Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "jason shanks" 
<prissweb@...> wrote:
>> nor do I know which work best. 

I'm using the MIS Pro, which are K3 equivalents and are available in 
2oz bottles. They are better suited to glossy papers than the older 
C-series Durabright inks or the first gen. Ultrachromes. If your 
refillable carts are spongless, you can try them without sactificing 
the carts, they will wash out well enough to use with other inks.

> The
> only pigment based printer I ever owned was a cx5400 and it had a
> waste tube problem , that and clogging. One thing I remember from
> using that printer is that some areas that had lots of black in 
them ,
> came out with a copper looking sheen . Almost like I used metallic 
ink
> . Is this bronzing ? 

Yes, this is bronzing, and glop would eliminate it. However, the K3 
generation inks and their clones use an improved  base liquid that 
doesn't produce much bronzing. On glossy papers there is stil a bit 
of gloss differential- less gloss in the clear highlights where 
there is no ink, so you MIGHT choose to use the glop anyway.

> If I can get my
> r320 ( from what I understand , the r200 to the r320 are basically 
the
> same printer with extra's ) to at least be on par with my cx5400 in
> terms of print quality , 

Yes, the R200, 220, 300, 320, 340 are all basically the same 
machine, but you won't have to settle for the print quality of the 
four-ink cx5400. Any one of these models will do much finer work 
than the C-series, though you would probably have to do more 
cleaning cycles than with dye inks. That seems to be the price one 
has to pay for using pigs, and it holds true for the machines that 
are designed for it as well.

>> hmmm , you
> mentioned pigment ink sitting on the surface ? Sort of like it was
> painted on , embossed looking ? Would gloping over this remove that
> effect? 

Yes, the glop would work in about the same way, though it doesn't 
offer nearly the protection of a lacquer or acrylic spray, and 
doesn't seem to do much towards extending the archival qualities of 
a print. 

As I said, the newer inks don't suffer much from bronzing or gloss 
differential, so very few of us are still using it unless its in an 
R800-R1800 on auto for color. Just doesn't seem to be worth the 
trouble any more.

Regards,

Steve Karafyllakis