Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "dfaprinting" <dfaprinting@y...> 
wrote:
...
> I don't think the 3 blacks was specifically for black and white 
> printing. I think it was to make smoother tonal transitions with the 
> color work...

My understanding is that it was, in fact, primarily to improve B&W. But Epson is such an 
opaque company I'm not sure anyone knows for sure.

>... And also it could provide a slightly better gamut because 
> using black ink to replace CMY means you can get more ink onto the 
> paper (GCR).

Up in the tonal areas where a lighter K will be introduced for GCR, total ink is not high, or 
a problem. I doubt this alone will effect gamut.

> 
> 
> > The new printers will probably make a lot of people happy, so some
> > market will move away I guess, and Ultrachromes in general have
> > probably hampered the 3rd party color ink world quite a bit.
> 
> I don't know about that. Since the Ultrachrome inks have come to 
> pass, many more manufacturers have made pigment inks for these 
> printers.

Whether they are pigment or not, I see much less discussion elsewhere about 3rd party 
color inks in use. I'm a good example. I've used Lysonic, Fotonic, Indelible, Generations, 
MIS... you name it over the years. Any more, I just don't bother, though I do wish 
something better would come along.

It was Jobs, or someone else big and successful, that said he worries more about some 
crazy in a garage coming up with the next big one, than his huge dinosaur competition 
across the street.
The results I love now, that I find personally rewarding, are because of the crazies, I'm all 
for them.
Tyler