Digital BW, The Print

What we don't know is if the MIS inks will show density variations over time
too. I guess none of us, regardless of inkset, run calibration strips each
morning to check consistency. What we don't know is if all inks
settle/evaporate/change over time, how good batch to batch consistency is,
or the random effects the printers themselves (as evidenced in sporadic
microbanding etc,) seem to impose over time, not to mention paper batch
differences, environmental conditions, and that the "control prints" shift
over time.

IOW, it might just be that Piezo inks have been in use longer, giving us
time to study them longer, but much of what is being attributable to brand
differences may be far more broad based than that.

All I know is I use MIS VM now, but I feel in no way free from fear. I think
all this stuff is tricky!

Todd

> Now here is a funny thing. Mike and Paul both told me that FS printed
> lighter than Piezo. Reworking some protfolio prints I found the opposite to
> be true, with FS needing a 'lift' adjustment. But going back to some REALLY
> old prints, all I need to do to replicate the piezo prints is to pull down
> the gamma a touch in curves and lift the toe of the blacks. It looks like I
> did have some variation (big) in density with piezo. Printing for the last
> exhibition I had to do some curves adjustments to get the prints to match
> the older portfolio prints but I put it down to an aging effect. Not so I
> think. This Piezo is tricky stuff!
> 
> Julian