Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., " Ruhrfoto/Bernd L."
<ruhrfoto@y...> wrote:

>I have opened my first one man show three weeks ago with
>...with Jon\ufffds inks.
>I got a rather good resonance. More than 20 people wanted to
>buy prints so far.

Congratulations.  I'm on for 7/2003.  I hope I do as well.

>I refused to sell my so called "Carbon Pigment Prints", because I
>don\ufffdt want to damage my reputation.

I have about the same situation with EAM paper.  I've just profiled my 3000
for Eclipse Satine (best coated paper in my fade testing -- a hair better
than EAM and significantly better than PhotoRag; too bad about the
relatively weak blacks [1.54 v. 1.68 for EAM] and financial condition of the
company).  I'm not sure yet what my approach will be by July.

>Instead of selling I will give the prints away for free (as a
>reminder printed on a letter format) and beg the potential buyers
>to be patient until the day the fading problem will be resolved.

With the local museum I'll give them an EAM for display and Eclipse (cotton,
no apparent buffers -- which appear to damage pigments) for archival
storage.  I'm not about to give away my display prints.  I think Eclipse and
MIS inks are good enough to sell.  (I'm using the vm-s inkset.) The inks
will get better, but the MIS FS-N and VM-S inks have not had the serious
problems of the PiezoBW midtones or PT black.  I think with appropriate
disclosers about care and display, the product can be good enough to keep
customers happy for a long time.  (I've even thought about a second print
behind the front display print -- 2 for the price of one!)

I might add that, although I've been rather negative on the way Cone has
occasionally oversold his products, his enthusiasm/salesmanship convinced me
to try the inkjet approach, and the Piezo driver showed me the potential of
the technology.

One must also recall the old saying, "The pioneers are the ones with the
arrows in their backs."  In the inkjet industry, the technology is so new
that many of our best-intended efforts will probably end up being mistakes.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com

----- Original Message -----

From: " Ruhrfoto/Bernd L." <ruhrfoto@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 7:59 AM
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Sound of Silence, was: New PiezoTone blacks


> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., " Ruhrfoto/Bernd L."
> <ruhrfoto@y...> wrote:

> > What I wanted to criticize is the fact, that Jon hasn\ufffdt answered >
> > the  concerns, which have been posted on this list and on the >
> > piezo list about the fading problem of his new black ink himself


> To illustrate these concerns a bit:
> I have opened my first one man show three weeks ago with
> roundabout 60 inkjets up to \ufffd25"x30" , more or less all of them
> printed with Jon\ufffds inks.

Bernd,

I gather that you printed them with one of the PiezoTone ink sets? 60
prints! That is terrible news. That represents a huge investment in time and
money for materials!

> I got a rather good resonance. More than 20 people wanted to
> buy prints so far.
> I refused to sell my so called "Carbon Pigment Prints", because I
> don\ufffdt want to damage my reputation.

Understood. I had sent out prints to two different 13x19 exchanges that were
printed with Sel-PT. One got shipped but for the other I reprinted all the
copies and was able to replace what I originally sent before they were
mailed out. Someone else posted that they were scrambling to get replacement
prints into the hands of buyers.

Why not take orders for prints and then make new ones with a different ink?
As you know I replaced the PiezoTone black ink with MIS-FSN black. Some of
the images print nicely without any adjustment. Other require some
adjustment but it is minor. Typically about +3 Contrast and -3 Brightness.
Sometimes overall. Sometimes just limited to the shadows or certain areas. I
am surprised at how close they are to the prints with the PT black.

> Instead of selling I will give the prints away for free (as a
> reminder printed on a letter format) and beg the potential buyers
> to be patient until the day the fading problem will be resolved.
> How many of them will keep that in mind ?

Frankly, I would be reluctant to even give them away. As you say your
reputation is at stake. Once the prints are out of your hands and out in the
world on their own you will not be there to explain any problems. I would at
least make a permanent mark on the print such as writing "Work Print"
through your signature or something like that.

I am very happy that your show got a good response though. Excellent news. I
am very sorry that the experience was marred by the issue of the inks but it
still bodes well for you in the future.

Martin

>> I refused to sell my so called "Carbon Pigment Prints", because I
don\ufffdt want to damage my reputation.
Instead of selling I will give the prints away for free (as a
reminder printed on a letter format) and beg the potential buyers
to be patient until the day the fading problem will be resolved. <<

With all due respect, I don't think you should give anything away for free,
least of all prints that are prone to fading and colour shift.
And regarding damage to reputation, the last thing I'd want is 60 defective
prints of my best images in the hands potential buyers.

> >> I refused to sell my so called "Carbon Pigment Prints", because I
> don\ufffdt want to damage my reputation.
> Instead of selling I will give the prints away for free (as a
> reminder printed on a letter format) and beg the potential buyers
> to be patient until the day the fading problem will be resolved. <<
>
> With all due respect, I don't think you should give anything away
> for free,
> least of all prints that are prone to fading and colour shift.
> And regarding damage to reputation, the last thing I'd want is 60
> defective
> prints of my best images in the hands [of] potential buyers.

Hi Moreno,

I was thinking the EXACT same thing...  Sound advice, IMO.

Regards,

Austin