Digital BW, The Print

I read on the MIS website that this ink may produce better results 
for BO prints. 

I'm new to B&W printing and liked the idea of BO printing, but 
results so far from using UC inks (on a 2100) have been very warm 
toned. Too much so for my liking, with many photos lacking punch and 
not contrasty enough.

I'm waiting on UT7 inks to arrive to try BO with Eboni black which 
hopefully will improve on the UC matte black. 

My question to Paul (or anyone who has tried).

1. Will PKN ink work with UT7 inks in the printer.

2. Will this ink show improvement only for gloss paper 
(recommendations?) or for matte as well.

3. How is this ink different from using Eboni Black or Photo Black 
of UT7 inks for the BO process?

BTW, I'm using EEM and PR at the moment.

Paul, if you're reading, thanks also for sharing your expertise on 
this forum..brilliant!

> ...

> 1. Will PKN ink work with UT7 inks in the printer.

PKN is for glossy printing.  So, if you put PKN in the K spot, you can do
quite good BO printing on glossy papers, which is really a big benefit for
color printers who want an occasional B&W glossy print.  It's quite neutral
and has relatively low bronzing, especially on Kirkland.  

But, if you're using UT7, you don't need to do this.  UT7 with Eboni
installed prints very nice and neutral glossy prints, which can be quite
neutral even down into the deep shadows -- because it is not using the warm
PK or Eboni there.  The black tone can be controlled by the ratio of UT7 C
and M position inks (Red and Green curves) used in the curves.  



> 
> 2. Will this ink show improvement only for gloss paper
> (recommendations?) or for matte as well.


PKN only works for glossy printing.  With matte printing you need to use
Eboni (or other matte black), and I have not been able to make a good
neutral version of a matte black.  The pigment loading of Eboni is very
high.  Addition of color pigments to cool it lowers the dmax unacceptably --
to me.

 
> 3. How is this ink different from using Eboni Black or Photo Black
> of UT7 inks for the BO process?

PKN has "blue" pigment toner in it.  Given the spectral characteristics of
carbon and the blue toner, the complementary absorptions result in a dmax
that is higher than either pigment by itself -- but only at the lower loads
needed for optimal glossy dmax.


> 
> BTW, I'm using EEM and PR at the moment.

Stay with UT7 and Eboni.  PKN is really for color glossy printers or C86
users.  You won't really benefit from it if you're using UT7.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

Thanks Paul.

You've clarified a lot for me. Hopefully the arrival of my UT7 inks 
next week and some experimentation will improve on my results to 
date.

I appreciate it.


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> > ...
> 
> > 1. Will PKN ink work with UT7 inks in the printer.
> 
> PKN is for glossy printing.  So, if you put PKN in the K spot, you 
can do
> quite good BO printing on glossy papers, which is really a big 
benefit for
> color printers who want an occasional B&W glossy print.  It's 
quite neutral
> and has relatively low bronzing, especially on Kirkland.  
> 
> But, if you're using UT7, you don't need to do this.  UT7 with 
Eboni
> installed prints very nice and neutral glossy prints, which can be 
quite
> neutral even down into the deep shadows -- because it is not using 
the warm
> PK or Eboni there.  The black tone can be controlled by the ratio 
of UT7 C
> and M position inks (Red and Green curves) used in the curves.  
> 
> 
> 
> > 
> > 2. Will this ink show improvement only for gloss paper
> > (recommendations?) or for matte as well.
> 
> 
> PKN only works for glossy printing.  With matte printing you need 
to use
> Eboni (or other matte black), and I have not been able to make a 
good
> neutral version of a matte black.  The pigment loading of Eboni is 
very
> high.  Addition of color pigments to cool it lowers the dmax 
unacceptably --
> to me.
> 
>  
> > 3. How is this ink different from using Eboni Black or Photo 
Black
> > of UT7 inks for the BO process?
> 
> PKN has "blue" pigment toner in it.  Given the spectral 
characteristics of
> carbon and the blue toner, the complementary absorptions result in 
a dmax
> that is higher than either pigment by itself -- but only at the 
lower loads
> needed for optimal glossy dmax.
> 
> 
> > 
> > BTW, I'm using EEM and PR at the moment.
> 
> Stay with UT7 and Eboni.  PKN is really for color glossy printers 
or C86

> users.  You won't really benefit from it if you're using UT7.
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com