Digital BW, The Print

My dream machine would actually have the deep black, two grays, and 3
colors.  Then we could get the best of both worlds.

I tried the Generations color pigs and thought I had them relatively well
controlled, but then later the prints were not the same. I think my 1160
printer variances are too great.  In doing these MIS VM curves, I see test
strips from a fair number of people, and they all exhibit + or - 1-2%
variances even where there were no changes in the curves.  So, given the
sensitivity of the eye to tints with neutral prints, I wonder if the
commonly-used printers are consistent enough to give good, neutral B&W
prints from day-to-day using the color inks.  Maybe the 6-ink printers are
better at this than the 4-inkers, but I definitely see variations in
densities with all of them.

In designing the variable-tone system, I held the gamut of the toner down as
low as I could be avoid these problems surfacing.  The gamut is cut to the
point where it can just barely hit neutral at 90% on my 1160.  That seems to
be working.  While I see variances of about 1 unit (of 256) in the degree of
coolness or warmness, they seem to be consistent across the print.

Also, when I look at my color ink experiments now, they look terrible.  I
think the pigments may be fading at different rates, thus increasing the
problems.  I have some B&Ws made from color dyes, and they look very magenta
after a year or so of display.

I also tried the black-ink-only approach.  With my 1160 and with the 1280
samples I've seen, they may work for those who like the grainy look, but
they don't work for the landscapes I like.  It was not only grain, but also
banding artifacts that showed up.

I know of people using Epson black dye with quad pigments.  The results are
said to be striking, but I wonder about metamerism, fading, and
warm-shifting.

I tried the Generations Enhanced black in the variable-tone mix, but it
showed metamerism and warm-shifted more.

Mike, you mentioned your attempts to hang Piezo or FS quads next to a silver
print.  That is exactly what got me into all this.  They just don't look
good hanging together, and I have lots of silver prints.  So far the MIS VM
is the best solution.  It still has a slight bit of green in it, but they
look quite good next to my mildly-selenium-toned silver prints.   The
neutral base I'm now finalizing for the sepia-neutral variable-tone and the
FS-neutral will be dead-on neutral at 50% and through the midtones, on
average. I'm putting a tad more magenta than cyan in it to get than green
channel down to equal to the red and blue.  Paper choice makes a fair amount
of difference here also.  But, I don't think any of these inkset will ever
truly be as neutral as the silver prints.  If they are visually equal and
stay that way for a number of years, then that's where I stop worrying about
it.

So, maybe the universal inkset will be here someday, but I'd guess most of
us are going to be most satisfied with quads for a couple more years.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com