Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Antonis Ricos" <antonisphoto@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 2:59 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: B/W prints with Epson 1270


Hi Barbara,

welcome to the list and the chaos we have to deal with.  Yeah, I see how the
whole thing looks confusing up front. Take a deep breath as well as good
notes (!) from all the info you'll gather.

Also, remember that nothing beats looking at actual prints which means that
if
you are in a city where others are making or exhibiting digital BW prints,
you
may be advised to look at them in person.

A couple of general issues:

- the matte vs glossy thing is a big issue and really there is no good
glossy
without coating and without possibly sacrificing archival life of the print.
If you
print matte and want stable prints stick to archival matte papers (coated
for
inkjet). they are more expensive, but useful for final prints. Epson
Archival
Matte (EAM) is good for proofs.

- the software ("print driver") issue is also big. Pick an operating system
and
ask away. Your ink choices may very well depend on your software choices.

- if you didn't like Black Only printing with OEM black, I doubt you'll like
it with
anyone else's black ink. Life of print depends on life of ink.

- All MIS and Piezotone inks are pigment based. Do not use dyes unless you
are doing proofs or short-life portfolios.

- flush carts are a good idea to have around anyway and to use for the
initial
change to gray inks.

- Continuous Iink Systems: you didn't say if you are looking for carts or
CIS.
The latter are good and save $$ but if you leave them idle (for longer than,
say,  a week) you'll have to burn through some paper to refresh the lines.

- Good  papers for matte prints are made by Hahnemuehle, Legion, Moab,
Hawk meadow and others. Usually people take into account the maximum
black you can get on them based on your inks and software - besides other
aspects of the paper (color, texture etc).

- Toning: some inksets provide for colored inks (sepia, selenium etc) that
can
be mixed in the print by the software. If you are new to all this, try a
regular
grayscale inkset first. Your 1270 has 6 positions - you only need 4 to make
a
great grayscale print.

- Archival issues: depends on your ink and paper. We can only go by
manufacturers claims and whatever Wilhelm puts out occasionally. Read for
yourself. I use Hahnemuehle (German Etching, Photo Rag etc) or Moab
(Entrada FA) papers with Piezotones and feel it's as good as it's going to
get
until we ("they") find out for real 100 years from now (!!).

to some of your questions:...



....

> MIS UT (both 1 & 2) is better than the MIS Quadtone?

I haven't used the UTs myself, but expect UTs to be better than older
technologies (FS etc) in lightfastness.




> On the Black Only (BO) printing, is that only done with Eboni ink?

No (see above).

Who makes
> it?

Anything with a name other than Epson is aftermarket. Eboni is by MIS.

>
> Hypothetically if I were to hang these prints in a gallery....what would
be
> my best option (besides chemical darkroom and Cones Piezo.)?


Piezotones would be top on my list, but MIS inks are every bit as good,
though
different in their approach.  Frankly, we now have pretty good ink
technologies
to choose from, so the bigger issue is software. I use Inkjet Control to
make
profiles and Open Printmaker (IJC/OPM) to print from. They have been
available at bowhaus.com for Mac OS 9 for some time, but there is an OS X
version about to come out with several enhancements.
As you are (painfully) aware here, many others have chosen alternates based
on price, operating system and personal preferences and abilities.  You may
be better off asking what's best to drive your 1270 (and disclose your OS).

So... take two aspirins and ask us again in the morning.

<BG>

Antonis




Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other resources as
they are often being updated.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint

If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you wish to
unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by visiting this same
page.

Please follow these basic guidelines:
- As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep
them short.
- Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or flames.
Hostile, aggressive or argumentative users may be removed from the
membership without notice.
- Keep your posts and threads related to the group topic of digital B&W
printing. Users who persistently make off-topic posts may be removed from
the membership.
- By posting on this forum you agree to abide by the group rules and
guidelines, and to abide by the actions and decisions of the group Owner and
Moderators. See "Group Topic, Rules and Guidelines" in the Files section:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/

BY PARTICIPATING IN AND/OR POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT
YAHOO! GROUP YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE "OWNER" AND
"MODERATORS" OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY
DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS,
GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  "OWNER" AND
"MODERATORS" OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY
TO USE THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; (ii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR
ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iii) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY
THIRD PARTY ON THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; OR (iv) ANY OTHER
MATTER RELATING TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP.


Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/