Digital BW, The Print

Just an update for anyone who may be interested...
I ordered a set of Lyson Daylight Darkroom inks and loaded them into
Epson 1270 refillable cartridges and ran out some tests, starting with
the QTR calibration image.

I compared Lyson inks, the Epson dye black (on the 1270) and MIS
pigment inks (on my r1800). I test with both Epson Velvet Fine Art &
Hahnemuhle Photo Rag.

The blackest black was the Epson dye black on Hahnemuhle PR. VFA was
pretty close in terms of density but looked less sharp -- so I
declared HPR the winner. The Lyson black fell about half-way between
the Epson black and MIS Eboni.

I moved on to creating a QTR profile with Epson black, Lyson dark grey
and Lyson light grey on HPR.

Long story short -- The results were exactly what I was looking for.
Very deep blacks and a very smooth neutral grey range. Even though
glossy or lustre blacks may measure darker, I find the dye blacks on
HPR *feel* deeper.

Of course, longevity is an unknown. But then I always print pigment
versions as well plus I'll (hopefully) always have the digital files
around for reprints 40 years from now.  :-)

thanks for the input.


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "i_3d_c"
<ichristie@...> wrote:
>
> 
> Good leads. Thanks Richard.
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Richard
> Smallfield <r.smallfield@> wrote:
> >
> > At 04:14 AM Thursday 10/25/2007, you wrote:
> > >Well, I'm going to give it a shot. If the black is horrible, I'll put
> > >the Epson dye back in the black slot and use the lyson greys. I
*know*
> > >I like the Epson black.
> > 
> > A few points:
> > 1. If you do try Lyson and want to go back to Epson, you will have
> to purge the ink head using cleaning cartridges as the Lyson and
> Pigment inks are not compatible.
> > 2. Am I right in believing that you have been using EEM/Archival
> Matte? Have you tried PremierArt Matte BW? It has good Dmax and is
> double sided. From IT supplies it is about the same price as EEM and
> is acid & lignin-free - and, because it is double-sided, you end up
> saving on proofing.
> > 3. I used the HP7660 for about a year - it's just hogging desk space
> now and I'm thinking of putting it in my spare room. I've gone so far
> as to tear up my old HP grey dye prints on the HP Premium Plus paper
> because, although the glossy paper had good Dmax and no metamerism,
> bronzing or gloss differential (unless you blew out the highlights),
> there was a green hue that was far worse a problem for me than the
> reduced dmax of matte paper on my Epson 2100, which I've been in love
> with ever since I bought it. So you could try an HP printer (HP
> Photosmart 8750?) or a second-hand A4 printer (although they are
> *very* cheap new) and try printing on matte paper and then spraying
> with Lyson Print Guard or PremierArt Print Shield to seal the dyes (be
> aware that they are very toxic). But there is a green hue which you
> probably won't like. I have a friend with an HP who has experimented
> with matte papers and if you like I can ask him what paper worked best
> - contact me off list and I'll pass on your inquiry to him if you like.
> > 4. MIS make a universal black that works on glossy and matte papers
> and it does have dye in it. Maybe someone can tell you how the dmax
> compares with matte black.
> > 5. Media Street and MIS also make dye inks
> (http://www.inksupply.com/epsoninks.cfm) - if you did your own
> cartridge filling I wonder if you could use dye black with pigments in
> the rest of the cartridges? Someone here will be able to tell you if
> that's possible. Of course the two ink types would have to be
> compatible (which the Lyson and UC inks are not). And the dye inks are
> not made for pigment printers so you never know what problems might
arise.
> > 
> > Good luck,
> > Richard
> > 
> > 
> > --
> > http://picasaweb.google.com/rsmallfield/TheBackroadsOfWarkworth
> > http://photos.smallfield.vze.com
> > http://smallfield.vze.com
> >    "If English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for 
> >    them Mexicans"
> >    --Some politician in Texas
> >
>