Digital BW, The Print

> If, in fact, MIS discontinues E-6, might they only sell the base?

I doubt MIS will sell the base. IF they've decided to pull the plug
on Eb6, I'd guess the base is part of the reason. That 1800 carts'
apparent reaction to the base is not encouraging. I also have at
least one 7500 Eb6 cart that is leaking. Does the base attack
rubber??

> Or might they let us know what the base is so we can blend our own?

I'm accelerating my work on the next C6 base -- which also is
aimed at the HP Vivera Z3100 PK, and Epson MK (as the warm
toner for matte systems). They both stay in suspension very well.
I'm convinced the HP is not 100% carbon, but at least it is supported
by good Wilhelm tests. So, realistically, our inputs are going to
broaden for those of us who are comfortable mixing our own.
Note that if one is using diluted HP PK, the price is reasonable.
The HP diluted with C6 base also prints on glossy paper.



>... my understanding is that the E-6 "base" (100% Eboni) is
> available as the "MK" or "Matte Black" ink for
> many of the MIS systems. From the MIS website it appears
> ink for the K channel for the various UT systems is 100% Eboni.

The problems I'm aware of are not with Eboni. I think it is
about the best MK there is. All of the inksets I have in mind
use Eboni, and my dream is of a 1.5 pl 24" printer that can
print good 100% Eboni, like the 3MK in the 1800 and 1400.

The *potential* problems that I'm speculating could cause
MIS to stop selling Eboni-6 all relate to the base we are using
to dilute Eboni and the ability to keep Eboni suspended in any
dilution base. In addition to the possible solvent action on
rubber mentioned above, we know the dilution base is not
compatible with some common inks. I can see this being
a product support problem if many people do not purge
the old inks from the printers first.

Dilute Eboni is also settling faster than the other inks we usually
use. In desktop units the carts get agitated so much it's not a
problem. For my 7500, I agitate the carts (can even do so while
they are in the printer). CIS units are easy
to agitate. So, the settling problem is only really going to be
a problem for large format and CIS users who do not agitate
their carts.


> What about the MIS ESC-BASE-4-UC? They claim it can
> be used to dilute inks and specifically say it can be used
> with Ultratone inks. ...

It is one of a number of bases I've tested with various inks,
including Eboni. It may be very compatible, but my tests
with Eboni looked rough (and with glossy pigments the
bronzing is terrible).

> I don't see any other ink in the other Ultratone sets that
> even gets close to the 2% dilution of the EB-6 Y ink...
> So much for my all the YK profiles I just did for my R280!

Hopefully there will be a solution. Maybe at that extreme
dilution the UC base will work OK. It's worth a try. For
that matter, at that dilution and if there are more several
2% inks firing, maybe even C6 base will work. I think we
are far from a "game over" position.

I certainly hope MIS and its supplier realize that an Eboni-6
type inkset is their best shot at competing for the high end
of B&W. On the other hand, maybe the high end is just
not large enough to bother with for them.

And, of course, those of us who mix our own may have
HP and other inputs that, when diluted, work very well
for very reasonable prices, and the pigments are fully
supported by Wilhelm tests. If we can't claim 100%
carbon or point to a Wilhelm, RIT, or other serious
fade test, how are our customers going to feel secure?
I, personally, am not comfortable selling "fine art" that
has weak color pigments in it. Note I said "weak" --
I don't think 100% carbon is necessarily the ultimate
pigment. It just has the advantages of history and
lots of credible support. If a company has a neutral
gray that has non-carbon components (and all the
large OEMs use such), and that pigment is very
well supported by credible third party fade testing,
I'm much more comfortable with it.

I've probably said way too much given the rumor status of this Eboni-
6 issue. I'll continue to make the best affordable mixes I can with
the available materials. The reality is that the bar is a lot higher
with the large OEMs having some serious competition out there.
Still, it gives me great pleasure to, for example, be able to put
dilute HP PK in a C88+ and have anyone be able to make state of the
art neutral B&W for pennies per page. Overall, the situation is
changing, but not getting worse. It's getting better, with just a
few detours along the way. I hope our traditional third party
suppliers have the will and ability to stay in the game.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com