Digital BW, The Print

There is a review of the Epson 2200, 7600 and 9600 by John Paul Caponigro in the Sept./Oct. issue of Photo Techniques.

He reports a Dmax of 1.69 with the Matte Black ink on matte paper (paper unspecified) and 2.0 with the Photo Black ink presumably on papers such as Epson's Premium Semi Gloss. 1.49 for the Photo Black on matter paper. This is close to the 1.73 and 1.46 I measured for the two inks on EAM.

More interesting he gives the following preliminary Henry Wilhelm "longevity ratings" in 7-color mode:

Premium Glossy Photo Paper - 90+ years
Somerset Velvet for Epson - 80+ years
Premium Luster Photo Paper - 50+ years
Premium Semimatte Photo Paper - 40+ years
Enhanced Matte Paper - 30+ years

I believe this is a reversal of earlier ink sets where the matte papers had the longer life or perhaps this was only true for the dye based inks. He also gives the Wilhelm website which when I checked is still, surprise, "under construction."

There is also a "Photo Black Mode" which uses both the Black and Light Black inks for printing B&W. It is not mentioned if this is available on all three printers. This would be an interesting alternative to a mono-ink black only mode or a full 7-color ink mode.

Of note he also says metamerism is reduced but not eliminated and "virtually eliminates microbanding." I hope they reverse engineer those cartridge chips soon!

There is also a great editorial in the issue by David Vestal, "The Case for Obscurity."

A short and perhaps inflammatory quote:

"....I learned to tell my dealers that I do not print to order. People can call up to order something in 20x30, but they won't get it. If all my prints of a photo are sold, I'll make new prints if I want to, and all but one, which I keep for myself, can be sold if they're wanted. I make no editions or portfolios and certainly no "limited Editions" - a euphemism that means mass production.

"I tell the dealers that not printing to order is almost as good for business as being dead, which boosts sale in the art market. And I have the advantage of being alive."


Martin Wesley

http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html





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

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Martin Wesley" <
mwesley250@e...> wrote:

> There is also a "Photo Black Mode" which uses both the Black and Light 
Black inks for printing B&W. It is not mentioned if this is available on all three 
printers. This would be an interesting alternative to a mono-ink black only 
mode or a full 7-color ink mode.

Martin,
I believe that on the 2200 there is no "Photo Black Mode".  If one selects black 
ink printing for a photographic image the driver issues a warning that this 
option is only recommended for text and line art.  I could not find any driver 
setting that allowed use of the black and light black together, without the color 
inks.  The only time that both the black (Photo Black or Matte Black, 
depending on which is installed) and Light Black are used together is in full 
color mode.
Carl