Digital BW, The Print

Maybe the final word on his ink belongs to Jon Cone (from the 
Color Piezo newsgroup):

"We have thought about coming out with a more traditional 
pigmented BW ink  which would incorporate more dye into the 
mix; supplied to those who wish to print on glossy materials. But 
longevity of such an ink would be compromised in favor of 
compatibility with more traditional looking photo gloss materials. 
Our current BW ink, being a very heavy and concentrated pigment
base is just too dense for gloss materials (and we have had the 
best minds in paper development working on alternative gloss 
technology to no avail...)

Pros and Cons:

Pros of a dye in a pigmented ink, is tinting strength as it reflects 
back less white light than pigment - it appears darker or more 
saturated to the eye. It allows for customization of a 
monochromatic ink. If heavy in presence will allow printing on 
gloss coatings and allow for greatest paper compatibility.

Cons of a dye in a pigmented ink: metamerism, reactions to 
paper coatings disproportionate to their presence (i.e the 
chemical compound of the dye molecule and the coating mix 
produce a reaction - this can occur whether lots of dye or trace 
dye.
-- 
Jon Cone"

     Jon had perfectly good reasons for going with pure 
pigment--deciding, that is, not to use a black ink that "appears 
darker or more saturated to the eye." How critical the difference 
in apparent blackness is to an individual printer is a subjective 
matter. The fact that the difference exists seems indisputable.

I'm still very interested in seeing samples of the deepest blacks 
people have produced with Piezography inks, using white matte 
fine art papers. I'd be happy to pay for them. I'm not actually a 
fanatic about these things--I'm just looking for the best ink/paper 
combination for my work.

--David

Deep black today, no black tomorrow, is no black at all in the Cone
book...and mine too.  I would encourage you to look at coating possiblities
with the Piezo or other pigmented inks.  Piezo inks on some "unapproved"
papers like the Kodak Ultima Satin or Prophoto Silk are as good or better
than any dye system on gloss papers when simply sprayed with a light coat of
krylon to seal the pigment.  If you want archival...then as I mentioned
previously use an archival paper with pigmented inks and a couple coats of
an acrylic clear coat...once again the blacks come raging in.

Robert

On 9/11/01 12:44 PM, "daviddstock@..." <daviddstock@...>
wrote:

> 
> Maybe the final word on his ink belongs to Jon Cone (from the
> Color Piezo newsgroup):
> 
> "We have thought about coming out with a more traditional
> pigmented BW ink  which would incorporate more dye into the
> mix; supplied to those who wish to print on glossy materials. But
> longevity of such an ink would be compromised in favor of
> compatibility with more traditional looking photo gloss materials.
> Our current BW ink, being a very heavy and concentrated pigment
> base is just too dense for gloss materials (and we have had the
> best minds in paper development working on alternative gloss
> technology to no avail...)
> 
> Pros and Cons:
> 
> Pros of a dye in a pigmented ink, is tinting strength as it reflects
> back less white light than pigment - it appears darker or more
> saturated to the eye. It allows for customization of a
> monochromatic ink. If heavy in presence will allow printing on
> gloss coatings and allow for greatest paper compatibility.
> 
> Cons of a dye in a pigmented ink: metamerism, reactions to
> paper coatings disproportionate to their presence (i.e the
> chemical compound of the dye molecule and the coating mix
> produce a reaction - this can occur whether lots of dye or trace
> dye.

----------------------
Robert Morrison
rmorrison@...

310-397-2704

4131 Bledsoe Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., daviddstock@e... wrote:
.....
I'm just looking for the best ink/paper 
> combination for my work.


David,

the current piezo dMax champs are mostly Hahnemuehle papers (around 
1.65). For more info look in our Files section.

Antonis

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Antonis Ricos" <
antonisphoto@y...> wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., daviddstock@e... wrote:
> .....
> I'm just looking for the best ink/paper 
> > combination for my work.
> 
> 
> David,
> 
> the current piezo dMax champs are mostly Hahnemuehle papers (around 
> 1.65). For more info look in our Files section.
> 
> Antonis

Has anyone used Guardian paper? I asked the question in the piezo group 
and got no response.

The specs made it look good. But once I got my sample pack and printed 
some piezoBW prints with it, it appears that it isn't coated (at least 
not with a coating that I would use). The blacks are weak and there is 
a mottled look to it, like I applied a speckled filter or something to 
the image.

-mikeH