Digital BW, The Print

Hi all, 

I'm kind of new to digital b+w printing, I'm using at the moment a 
1290 (1280 on foreign markets) with only black ink.
I'm getting pretty decent results, even though I know that this way I 
get only 256 shades of gray and no smooth tonal passages.

I'm thinking about buying an old 1200 or a 1160, for b+w printing 
only, but I really wouldn't know what inkset to buy.

It seems to me that piezography would be the best (although I'm not 
sure) but it's definetly too expensive for me.

Which system would you suggest and coupled with which printer? MIS or 
Lyson?

Thanks, any help would be really appreciated.

Paolo Valentini

MIS or Luminos if you can't afford Piezography. Luminos has just 
started selling warm and nuetral ink cartridges.

Jeff.


<pablo.kika@t...> wrote:
> Hi all, 
> 
> I'm kind of new to digital b+w printing, I'm using at the moment a 
> 1290 (1280 on foreign markets) with only black ink.
> I'm getting pretty decent results, even though I know that this way 
I 
> get only 256 shades of gray and no smooth tonal passages.
> 
> I'm thinking about buying an old 1200 or a 1160, for b+w printing 
> only, but I really wouldn't know what inkset to buy.
> 
> It seems to me that piezography would be the best (although I'm not 
> sure) but it's definetly too expensive for me.
> 
> Which system would you suggest and coupled with which printer? MIS 
or 

> Lyson?
> 
> Thanks, any help would be really appreciated.
> 
> Paolo Valentini

The Piezography also comes with a photoshop plug in that will really 
help you get started.

 
"pablo_kika" <pablo.kika@t...> wrote:
> Hi all, 
> 
> I'm kind of new to digital b+w printing, I'm using at the moment a 
> 1290 (1280 on foreign markets) with only black ink.
> I'm getting pretty decent results, even though I know that this way 
I 
> get only 256 shades of gray and no smooth tonal passages.
> 
> I'm thinking about buying an old 1200 or a 1160, for b+w printing 
> only, but I really wouldn't know what inkset to buy.
> 
> It seems to me that piezography would be the best (although I'm not 
> sure) but it's definetly too expensive for me.
> 
> Which system would you suggest and coupled with which printer? MIS 
or 

> Lyson?
> 
> Thanks, any help would be really appreciated.
> 
> Paolo Valentini

I'm using Lyson quad neutral inks on my 1280 with a continuous 
flow system with great results. There is no special software 
required....just convert your image to grey scale and then back to 
RGB and print as normal after adjusting contrast etc in 
Photoshop.....perfect results everytime. Needless to say, you 
have to have your monitor balanced to the printer output 
(lightness/darkness) to get an exact match.  I use the Knoll 
gamma software to accomplish this. I make a print and then 
balance my monitor to match the print, then save the settings to 
load when ever I print to a specific paper/ink combination. I don't 
bother with all these printer profiles, for I have found they don't 
really work for me. They are all based on the assumption that 
your monitor is calibrated the same as whoever made the 
profile....close, but no cigar! Makeing your own profile will give 
you the closest match so what you see is what you get.            
The ink archival life is 100+ years and I've had no problems with 
head clogs. I get excellent results with Ilford Gallerie classic 
pearl, Epson Colorlife/premium glossy and Hanemuel photo 
rag. Luminos quad blacks are made by Lyson and is the 
identical ink, but Lyson is cheaper, and you can buy in bulk.

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Cameraguy5" 
<frenchpassive@y...> wrote:
> I'm using Lyson quad neutral inks on my 1280 with a continuous 
> flow system with great results. There is no special software 
> required....just convert your image to grey scale and then back to 
> RGB and print as normal after adjusting contrast etc in 
> Photoshop.....perfect results everytime. Needless to say, you 
> have to have your monitor balanced to the printer output 
> (lightness/darkness) to get an exact match.  I use the Knoll 
> gamma software to accomplish this. I make a print and then 
> balance my monitor to match the print, then save the settings to 
> load when ever I print to a specific paper/ink combination. I don't 
> bother with all these printer profiles, for I have found they don't 
> really work for me. They are all based on the assumption that 
> your monitor is calibrated the same as whoever made the 
> profile....close, but no cigar! Makeing your own profile will give 
> you the closest match so what you see is what you get.            
> The ink archival life is 100+ years and I've had no problems with 
> head clogs. I get excellent results with Ilford Gallerie classic 
> pearl, Epson Colorlife/premium glossy and Hanemuel photo 
> rag. Luminos quad blacks are made by Lyson and is the 
> identical ink, but Lyson is cheaper, and you can buy in bulk.



Thanks a lot everybody for your answers.

I calibrate my monitor with the Colorvision Spyder and Optical and I 
believe it makes a wonderful job, right now I'm getting my printing 
profiles made by somebody with a spectrophotometer which I don't own.

What I'm looking for is neutral b+w, possibly with no color casts, 
after all if I want to print sepia I can do it with duotones in PS.

Are Lyson's inks really neutral? And how do they compare with 
piezogaphy? I have no problems in fiddling a little bit with curves 
if It's necessary, I just don't want to spend the extra $ for piezo.

Can you really print with Lyson's on premium glossy without any color 
cast? Is there any problem with metamerism?


Sorry about so many questions, it's just that I'm learning.

Thx all,

Paolo Valentini.

Pablo,

If you want a neutral inkset, be sure to consider the FS-Neutral with the
RGB workflows (or Piezo if you can find software cheap).  This forum has an
RGB workflow for the 1160 & PC posted.  (I don't know if it works on Mac.)

The FS-N quad will almost certainly fade and warm less than the dye-based
options.  In fact, I think warming is a problem with all the inksets I've
tried except the FS-N, but I have not tried the Lyson inks.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com

  -----Original Message-----
  From: pablo_kika [mailto:pablo.kika@...]
  Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 9:55 AM
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: [Digital BW] Re: MIS, Lyson or Piezography?


   ...
  What I'm looking for is neutral b+w, possibly with no color casts,  ....


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Where do you find Lyson quad blacks in bulk? So far I've only 
been able to locate Lyson small gamut in bulk, and quad black 
in cartridges. If I can buy builk quad black, I'm buying a 
continuous ink system tomorrow! 

Allan Connery  



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Cameraguy5" 
<frenchpassive@y...> wrote:
> I'm using Lyson quad neutral inks on my 1280 with a 
continuous 
> flow system with great results. There is no special software 
> required....just convert your image to grey scale and then back 
to 
> RGB and print as normal after adjusting contrast etc in 
> Photoshop.....perfect results everytime. Needless to say, you 
> have to have your monitor balanced to the printer output 
> (lightness/darkness) to get an exact match.  I use the Knoll 
> gamma software to accomplish this. I make a print and then 
> balance my monitor to match the print, then save the settings 
to 
> load when ever I print to a specific paper/ink combination. I 
don't 
> bother with all these printer profiles, for I have found they don't 
> really work for me. They are all based on the assumption that 
> your monitor is calibrated the same as whoever made the 
> profile....close, but no cigar! Makeing your own profile will give 
> you the closest match so what you see is what you get.            
> The ink archival life is 100+ years and I've had no problems 
with 

> head clogs. I get excellent results with Ilford Gallerie classic 
> pearl, Epson Colorlife/premium glossy and Hanemuel photo 
> rag. Luminos quad blacks are made by Lyson and is the 
> identical ink, but Lyson is cheaper, and you can buy in bulk.