Digital BW, The Print

Has anyone used the Epson 1280's standard black (dye based) ink for 
BO printing?  What are your results, and is there any information 
available about fading time and bronzing?  Will either fading or 
bronzing be reduced by spraying the prints?

I ran out of Eboni before placing my order for a couple of UT2 
cartridge sets.  So the head would not dry out, I stuck a spare Epson 
black cartridge in.  They just for the heck of it, I decided to make 
a few BO prints.

They were beautiful.  And, the tonal range was very close to what I 
get with UT inks.  When I print BO with Eboni, I find that I have to 
adjust the curve a bit, as it comes out too light.

The one major problem is bronzing in all-black areas.  Also, I don't 
know how long the prints will last.

--Peter

Hi Peter,

I have used standard Epson inks on my 1290 for BO printing on Epson 
HWM and Hahnemuehle PR.
I did not see any bronzing, can't comment on fading.

  I sprayed the PR prints with Lascaux fixative and  got the 
impression that it increased the dmax  somewhat. I did not do any 
measurements since I don't have the equipment, visual 
inspection/comparison of uncoated and coated prints only.

The oldest prints are only about a year old now, so conclusive 
statements on fading are not possible yet, both papers seem to be 
holding up quite well, though.

I print out of PS 6 through the epson driver on a Mac/9.2 following 
Clayton's 'recipe' and the prints turned out quite nicely. To get a 
reasonably Iinear stepwedge I apply a transfer function set up in the 
PS printing dialogue.
I haven't had a chance to look at other BO prints (or quadtones for 
that matter) so I can't really make any comparative statements.

Are you using th UT2/Eboni blacks together with the Epson dyes for 
colour printing?


Wolf
--

Thanks for the reply, Wolf.  I normally use the MIS UT inks and Eboni 
black.  I started with VM ink, switched to Ultratone (1) when it came 
out.  When I finish my Ultratone 1 cartridge, I'm switching to UT2. 
Paul says UT2 has smoother tonal transitions on a 1280.

I recently had a bad clog, and tried using the color inks as a way to 
flush out the printhead.  It didn't work, nor did anything else, so I 
got the print head replaced.  That's why the Epson black dye 
cartridge was available when I ran out of Eboni. 

I usually don't print color, just B&W.

--Peter

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "wolf.herold" 
<wolf.herold@b...> wrote:
> Hi Peter,
> 
> I have used standard Epson inks on my 1290 for BO printing on Epson 
> HWM and Hahnemuehle PR.
> I did not see any bronzing, can't comment on fading.
> 
>   I sprayed the PR prints with Lascaux fixative and  got the 
> impression that it increased the dmax  somewhat. I did not do any 
> measurements since I don't have the equipment, visual 
> inspection/comparison of uncoated and coated prints only.
> 
> The oldest prints are only about a year old now, so conclusive 
> statements on fading are not possible yet, both papers seem to be 
> holding up quite well, though.
> 
> I print out of PS 6 through the epson driver on a Mac/9.2 following 
> Clayton's 'recipe' and the prints turned out quite nicely. To get a 
> reasonably Iinear stepwedge I apply a transfer function set up in 
the 

> PS printing dialogue.
> I haven't had a chance to look at other BO prints (or quadtones for 
> that matter) so I can't really make any comparative statements.
> 
> Are you using th UT2/Eboni blacks together with the Epson dyes for 
> colour printing?
> 
> 
> Wolf
> --

Peter,

When I started with BO printing on a 1290 (I now own a 2100), I used 
the standard black ink (T007)on Epson Photo Paper (semi gloss) and 
fine art papers. Tonal range and blacks where beautiful, no bronzing. 
But leave the prints for one month on your desk and they turn 
brownisch. Direct sunlight will do the job in a week. Prints on the 
wall behind glass and away from direct sunlight will last one year 
but also turn brownisch. So the archival quality is very low. But 
prints that where stored in a dark space, are still unchanged (+/- 4 
years now).

I switched to Eboni and fine art papers

Regards, Rene

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Peter A. Klein" 
<pklein@2...> wrote:
> Has anyone used the Epson 1280's standard black (dye based) ink for 
> BO printing?  What are your results, and is there any information 
> available about fading time and bronzing?  Will either fading or 
> bronzing be reduced by spraying the prints?
> 
> I ran out of Eboni before placing my order for a couple of UT2 
> cartridge sets.  So the head would not dry out, I stuck a spare 
Epson 
> black cartridge in.  They just for the heck of it, I decided to 
make 
> a few BO prints.
> 
> They were beautiful.  And, the tonal range was very close to what I 
> get with UT inks.  When I print BO with Eboni, I find that I have 
to 
> adjust the curve a bit, as it comes out too light.
> 
> The one major problem is bronzing in all-black areas.  Also, I 
don't 

> know how long the prints will last.
> 
> --Peter