Digital BW, The Print

Frank,

At the risk of upsetting Keith again, from what I have read it IS a highly 
creative process to combine many different existing ingredients (and 
probably make some new ones) to make inks that will work with specific 
papers (that someone else has created and probably got patents for?) for 
specific ends.

Someone recently posted a reference to some of Epson's patents (or patent 
applications) on the inks that they have 'invented' - in a discussion of 
what went into them.

I would guess that far more work and creativity goes into making a new ink 
than taking a photograph! An Hewlett-Packard article not so long ago said it 
takes about two year's research to produce a new ink. So, should HP, Canon, 
Epson, etc, who have done such research be protected from others who just 
copy their inks?

So the whole printing system - printer, paper, and ink - involves an 
enormous amount of creative research.

Bob Frost.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Frank Kolwicz" <kolwicz@...>



The fact that Epson down-priced it's creative product, the printers, in no 
way obligates the rest of us to succumb to their transparent attempt to get 
us to pay for what they didn't invent - over and over and over again. The 
fact that they didn't charge for their true creativity implies, to me, that 
they really didn't value it that highly in the first place.