Digital BW, The Print

I thought I read yesterday you were going to stop this nonsence

Vinny
http://www.wulfsden.com



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Editor P.O.V. Image 
Service" <editor@p...> wrote:
> Martin and Bernd;
> 
> Remember finding out that Santa Claus was  really your parents?..
>   Whatever you felt, it created an emotional reaction..
> 
> This whole saga with the Piezotones/R9/Sundance/Cone/InkJetMall is 
not
> that different (of course much more is at stake)..
> 
> Here we are, a bunch artists, creating art, worried about our
> reputations,  sending our art "our children as it were" into the 
world
> with our reputation hanging in the balance...
> 
> For years Jon Cone has undeniably been the driving force behind
> InkJetMall and Cone editions.. They have done and probably will 
continue
> to do great things for the niche market.
> 
> But, at the same time, Jon clearly engendered a belief amongst the
> members of that market, through advertising, interviews, onlist
> comments, even attacks on dissenters, that some of the trade mark
> (figuratively, not literally) products that he old were owned by and
> essentially developed by Conetech et.al.
> 
> Then it becomes clear that he is essentially rebranding the 
products of
> others -- not only that, but that key products are going to be
> incompatible with new offerings as a inherent result of problems  
in his
> continued rebranding...  We knew he rebranded  media/paper, but  
not his
> Flagship Piezo inks and driver.. Is it any surprise that many feel 
duped
> or disillusioned?
> 
> Witnessing the debates on this list about platform, OS, realism vs
> abstraction, print resolution, file resolution, and on and on, it is
> readily apparent how passionate we are as both consumers and 
artists...
>   (Even if we weren't passionate, 60 "show prints" now essentially
> useless - except to see how fast the black fades - would drive any
> artist bonkers - Jon should not only replace the inks and materials
> Bernd used, as Cone Editions AFAIK makes prints, once they "fix" the
> blacks, IMHO they should personally reprint Bernd's Images from  
files
> for him -- why should Bernd have to expend all that time and effort 
a
> second time, when he relied on Jon's reputation and product?)  We 
stake
> out a position and tie our art and emotion into it. So, the 
strength of
> opinion on this is to be expected.
> 
> My OPINION is that is seems as if the Piezotone inks were rushed to
> market before sufficient testing -- something Jon knows better than,
> especially after he was one of those giving EPSON heck about the 
fading
> cyan (Conetech would not produce profiles for the 1270 and said it 
was
> essentially impossible to do so b/c its colors shifted)   But, I 
would
> bet with R9/Sundance pulling the plug on Jon's signature product he 
felt
> he HAD to get the replacement to market now.  Look at how he 
attacked me
> when I mentioned things that could negatively affect the value of 
his
> holdings...  Clearly, if he didn't have a replacement for the 
original
> inks and driver, he was going to have a hard time explaining the 
fact
> that his signature offering was missing from the shelves.  If this 
is
> the case, Jon "rolled the dice" and got burnt.
> 
> Martin, this IS different from Jon simply being on the bleeding 
edge to
> push product development.  As is becoming clear with the
> R9/Sundance/Cone insanity, this was a situation where someone was 
on the
> bleeding edge to maintain market positioning, market share, and to
> attempt to preserve the image of in-house Piezo products that Jon 
had so
> carefully developed over the years..  Bottom line..  The inks were 
NOT
> ready for prime time and Jon has too much experience not to know 
that.
> 
> I'm not an attorney, but, legally, I would say that anyone who 
bought
> the inks would have a good argument for Jon or his holdings being 
100%
> liable for the costs of  inks, media, and printing time expended 
using
> them, esp. for commercial projects (you don't think EPSON refunded
>   orange shift printers, inks, and consumables out of the goodness 
of
> their hearts?). The applicable theory of law will likely be the
> "warranty of fitness for use intended."  In fact if images fade and
> damage an artist's reputation, the artist could conceivably recover 
for
> that damage as well..  Unlike EPSON, Cone, as I understand it, DOES 
have
> an in-house printmaking service which could easily reprint images 
with
> the new inks (yes, it would keep Jon busy for some time - but that's
> what one gets for releasing a product that it appears was not full 
tested)
> 
> I don't think Jon is a bad guy, and I bear him no personal ill will,
> even IF I am a mite peeved over him portraying me as 
a "crackpot"... I
> think he has done a great deal, perhaps more than anyone else to 
advance
> the niche market..  But, he, like us all "has feet of clay."  The
> problem he now suffers, in part, is because he crafted an image 
that was
> beyond reproach..  Now, we find that what is underneath 
the "Emperor's
> robes" is not all we once were led to believe.  So be it, business 
and
> art are full of things like this.
> 
> Now, however, the test of Jon's true character will be how he 
handles
> this.  So far it is not looking as positive as I would have hoped.  
Jon
> badmouthing others on the Piezo list, attacking me -- none of this 
is
> worthy of the image he strove so long to create... Hopefully, he 
will
> understand this, I am sure coming from me it's not something he 
will pay
> heed to..  But perhaps someone else will be able to get through to 
him..
> 
> The reality is the niche market needs more, not less, suppliers.  
This
> debacle and potentially selling off InkJetMall to competitors would 
not
> help that.  Just as I told EPSON two years back, in the midst of the
> Orange Shift debacle, to come clean, "fess up," and make amends as
> needed to rehabilitate their reputation, I would recommend the same 
to
> Jon now..  Honesty and open communication is always the best policy 
for
> real damage control, one needs to redress the problems and make 
people
> believe they will not recur.. (as Bill Clinton learned, ignoring 
them,
> parsing language, and denying will not make them go away and will 
only

> stir the pot higher in the long run).
> 
> 
> Keith
> 
> 
> </div>