Digital BW, The Print

I'll try asking here as I haven't heard back from my inquiry to the supplier.

I have an Epson 3000 still running the original PiezographyBW software and inks. I need to purchase more ink (in
bottles), but am not sure which ink I should purchase now as the descriptions have changed since my last purchase. I
think I know which ones I want to buy for the "color" slots, but which black is the one that used to be with the
original set? Is one of the others better to use now? Does one work better with a specific tone than the others? And do
they work with the old software/profiles?

I'm upset that my printer did not alert me this time that the carts were empty. I guess I need to get new carts as these
are truly empty but the little plastic thing never pushed out and set off the ink out sensors like they usually do and I
was in the middle of printing some prints when they began to look very funny. Turns out I was only printing with one
ink - that'll do it!

Thanks for your help everyone! Happy holidays from snowy, cold PA!
Diana York
mailto:diana@...
Hawk Mountain Papers toll free 888-807-2248
http://www.hawkmtnartpapers.com
100% Cotton Fine Art Digital Print and Photo Papers

Diana,

>I have an Epson 3000 still running the original PiezographyBW software and
>inks. I need to purchase more ink (in
>bottles), but am not sure which ink I should purchase now as the
>descriptions have changed since my last purchase. 

I just loaded the new MIS UT-FSN into my 3000.  The MIS "FS" series is
Piezo-compatible.  The UT-FSN is an Ultra Tone family ink (state-of-the-art
and RC/barrier paper compatible with the Photo K -- although I don't
recommend this for the 3000).  It is a neutral/"selenium" tone ink that will
probably be used by most to replace the current MIS FSN.  The UT-FSN is not
as cold as the FSN -- it is dead neutral on EEM with a slightly raised
magenta channel to give the "selenium" look.

I will be writing RGB control curves for it and a companion UT-FS-Carbon
version.  For those who want intermediate tones, mixing the two is the
route.

The black I'm using and recommend is the Eboni (like Cone Museum) black.  It
has no dye in it and is extremely light-fast.


>which black is the one that used to be with the original set? 
>Is one of the others better to use now? ...

The original PiezoBW black, like the MIS VM/FS black, had some dye in it.
It is probably no longer available from these sources, and I would not use
it anyway.  The modern pure carbon blacks -- Eboni and Museum -- get a
better dmax on EEM than the old black.  There are new hybrid blacks that are
darker, but I would not use them.  They'll warm and fade much faster.

The Eboni/Museum work fine with the old driver.

I do recommend flushing the old inks before putting new inks in the 3000.
It took a couple of days for the Eboni to settle down and give good nozzle
checks.  It has been fine once it got going.

With the 3000 Epson driver, Eboni and PhotoRag give the best dmax I've seen
on any currently available paper.   (The Piezo driver gives a much lower
dmax.)

Hope this helps.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diana York [mailto:diana@...] 
> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 4:28 AM
> To: Digital BW
> Subject: [Digital BW] Whick inks
> 
> 
> I'll try asking here as I haven't heard back from my inquiry 
> to the supplier.
> 
> I have an Epson 3000 still running the original PiezographyBW 
> software and inks. I need to purchase more ink (in bottles), 
> but am not sure which ink I should purchase now as the 
> descriptions have changed since my last purchase. I think I 
> know which ones I want to buy for the "color" slots, but 
> which black is the one that used to be with the original set? 
> Is one of the others better to use now? Does one work better 
> with a specific tone than the others? And do they work with 
> the old software/profiles?
> 
> I'm upset that my printer did not alert me this time that the 
> carts were empty. I guess I need to get new carts as these 
> are truly empty but the little plastic thing never pushed out 
> and set off the ink out sensors like they usually do and I 
> was in the middle of printing some prints when they began to 
> look very funny. Turns out I was only printing with one ink - 
> that'll do it!
> 
> Thanks for your help everyone! Happy holidays from snowy, 
> cold PA! Diana York mailto:diana@... Hawk 
> Mountain Papers toll free 888-807-2248 
> http://www.hawkmtnartpapers.com 100% Cotton Fine Art Digital 
> Print and Photo Papers
> 
Diana,

As far as I know the original Sundance/Piezo inks are available from
bwguys.com as "Sundance BW Neutral Warm" so if you like that look it is
still available.

I tried Selenium and Warm Neutral Piezotone and MIS Full Spectrum with the
plug-in on my 1280's without a problem. I like the Selenium Piezotone the
best myself.

I would suggest moving on to the newer inks since are more fade and warm
shift resistant, and do not clog like the original inks. If you go with the
Piezotone inks, Dark Gray is the same as Cyan, Medium Gray is Magenta and
Light Gray is Yellow. You can order 3000 cartridges here:

http://www.inkjetmall.com/store/bw/piezotone-carts.html 

If you want maximum fade resistance then use the Piezotone Carbon Black or
the MIS Eboni. These are very close to the original black in terms of
density.

Martin Wesley
www.carolynfrayn.com/Guests/MartinWesley/pages/MW_01.html
www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html