Digital BW, The Print

Paul,

Sounds like a promising approach.  Did you try this with any of the  
3.5 pl printers and is there any improvement relative to single  
channel BO printing or do we need the smaller 1.5 pl dot size for the  
highlight/midtones to minimize "grain"?  Also, do the "1.5 pl"  
printers only use the smallest dot size in the highlights (assuming  
they use some kind of variable dot size approach) or is this  
controlled by driver resolution settings?

Carl

On May 8, 2007, at 11:39 AM, Paul Roark wrote:

> In the new 1800 (also a defective machine, but better than the  
> refurbished
> 800), I'm getting slightly warmer results than in the 3.5 pl  
> printers.  The
> Premier Art Matte BW and Smooth 325 are hitting a peak warmth at  
> about 70%
> of almost Lab B 2 and 2.4, respectively.
>
>
>
> Paul
>
> www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/>
>
>
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of  
> Paul
> Roark
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 3:04 PM
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Digital BW] R800-1800 pure carbon printing
>
>
>
> Since there are several others experimenting with similar  
> approaches, I
> thought it appropriate to share some initial results I'm having  
> with the
> R800-1800. Although the first R800 refurb I purchased was  
> defective, I saw
> encouraging enough results to buy an R1800 (which just showed up while
> writing this).
>
> The bottom line for me is that "pure, 100% carbon" (plus base,  
> etc., of
> course), "neutral" (essentially paper white to relatively neutral  
> black)
> printing at what I consider photo quality may finally be possible. I'm
> using multiple MIS Eboni jets and the Epson driver.
>
> For the approximate spectral Lab A & B distributions of Eboni, see:
>
> http://www.paulroar <http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-PA-325- 
> BO.jpg>
> k.com/BW-Info/Eboni-PA-325-BO.jpg for Premier Art Smooth
> (Hot Press) 325 (no OBAs), and
>
> http://www.paulroar <http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-PA-MBW- 
> BO.jpg>
> k.com/BW-Info/Eboni-PA-MBW-BO.jpg for the very affordable
> and bright Premier Art Matte BW.
>
> For a comparison of the 5% patch of an Epson k3 Advanced B&W mode  
> print to a
> similar density patch printed with 5 Eboni jets firing in an R800,  
> see:
>
> http://www.paulroar
> <http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/800-5-Eboni-v-2400-ABW-1600dpi.jpg>
> k.com/BW-Info/800-5-Eboni-v-2400-ABW-1600dpi.jpg
>
> (The defective R800 may not have been firing all 5 jets.)
>
> Whereas "Black Only" printing with the 3.5 picoliter printers was  
> sometimes
> referred to as "Digital Tri-X," the R800/1800 might be referred to as
> digital Tmax 100. The link below is to a rather crude "apples v.  
> oranges"
> comparison of (1) a light midtone test patch of a Tmax 100 negative  
> scanned
> at 4000 dpi with my Nikon 8000 to (2) an R800 print, similar  
> density test
> patch scanned on an Epson 1600 flatbed at 1600. The Epson scan was  
> then
> downsized so that it would at least mathematically be at the same
> magnification as the medium format Tmax 100 scan if such had been  
> enlarged
> to an 8 x 10 print. The image you'll be looking at would be 1.2 x  
> 1.7 mm on
> an 8x10. (The Tmax patch arguably needs to be sharpened to bit.)
>
> http://www.paulroar <http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Tmax- 
> R800-8x10.jpg>
> k.com/BW-Info/Tmax-R800-8x10.jpg
>
> Note that I am not doing "Black Only" printing in the sense that  
> it's been
> used previously. I have multiple Eboni carts in the midtone spots.  
> This is
> definitely a dedicated B&W approach, not something someone would do  
> to also
> be able to print color with the printer. Most single-jet BO prints  
> have
> simply been too rough for my tastes. I'm aiming to match the  
> quality of my
> medium format Tmax 100 prints.
>
> The workflow tentatively would be to simply print a grayscale file  
> with the
> Epson drive, using an ICC in the print preview.
>
> To make the ICC, a 21-step test file is first used to determine the  
> best
> dmax. Then a curve from (0, 0) to (100, [best dmax point]) is made.  
> I'll
> probably have a 50% point pulled down to get approximately the  
> right density
> distribution. A second test strip is printed with this Photoshop  
> curve. It
> has its Lab L values read for purposes of linearization. Then the  
> curve and
> the text file with the L or density values are dropped into Create  
> ICC-RGB
> to make the ICC.
>
> The bottom line is that the Epson driver would be used, and the  
> system would
> be able to be linearized even with a flatbed scanner.
>
> The idea is to achieve pure carbon printing, with no color inks to  
> cause
> green shifts, etc. There are no cross-overs or partitioning to  
> worry about.
> The monitor and print will be matched via Create ICC.
>
> There are obviously many modifications one could do to this  
> approach. LK
> could be used to warm up prints or smooth the highlights on brightened
> paper. I have not explored whether there is a neutral PK that might  
> also be
> incorporated. Eboni's neutrality is obviously key to this approach  
> being
> acceptable to me. Dilute carbon inks are too warm for me.
>
> My hopes are that this will make the most lightfast digital prints  
> possible
> in a manner that is so simple old darkroom types will be able to  
> relate to
> it without ever having to learn anything about how partition  
> curves, control
> the tones of prints, or much else.
>
> This is not going to be for everyone. The prints do show a very  
> fine grain.
> But then those of us who've worked with film don't mind that, in  
> fact, it
> can lend a sense of sharpness to an image. But, as noted above,  
> Tmax 100 in
> medium format was my standard for years. I aim to match that  
> quality level,
> at least.
>
> As a side benefit, consider what this does to your ink costs. You  
> don't
> need much Eboni to make prints. It's the diluted inks that drive up  
> the
> costs. Light inks are expensive water. Then there is the simplicity of
> filling multiple carts with the same bottle of Eboni and single  
> syringe.
> ("UC base" [no binder] may be in the other spots to help keep the  
> sponges
> and heads clean.)
>
> This is still in a development stage. So, my results are tentative,  
> and I
> definitely reserve the right to change my opinion and dump this  
> approach.
> However, right now, I'm very excited by the prospects of a simple,  
> neutral,
> pure carbon, photo quality printing approach. I think it will be  
> something
> old darkroom printers can live with very nicely. (I wish there were  
> a 24
> inch printer with 1.5 pl dots.)
>
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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