Digital BW, The Print

Hello everyone,

It's been a couple of years since I've posted here.  I've been
printing BO on an Epson 1280 with good results using MIS Eboni for
matte papers and PKN using Ilford Smooth Pearl. I just upgraded to an
Epson R2400 and I have a couple of questions.  

I intend to replace my Epson carts as soon as they run out with
spongeless MIS carts and inks.

I've read all the information on Paul's and Clayton's sites, but I
haven't yet decided on whether I'll go with MIS K4 or MIS UT-3D inks
and whether I'll use ABW, QTR or Paul's UT-3D procedure. 

Does anyone have any more thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages of
these three approaches? 

Can MIS PKN be used in an Epson R2400 instead of K4 photo black?

How do the MIS K4 and UT-3D inks compare?  Are the LLK and LK inks the
same or different for these sets?

Thanks in advance,

Roger

> I've read all the information on Paul's and Clayton's sites, but I
> haven't yet decided on whether I'll go with MIS K4 or MIS UT-3D inks
> and whether I'll use ABW, QTR or Paul's UT-3D procedure. 
I have an R2400 that I run with MIS k4 inks.  I do this because I like 
to print both color and BW.  If you're going to only print BW, then you 
should probably check out the UT-3d inks.  So far I'm pretty happy with 
both bw and color prints.  I print mainly on EPSG and on Crane's Silver 
Rag.  I use a color-managed workflow for color and bw iccs with ABW for 
black and white.  Recently, Paul recommended replacing the yellow 
cartridge (I think) with a MIS carbon ink to get more lightfastness.  
I'll probably give that a try soon.

> I intend to replace my Epson carts as soon as they run out with
> spongeless MIS carts and inks.
> 
> I've read all the information on Paul's and Clayton's sites, but I
> haven't yet decided on whether I'll go with MIS K4 or MIS UT-3D 
inks
> and whether I'll use ABW, QTR or Paul's UT-3D procedure. 
> 
> Does anyone have any more thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages 
of
> these three approaches? 

I have been using MIS K4 in a 2400 for some time now and am 
perfectly happy with the results for colour, as long as the various 
K4/paper combos are profiled properly.  

I use the K4 ink (with the MIS carts) because I like to print both 
colour and black and white, and for the latter have now started 
using QTR with very good results on both matte and gloss papers.  In 
all, I am quite satisfied with the K4 and MIS carts, especially in 
terms of reduced ink wasteage.  When a cart is empty, I change all 
of those that are half full or less, and top them up.  This way 
there is no risk of another cart emptying if you need to run one or 
two cleaning cycles.

Phil G

> I have been using MIS K4 in a 2400 for some time now and am 
> perfectly happy with the results for colour, as long as the various 
> K4/paper combos are profiled properly.  
> 
> I use the K4 ink (with the MIS carts) because I like to print both 
> colour and black and white, and for the latter have now started 
> using QTR with very good results on both matte and gloss papers.  

Can someone please explain the pros and cons of using K4 ink vs. the Epson K3 ink?

Looking at the QTR site, K4 isn't listed as one of the compatible inks (only the Ultratone inks 
are listed).  For B&W prints using K4 inks, is it necessary to use QTR or is it still possible to 
use the ABW sliders?

When you say "as long as the various K4/paper combos are profiled properly", can you 
explain what process you are referring to?  Do you mean generating custom profiles using 
QTR and a scanner for each paper and ink combo?

Thanks,
Chris

> Can someone please explain the pros and cons of using K4 ink vs. 
the Epson K3 ink?
> 
> Looking at the QTR site, K4 isn't listed as one of the compatible 
inks (only the Ultratone inks 
> are listed).  For B&W prints using K4 inks, is it necessary to use 
QTR or is it still possible to 
> use the ABW sliders?
> 
> When you say "as long as the various K4/paper combos are profiled 
properly", can you 
> explain what process you are referring to?  Do you mean generating 
custom profiles using 
> QTR and a scanner for each paper and ink combo?

The pros of using MIS K4 to me are the cost, the cost, and the 
cost.  Even after shipping to NZ it is at least 5 times cheaper than 
the K3 ink.  Because I can refill carts with the K4 myself, there is 
also less wasteage as there is no risk of another cart emptying 
during the replacement of a different cart.  As i explained earlier 
i refill all carts that are less than about half full whenever any 
cart is replaced.

As for the cons - well I can't think of any as yet.  I suppose 
refilling carts may be a con for some but I am quite happy to do 
that as it is very quick and easy.

You can use the K4's with ABW and I did for quite a while, but I 
find that the QTR results are much better, especially with shadow 
detail.

For QTR, I create my own K4 curves.  Initially I started with Roy's 
K3 curves and adapted these for the K4 inks using an eye-one to make 
various colour balance adjustments and then linearise the resulting 
curves.

Cheers
Phil G