Digital BW, The Print

Roy,

You wrote:

>I think I understand your desire to change the sepia mix.  When
>you say lower-gamut, do you mean same basic density but
>less saturated color?

Yes.  I have found that the strongest sepia that the current inkset can
produce is just too reddish.  People like the current inkset with the old
"cool" curve applied (especially when tweaked slightly to get the color
even).  However I can make a stronger tone curve that goes beyond the "cool"
curve.  I have those for only some printers.  That curves turned out to be
little-used for the MIS VM inkset, so I stopped making it.  However, with a
new, lower-gamut sepia toner, I'd make such curves and still get to the
sepia tone that I am not printing.  At the same time, I can improve the
neutral end of the hextone range and incorporate non-warming  attributes
into the inkset if it is slightly lower gamut.

>  Would you then just continue to use
>the same curves that you already use?  It seems like that
>would work -- they would just be just closer in color.

I hope the existing curves would even work better.  They will just need that
extra-strong tone curve that only exists for a few printers to maximize the
sepia tone.

>I'm mostly worried about the logistics of so many ink and
>curve combinations.  I've been using an 1160 with the regular VM
>but I'm interested in getting another printer for VM sepia.

I know instability throws a curve -- so to speak.  However, what I really do
is just try to get the best outfit for, first, what I am doing, and, second,
what others are likely to want.

I never "finalize" a mix or workflow, as a practical matter.  They will
always be moving targets.

MIS may or may not follow what I do.  MIS really doesn't even know what I've
told this forum.  I suspect they are very conflicted about the fact that I
may be moving on to yet another mix.  It makes their lives difficult also.

So, I can't say at all what MIS's product mix will look like 6 months from
now.  However, I thought it best to tell people here where I'm going.
Nothing will last very long in this fast-moving field.

> I'd
>probably buy a 1280 but I could also convert a color 1270 that
>I already have.

You can see the results of the current vm-s with the 870/1270.

I have no idea what the 1280 curves look like with the vm-sepia inkset.  I
don't have a 1280 and doubt I'll be making curves for the vm-s inkset for
that printer in the near future.

What I may do, since I have the 870 now with vm-s in it, is correct the
"cool" curve to be a hair more even.  Then I'll try the new non-warming vm-s
in it and try to write a full-on (strong) sepia curve to be sure that the
new mix will get to the saturation I want with a modern hextone.  Then the
870 gets unplugged and the quads -- 1160 and 3000 -- get tried with the new
mix.  If all works out, the new mixes (2 variants) go into the fader with
the exiting inkset for extended fade testing.  I will then decide which way
to go.

>  Besides the hardware differences, are the
>curves and future work better on either printer.  BTW, I'm using
>a Mac and prefer OS X.

Between which two printers?  I don't have a 1280.  I do have the 870, and I
did -- and hope to again -- have a working 1160.

>I don't mean to pin you or MIS down but are these ink changes
>imminent or still in the "good idea" stage?

Nothing is imminent -- maybe good idea.

If you like the existing 870 curves or you like the 1160 (and know how to
use PC curves on the Mac [talk to Todd]), a CIS would not be a waste of
money.

The hextone printers have a bit of a warm bulge in the shadows that make the
neutral curve (old "warm" curve) less than optimal -- and a new curve could
not cure the problem with the 870.  The black is about 0.03 units warm, but
the 870 "warm" curve (the most neutral curve with the vm-s inkset) hits 0.05
units warm in the shadows before the black ink predominates.  I assume the
1280 has the same problem.

The 1160 & 3000 can handle that end better, hitting a maximum of 0.03 warm.
My goal when I designed the inkset with the quads was to have the neutral
end do this.  The hextone printers seem to be different and less able to
make a neutral print that meets my criteria.  The 870 does much better if
you only need medium-warm to sepia.


>As in: should I use
>carts for a while or load a CIS?

Your call.  All I can do is tell you what I'm doing.  I don't want to
suggest that the current situation will change soon.  I'm just telling folks
where I'm going and why.  I expect I'll continue to change inksets -- what I
personally use -- every 6 months or so.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com

_________________________________
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Paul Roark"
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:

>
> As I told the Bay Area group a while ago, I'm likely to make an
alteration
> in my VM-Sepia toner mix.  I'm finding the darkest sepia that I
can print
> with the existing inkset to be a little too dark for my uses.
Viewers
> definitely like the curve I call the Light Sepia shade.
>
> So, I think I can improve image quality, including tone
distribution, by
> lowering the gamut of the toner slightly.
>
> By a pleasant coincidence, the almost-ready, non-warming
sepia toner is
> about ready for some final-mix fade testing.  This new formula
appears to
> take care of the gamut-related issues.
>
> So, the scanned test strips show where I'm at now with the
inkset, and a

> non-warming, lower-gamut toner is where I'm likely to go.
>
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com