Digital BW, The Print

I've searched the archives a bit, but didn't find an answer before my 
patience with a slow modem wore out, so please forgive this newbie 
question.

I borrowed a friend's Epson 2200 and made some prints with Epson 
Archival Matte with the Ultrachrome Matte Black ink, and I was a bit 
disappointed with the Dmax achieved on the matte paper--not as dark & 
deep as I'd like. [I just tried the Epson driver in its various 
settings, and am well aware of the problems it has with regard to 
color cast, crossovers, metamerism, etc.--but right now my question 
is Dmax] 

The discussions on this list about the MIS inks are very interesting, 
and I'd be curious if the Dmax achieved is better than that with 
Ultrachrome Matte Black. Anyone care to share their insights 
regarding MIS or any other ink system in this regard? I've got an 
Epson 1270 I'm considering converting to B&W inks.

Thanks,
Dave Ringoen

David,

if you have a way of reading the dmax you get, it would help to let us know 
what you got and what value you would consider acceptable.  Generally, in 
this game, the higher the dmax the less archival the solution. So, Glossy 
papers with UC photo black would give higher dmax, as would dye-based 
inksets on matte or glossy papers.

As for MIS inks, there are many varieties each with different performance. See 
also Piezotones and their archival claims (at inkjetmall.com). I would 
recommend that you study the products by reading the manufacturers sites 
first before you launch into a discussion here. It can get very confusing 
escpecially with abbreviations etc..!

The Epson driver is not a good idea for bw prints on the 2200; try ImagePrint 
or OPM/IJC instead (the latter for Mac OS only).


Antonis



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "theringwan" 
<dringoen@m...> wrote:

> I've searched the archives a bit, but didn't find an answer before my 
> patience with a slow modem wore out, so please forgive this newbie 
> question.
> 
> I borrowed a friend's Epson 2200 and made some prints with Epson 
> Archival Matte with the Ultrachrome Matte Black ink, and I was a bit 
> disappointed with the Dmax achieved on the matte paper--not as dark & 
> deep as I'd like. [I just tried the Epson driver in its various 
> settings, and am well aware of the problems it has with regard to 
> color cast, crossovers, metamerism, etc.--but right now my question 
> is Dmax] 
> 
> The discussions on this list about the MIS inks are very interesting, 
> and I'd be curious if the Dmax achieved is better than that with 
> Ultrachrome Matte Black. Anyone care to share their insights 
> regarding MIS or any other ink system in this regard? I've got an 
> Epson 1270 I'm considering converting to B&W inks.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave Ringoen