Digital BW, The Print

So Martin, are these the famous clogging and greenie inks or are they
modified..? Seems a bit dubious to continue foisting an inkset with known
problems... will their 'support' replace any CIS and inkheads damaged?
Julian (thrice bitten forever shy...)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Wesley" <mwesley250@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 11:40 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Sundance Inks and the R9 Plug-In


> Since Digital Art Supplies announced that they would be selling the
Sundance inks and the R9 plugin there has been speculation as to what was
going on. For those who don't know, the original Piezo inks and the PiezoBW
plugin were developed by Sundance and R9 respectively and then, as I
understand it, an exclusive marketing arrangement was made with ConeTech to
distribute the ink and software under the Piezo label. Apparently that
arrangement is now at an end and Sundance is marketing their products
through other channels.
>
> Questions have been raised as to just who is Sundance, even though most of
us have used their products we are not familiar with the company. I and
others have wondered on list as to the future of Sundance and their
products, how will they supply customer support, why are Sundance products
showing up on eBay, etc.
>
> Hiram French of Sundance contacted me off-list about these issues and we
spoke on the phone. From him I got a good sense that Sundance is committed
to continuing to market their existing products, providing support and
introducing new products. I encouraged him to post on the list and join some
of the other manufacturers and distributor such as Crane Papers, Lincoln
Inks, InkJetGoodies, MWords, Hawk Mountain Papers who have been active
participants from time to time. Participation, product announcements,
promotions and other input from the people who supply us with tools and
materials are always welcome.
>
> Below you will find a message from Hiram who asked me to post it so that
Sundance does not appear to have arrived on the list unannounced or
uninvited. I think that Sundance is a company that will continue to bring
some very interesting developments to world of digital B&W printing, just as
they have done in the past.
>
> Martin Wesley
>
>
> From Hiram French, Sundance Image Technology, Inc.:
>
> Sundance Imaging Technology, Inc. the developer of the original
"Piezography BW Quadtone Inks" will continue to manufacture and sell these
inks under the brand name "Sundance NW, Neutral Warm Quadtone Inks". Our
marketing plan is to sell these inks through a number of sales channels
including an eBay store, Internet resellers and direct photographic dealers.
We feel eBay has become a very effective worldwide marketing channel and
will be key in growing the market for our products. Our new website
Bwguys.com explains our approach and provides how technical support needs
will be met. We are choosing our new dealers carefully and based heavily on
their ability to provide customer support. Keep in mind that the same
personnel that trained and supported Cone Editions the past two years will
be training and supporting the new dealer channel. You will also find
background information about Sundance and R9 Corporation on the website so
we will not repeat everything in this message.
>
> In addition to the Sundance NW Ink we have also developed a Sundance NC
"Neutral Cool" Ink set. Our ink chemists have taken advantage of experience
gained over the past three years and have developed an ink that provides
exceptional light stability with a cooler overall tone. This new ink is
currently available in Epson 1280 cartridges and will soon be available in
bottles and other cartridges.
>
> All Sundance inks are marketed for use with the R9 software including
profiles for over 50 different papers. This combination gives the user the
ability to generate the highest quality of print with the least amount of
image manipulation. We also sell the R9 software separately for the
experimentally oriented user with the following disclaimer:
>
> "The R9 software comes with ICQ profiles for the supported printers, ink
sets, and media listed on the www.bwguys.com. website. Using the R9 software
with a B&W Printing System that has not been calibrated may produce results
that are superior to other technologies currently available. However, the R9
Technology will not perform to its maximum capability when used with
unsupported inks or media and may not perform as intended".
>
> If anyone would like to discuss Sundance products directly with us we an
be reached via email, info@.... Or sundanceimaging@....
>
> Regards,
>
> Hiram French
> Sundance Image Technology, Inc.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
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Julian,

I asked Hiram about these issues and suggested that he make a statement on
them as they would come up on the list. (And so they did. <G>) He said that
when they looked into reformulating the ink to correct the problems they
could not match the color and density of the original ink. His perception is
that a large portion of the users of the original inks did not have these
problems and that a change in the formula would have caused new problems for
those people. They are leaving the original formula as it is for the people
who like it and adding new inks to their product line.

We have certainly had enough pro-Piezo reports to suggest that there are
lots of happy users of the original inks out there and we both have seen
some very nice prints with the inks so this approach may be for the best. My
understanding is that the original inks are no longer available from
ConeTech so Sundance and their distribution channels will be the only source
for those who want them.  I had clogging problems with the original Piezo
ink in a 1200 and I moved on but largely due to the fact that the ink hue
was not to my taste. My impression is that there really are a significant
number of people still using the ink and I would hate to see it become
unavailable to them.

Hiram said that their new ink, the Neutral Cool (NC) was formulated to
address the clogging issue as well as offer a new hue. If I have the time, I
may order a set of NC cartridges for my 1280 and give them a test drive.
Apparently other things are in the works as well.

Martin Wesley

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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julian Thomas" <julianthomas@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 12:40 AM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Sundance Inks and the R9 Plug-In


> So Martin, are these the famous clogging and greenie inks or are they
> modified..? Seems a bit dubious to continue foisting an inkset with known
> problems... will their 'support' replace any CIS and inkheads damaged?
> Julian (thrice bitten forever shy...)
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Martin Wesley" <mwesley250@...>
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 11:40 PM
> Subject: [Digital BW] Sundance Inks and the R9 Plug-In
>
>
> > Since Digital Art Supplies announced that they would be selling the
> Sundance inks and the R9 plugin there has been speculation as to what was
> going on. For those who don't know, the original Piezo inks and the
PiezoBW
> plugin were developed by Sundance and R9 respectively and then, as I
> understand it, an exclusive marketing arrangement was made with ConeTech
to
> distribute the ink and software under the Piezo label. Apparently that
> arrangement is now at an end and Sundance is marketing their products
> through other channels.

(snip)

> I asked Hiram about these issues and suggested that he make a statement on
> them as they would come up on the list. (And so they did. <G>)


well you know me Martin! The words 'horse, flogging, dead' sometimes spring
to mind. I think there should be a disclaimer somewhere though about the
greenies - that can kill printer heads. As to the new inks, I'm glad there
is yet another option!
On another topic - we tend to get inundated with Epson technology here, but
I'm surprised no one is working on stuff for the HP large format printers. A
12 ink printer allows quads and colour from the same head without ink
switching - just imagine your fave quads/colour pigs and a rip to control it
(yeah yeah ImagePrint for sure)

Julian