Digital BW, The Print

Thanks Steve,
Very useful information. When I get the printer I will certainly test 
it with semi gloss (semi matte seems to only come in 30 metre lengths 
in UK ). For fine art prints I will test Velvet paper and when it 
becomes available I will have the option of eboni black. Is eboni 
black entirely compatible with the epson inks for colour printing? 
Does the use of eboni black present any problems if I use the 
Harrington RIP for it's soft proofing ability?
I guess I set high standards for Dmax since I used to selenium tone 
my fibre based wet prints.
Regards, Pete.

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Steve Kale 
<stevekale@b...> wrote:
>
> 
> 
> 
> > From: petexp2 <kafoozalem@b...>
> 
> > 
> > I am in the process of upgrading from the Epson 2100 to the 2400. 
I
> > am aware that both printers use the same matte black ink which
> > worries me a little. I mostly printed using Lyson's quad black 
inkset
> > on the 2100 and the blacks were deep and satisfying though there 
were
> > other problems.
> > I was less satisfied with the blacks I achieved using the supplied
> > Epson ultrachrome inks on Epson matte media. The prints had
> > a "newspaper like" quality as a result of an insufficient tonal 
range
> > despite a full range of tones in Photoshop ( "0" to about "240").
> > These images look fine under glass but were inferior to darkroom
> > prints in the hand. I suspect the paper I used may not have been 
the
> > best -- Epson "watercolor" and "Heavyweight matte". I was also 
using
> > the standard Epson printer driver.
> > Can I expect better blacks using different matte papers?
> 
> Perhaps a little but not much.
> 
> >Would using 
> > Ray Harrington's QTR have any bearing?
> 
> No not significantly
> 
> >Am I right in thinking some
> > people use MIS eboni black instead of the Epson Ultrachrome matte
> > black in their 2100 printers? Should I try this when it becomes
> > available for the 2400?
> 
> Yes.  It will improve dMax by up to 10% on the thicker "fine art" 
papers.
> It is ever so slightly weaker on EEM/EAM.
> 
> If you really want the same sort of dynamic range (or better) that 
is
> achievable in traditional printing then try the new inks (with PK) 
on Epson
> Preium Semigloss/matte paper.
>