Digital BW, The Print

I have now run a fade test of the Indelible black ink in my florescent-light
fader for 4 days (96 hours).  The initial results indicate fading and
warming significantly more than the comparison test strip of MIS VM black
ink.

Although I will continue the test, at this point I would say that the
Indelible's blackness -- between MIS VM and Gen 4 Enhanced black -- and its
cooler color come at the expense of fade resistance and stability.  (Note
especially the change in the densitometer's cyan reading of the Indelible
70% patch.  Is the coolness of the Indelible black ink achieved by adding
cyan dye?)

For this test I printed "black ink only" 21-step test strips on Epson
Archival Matte.  The test and control strips were printed the same day on
the same batch of EAM.  The results were rotated in my fader to be sure
there was no difference in light exposure (which I've never detected
anyway). The test strips were scanned (three times) along with the control
strips on my Epson Expression Pro 1600, all at the same time.  Although the
colors of the scanner are not exactly the same as the X-Rite densitometer,
the scanner allows more accurate comparisons due to the densitometer's
limited readout.  I also measured the same patches with the densitometer.
Both results are below.

To measure the scanned test/control strips, I use Photoshop, selecting a
large part of the test strip patch for the value in question and then using
the Histogram tool.  Because the scanner exposure is set to encompass the
range of densities of the test strips, the numbers are relative only.

Indelible 100%: (Luminosity, R/G/B)
	Control = 3.97, 5.56/3.36/3.20
	96 Hr.  = 4.79, 7.18/4.00/2.92

	Change in luminosity (fading) = 0.82
	Warming (change in R-B) = 1.9

Indelible 70%:
	Control = 126.6, 125.6/127.6/123.9
	96 Hr.  = 130.9, 133.6/130.8/124

	Change in luminosity = 4.3
	Warming = 7.9

MIS VM 100%:
	Control = 9.91, 11.97/9.74/5.21
	96 Hr.  = 10.03, 12.18/9.84/5.44

	Change in luminosity = 0.12
	Warming = -0.02

MIS VM 70%:
	Control = 139.7, 139.3/140.8/134.3
	96 Hr.  = 141.4, 141.9/142.3/134.9

	Change in luminosity = 1.7
	Warming = 2

X-Rite readings (3 readings, variances are noted with a minus or plus where
one of the three was less or more; numbers are for C,M,Y and Visual):

	Indelible 100% control = 1.75+, 1.75, 1.74+, 1.75
				96Hr = 1.73, 1.74, 1.74+, 1.74

	Indelible  70% control = 0.68, 0.65+, 0.66, 0.67
				96Hr = 0.63, 0.63+, 0.65, 0.63

	MIS VM K  100% control = 1.66, 1.68, 1.71-, 1.67
				96Hr = 1.66, 1.67, 1.70, 1.66+

	MIS VM K   70% control = 0.58, 0.58, 0.59, 0.58
				96Hr = 0.57, 0.57, 0.58, 0.57


Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com

(PS, I'm off to Carmel and the Bay Area conference and will be out of
contact for a few days.)