Digital BW, The Print

Hi Bob,

>I'm going to mix the 3K+CYM inks for my 1280 and searched back 
>posts to find the dilution ratios. This is what I found:

>LK = 32% PK + 68% MIS base
>LLK = 10% PK + 90% MIS base
>MK = MIS eboni black
>PK = MIS photo black

The easy way is to simply buy MIS K4 LK and LLK.

Truth is, I've measured PK to LK dilution variances from 29% to 34%.  The
PKs can differ in load and for a time we were seeing LK that was too light.
The K4 PK is a lower load intentionally.  The others just sometimes are not
quite the same.

What I do is start with the MIS LK, which is checked by them for
consistency.  Then, if I don't have any LLK on hand, I mix down to LLK using
a 2 base to 1 LK ratio.  I think trying to be consistent mixing from a PK
all the way to LLK is asking for consistency problems.

I'm not sure if MIS sells the good glossy-compatible base by itself.  What I
see on what they call the "Roark's Lab" page is the old base, which will
bronze terribly on glossy paper.  Glop, however, also sold off that page,
works well as a base for the UT inks.

>I thought the MIS PK had some dye in it. 

No, it's their "Universal K" that has the dye in it.  The MIS Pro or 7600 PK
is "pure" carbon.

>Are you using the MISPRO LC and LM for those ink positions? 

For GT I'll be using all MIS (assuming they vacuum pack the inks) standard
LC, LM and Y.  (The 7600, MP, and K4 colors are the same inks.)  I do have
some tentative fade tests that indicate the Epson UC LM has an edge in the
lightfastness department.  I have never tested the yellows against each
other.  My feeling is that about 4 years ago the third party ink sellers
upgraded their yellows to one that is essentially equal to Epson.  That's a
test I'll have to do sometime.

I also use a diluted MIS LC (1 LC to 1 Base) in both my 7500 and 2200.  (See
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/4K+.pdf )  It's not really needed for the
2200, but the LC is the limiting factor in smoothness.  It's easy to alter
the profiles for the full strength just by changing the ink limit on the LC
channel.  Again, for GT I'll use standard inks for simplicity and
consistency with K3 printers.

Good luck with the project.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com