I agree.  To me the 1160 is good enough.  I don't feel any need to run out
and purchase a 1280.

>When printing the MIS 6 color purge image I was surprised to see that
>the Yellow position ink and the Photo Cyan position ink are almost
>identical, with the Yellow position ink being ever so slightly lighter.

They will look similar.  The yellow position is the lightest gray.  With my
setup it comes in at a relative density of about 38%.  The Photo/light cyan
is MIS quad "45" which is, using my system of measuring, in the 50+% range.

The main source of differences in appearance between the 1280 and 1160 would
come from the 1280's light toner.  In the 1160 it is the toner dots in the
highlights that some can detect on close inspection when using the cool
curves.  In the 1280 I doubt anyone can detect those toner dots.

>... When printing with the Warm curve, are any of the
>two blue toner inks being used at all?
>Perhaps in the deep shadows or mixed with the black ink?

Yes, that is exactly what is going on.  The toner is needed to "tell" the
Epson driver to turn on the black ink, and that's it.  So, it is mostly
buried by the darkness of the shadows.  If you compared the warmth of the
MIS VM inkset with that of the standard MIS quads, you might be able to
detect a slight difference in warmth in the shadows.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com