Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@...> wrote:
>
> Although it sounds like you may be dealing with something other than a
> difference in ink density, I've posted the procedure I use to accurately
> compare inks.  See http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/Ink_QC.pdf    Even a cotton
> swab can see major ink differences, but this draw-down procedure is a 
much
> more accurate method.  Buying ink in bulk and comparing the old and new
> bottles with a rod draw down is a way to assure consistency.  (Keep in mind
> that there will always be small differences.  Be sure to agitate the inks
> before comparing and loading.)
 
> What workflow do you use in printing the UT2?  Curves (Epson driver set to
> NCA), sliders (driver set to Color Controls), or QTR?

Paul,
The problem seems to be resolved, although not solved. I was in the process 
of setting up a new(er) Mac with Photoshop Elements 4.0, so moved the 
printer to the new computer. (I've been using PSE 2.0, which came with the 
1280). With the new setup, the purge patterns printed much more as 
expected, and prints no longer have the muddy look.  Just out of curiousity, I'll 
will try some further swaps and tests with the two systems to see if I can 
determine what changed with the PSE 2.0, and report back on that if I figure it 
out and it looks like it could be of interest to anyone else.

I've been printing in the bare-bones "EZ" mode:  color controls on, and all 
sliders set to zero. No curves or QTR. Now, with the new capabilities of PSE 
and your on-line instructions, I'm looking forward to experimenting with ICC's 
and gaining more control over the printing process.

I do have one further comment/question re the "muddy print" question:  see 
below. 


> With the purge pattern use NCA (No Color Adjustment) in the driver to 
remove
> the Color Controls' withholding differing amounts of the ink depending on
> the ink position.  This should then give a good comparison of the inks.

Actually, the LM and LM/Y purge-pattern patches now print almost identically 
when I do select "Color controls" (with all sliders at zero), but when I select "no 
color adjustment", the LM/Y prints noticably darker than the LM (but still a light 
tone). This seems to be contrary to what you suggest above.

It would be nice to be able to compare the new bottle of LM with the old, which 
I unfortunately threw away. Next time I'll check before chucking. 

Thanks for the help/Jim C.
 
> 
> Paul
> 
> www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   _____  
> 
> From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> jimcongleton
> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 9:51 AM
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Digital BW] Ultratone prints turn dull and muddy
> 
>  
> 
> I have been using MIS UT2 inks in an Epson 1280 since last fall with 
> wonderful results-within three weeks of receiving the printer, I was making 
> better prints than I ever made in the darkroom. As one of a legion of
> "silent" 
> onlookers, I have benefited greatly from this forum and read it daily. Now I
> 
> have a problem with my printer (no, not clogging!) that has me stumped.
> 
> I don't print sepia, so use LM in the yellow position (the spongeless cart 
> filling sequence from left to right is C, LC, M, LM, LM[in Y position]).
> Several 
> days ago I refilled the cart, using inks from an earlier order except for
> the light 
> magenta (LM), which I took from a recently purchased bottle. When I 
resumed 
> printing, the prints were dull and muddy, with compressed gradation in the 
> dark tones (and the 21-tone test chart printed with little differentiation
> from 65 
> to 85%). I printed the 6-color purge pattern and found that the LM/Y
> position 
> was very dark, close in tone and hue to the M patch. Thinking that I might
> have 
> mistakenly put M in the LM/Y position (unlikely, since the LM and LM/Y 
> compartments were filled sequentially from the same open bottle, and I only 
> open one bottle at a time), I rinsed out that compartment thoroughly and 
> reloaded it with the new LM. The results were the same. 
> 
> The answer would appear to be simple: MIS sent me a mislabeled bottle of 
> LM ink, possibly containing M ink. However, several other observations do 
> not support this possibility: (1) although I refilled both the LM and the
> LM/Y 
> compartments from the same bottle, the LM patch in the purge-pattern print 
> looks just as it should (about the same tone as the LC), and (2) to see if
> the 
> suspect ink was indeed M rather than LM, I diluted out aliquots of the M and
> 
> new LM inks and the found that the LM does appear lighter than the M (that 
> doesn't confirm that the LM is formulated correctly, but it is not identical
> to M, 
> although it appears so in the purge-pattern print).
> 
> So, it appears that the LM ink in the Y compartment of the cart is for some 
> reason printing much darker than it should. If this is not a banal problem 
> involving the wrong ink, what are some other possibilities?
> 
> For whatever it is worth, I uninstalled and reinstalled the Epson driver
> with 
> no effect on the problem. Nozzle tests look fine (after the usual round of 
> cleaning cycles). I'm not sure what to try next.
> 
> Any suggestions will be appreciated.
> 
> Jim Congleton
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
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>