Digital BW, The Print

Hello Paul,

>Let me clarify a few things relating to UT7.

Thanks for filling in all the details about the mixtures.  I was
trying to keep my post brief and just convey the concepts.  I'm
confident the new UT7 will do much better (confident enough that I
have invested a lot of time and $ in working with it).


>The latest neutral UT inks are also very tough, but not as good as
>carbon.

Both you and Bob have told me this, and it is what I was trying to
convey in my remarks: in practical terms we simply don't know what the
limits are - it's still a question mark.  

The reason for my testing is to try to replace that question mark with
something.  Even though the windowsill is not a realistic test
compared to how a print will actually be treated, it does provide a
benchmark of sorts - we know that ink A lasts longer than ink B.  It's
up to the individual to decide if an ink that fades on the windowsill
after N months will be ok under glass in room light for X number of
years.

 
>I'll be interested to see how your tests of the newer UT formulas do.

I will be delighted if they resist windowsill fading for many months,
as I'm counting on them for being part of my tool kit.  
 

>Mine are such that I just don't worry about fading that much any 
>more.

You have said this to me before, and it always leaves me with the
question of how much is "that much"?  Does that mean you worry a
little bit?  I guess I'm paranoid, but I have a real concern about it.
It's one of the reasons I stick with Eboni BO - with papers such as
Condor and Merlin I can sell neutral colored prints that I'm confident
will not fade any time soon.  I am thrilled that Eboni can withstand
the windowsill for so long.

Of course BO is famously grainy, so I've been working on a modified
UT7 formula to try and reduce the amount of toners and still get a
good neutral color.  It is coming along very well so far, just a bit
of fine tuning yet to go.  BTW, this was accomplished only with your
help and suggestions for which inks may be interchanged - thanks very
much for that.  Of the 4 toned inks, 2 are completely replaced by
carbon inks, and a 3rd is cut by 50% with a carbon ink.  Only one
remains unchanged.  It's working beautifully, and the sliders still
give a small amount of warm/cool selection. I'll write up the details
when it's done. 

Thanks again for all your help.

Regards,
Clayton


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