Digital BW, The Print

Hi all, I'm in the process of switching to digital printing, and would 
like to ask for some guidance. I've purchased an Epson 1280, along with 
the UT2 K inks (both Ebony and Photo black) from MIS. I've done some BO 
test prints, and they look a lot better than I've anticipated. 

I'd like to get feedback from someone that has experience printing both 
with BO and the multi-shade monochrome kit? I understand that BO 
printing alleviates the artifacts of color inks, and helps in keeping 
the print appearance close to of a wet print. 

I'm thinking about purchasing the MIS five shade UT2 kit. Would I need 
to worry about color casts, lower d-max, etc? Also, does anyone know 
what is the color makeup of the five shade UT2 kit for the 1280? Thanks 
for your help!

Robert.

Hi Robert,

See my write-up of the UT2 inkset at
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/UT2-Readme.htm   It'll answer some of the
questions.

> I've purchased an Epson 1280, along with 
> the UT2 K inks (both Ebony and Photo black) from MIS. 

> I've done some BO test prints, and they look a lot 
> better than I've anticipated. 

The 1280 was the first printer I saw that could do relatively smooth BO
printing.

> I understand that BO printing alleviates the artifacts of color inks,

One of my goals is to use as little color ink as possible.  While BO with
Eboni or MIS PK has no color, the dedicated B&W inksets that use the least
possible color to neutralize the warm carbon ink have sufficiently little
color that artifacts are not a problem.  In particular, the UT2 and other
dedicated B&W inksets generally use no yellow pigment at all in the neutral
prints.  As such, metamerism is very low in them.  (UT2 sepia toner does
have some yellow in it, but this ink is not used in the midtones of neutral
prints when curves are used to control the inkset.)

> and helps in keeping 
> the print appearance close to of a wet print. 

If BO looked to me like a silver print, I would not have bothered with all
the other inksets.  The problem with BO printing from my perspective is that
the tone is too warm and they are not smooth enough for my style of B&W.  My
original "Variable Piezo" adaptation was specifically made so that I could
hang my digital prints next to my silver prints.

>I'm thinking about purchasing the MIS five shade UT2 kit. 
>Would I need to worry about color casts,

No.  Just be sure to start with papers that are supported by existing
curves/profiles.  Once you're comfortable with the way the inkset works,
learn to linearize the curves for new papers as described at
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Embedding_Photoshop_Curves_in_ICCs.pdf  

Roy Harrington's "Create ICC-RGB" program (part of the QTR download) came
after the UT2 inkset was made.  However, it is an excellent tool that makes
the prints match the monitors better and allows one to use existing curves
with many new papers.

> lower d-max, 

No, the same black ink is used.  Some of the older printers did, indeed,
give a slightly better dmax in BO form, but I believe that was due to their
using some midtone inks in the "100%" black spot to smooth the print at that
point.  The 1280 was smooth enough that this "under-printing" of the black
was not needed, as I recall.  The 1280 with UT2 has a very good dmax.

Good luck with the system.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

Paul,

thanks for the speedy and detailed response. I'm impressed by both your
work and this forum!

Robert.


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark"
<paul.roark@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Robert,
>
> See my write-up of the UT2 inkset at
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/UT2-Readme.htm It'll answer some of
the
> questions.
>
> > I've purchased an Epson 1280, along with
> > the UT2 K inks (both Ebony and Photo black) from MIS.
>
> > I've done some BO test prints, and they look a lot
> > better than I've anticipated.
>
> The 1280 was the first printer I saw that could do relatively smooth
BO
> printing.
>
> > I understand that BO printing alleviates the artifacts of color
inks,
>
> One of my goals is to use as little color ink as possible. While BO
with
> Eboni or MIS PK has no color, the dedicated B&W inksets that use the
least
> possible color to neutralize the warm carbon ink have sufficiently
little
> color that artifacts are not a problem. In particular, the UT2 and
other
> dedicated B&W inksets generally use no yellow pigment at all in the
neutral
> prints. As such, metamerism is very low in them. (UT2 sepia toner does
> have some yellow in it, but this ink is not used in the midtones of
neutral
> prints when curves are used to control the inkset.)
>
> > and helps in keeping
> > the print appearance close to of a wet print.
>
> If BO looked to me like a silver print, I would not have bothered with
all
> the other inksets. The problem with BO printing from my perspective is
that
> the tone is too warm and they are not smooth enough for my style of
B&W. My
> original "Variable Piezo" adaptation was specifically made so that I
could
> hang my digital prints next to my silver prints.
>
> >I'm thinking about purchasing the MIS five shade UT2 kit.
> >Would I need to worry about color casts,
>
> No. Just be sure to start with papers that are supported by existing
> curves/profiles. Once you're comfortable with the way the inkset
works,
> learn to linearize the curves for new papers as described at
>
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Embedding_Photoshop_Curves_in_ICCs.pdf
>
> Roy Harrington's "Create ICC-RGB" program (part of the QTR download)
came
> after the UT2 inkset was made. However, it is an excellent tool that
makes
> the prints match the monitors better and allows one to use existing
curves
> with many new papers.
>
> > lower d-max,
>
> No, the same black ink is used. Some of the older printers did,
indeed,
> give a slightly better dmax in BO form, but I believe that was due to
their
> using some midtone inks in the "100%" black spot to smooth the print
at that
> point. The 1280 was smooth enough that this "under-printing" of the
black

> was not needed, as I recall. The 1280 with UT2 has a very good dmax.
>
> Good luck with the system.
>
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com
>