Carbon print tones on Arches Watercolor paper
2012-03-26 by Paul
I thought this comparison of the Lab B values for Arches watercolor paper would be of interest to some. Lab B is the simplest way to compare relative warmth of prints. The graph (link below) compares Eboni-6 with MIS K4 carbons. http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-v-K4-Arches.jpg The surprising thing is how close they are on Arches. A one-unit Lab difference is often considered "barely perceptible." Note that the tones are much different with coated inkjet papers like Epson Hot Press and the usual papers we print with. If I am just printing on Arches, however, the non-settling, glossy-compatible nature of the K4 carbons (which I also use in that printer for the sepia tone museum productions) may be a serious contender for me. Having HpGO (HP Z3100/3200 diluted with MIS amber base -- see http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/1100-HpGO.pdf ) in the printer with the MIS glossy carbons in a "Dual Quad" setup makes a neutral to sepia, glossy and matte, variable tone setup that may be about as good as it gets for a system that can handle that range of tones and papers. And it's not very costly. Paul www.PaulRoark.com