UT14 print tones v. HP Z3100
2012-03-18 by Paul
I have had a couple people ask me about neutral or cool pigment inks. The two I refer to the most are, first, the UT14 cool pigments (LC is LK density, C is a cool PK), and second, the HP Z3100/3200 pigments. With the HP inks, I have most often diluted the PK with MIS Gloss Optimizer (aka "glop") also now sold at http://www.inksupply.com/product-details.cfm?pn=ESC-BASE-4-UC. This is often also referred to as the MIS "amber" base. The HP pigments can be mixed with the generic clear bases and still be glossy compatible (because the HP pigments are coated), but HP PK diluted with the generic base will have the same bronzing problems as the OEM HP Grey ink. See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/1100-HpGO.pdf Reducing the bronzing with the MIS amber base obviously has value. Note that the amber base does increase warmth a bit. The UT14 inks already have the reduced bronzing of the HpGO. So, the comparisons of tones, via graphs, that I've posted are, first, the HP PK diluted with MIS amber base to make an Lk-density ink v. the UT14 LC, which is and LK density. These were printed on Red River UltraPro Satin, which has typical RC type characteristics. The PKs used were different -- UT14-C for the UT14 print and MIS K4-PK for the HpGO print. That accounts for a major part of the differences from 75% to 100%. See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/HpGO-v-UT14-tones.jpg Second, I've posted a comparison of HP OEM Z3100 Grey v. UT14 LC on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/HP-Grey-v-UT14-LC-HPR.jpg Note with the HP Grey v. UT14-LC that, I believe, the HP grey is a bit cooler than the HP PK diluted even with the generic base. HpGO (HP diluted with MIS amber base) is warmer than if generic base is used. I, unfortunately, don't have an HpGO on HPR in my files, I think it would be very close to neutral. (By the way, I did not have any knowledge of the HP Z3100 inks or print tones when the UT14 inkset was designed. I'm not sure which one was even released first.) Paul www.PaulRoark.com