Yahoo Groups archive

Digital BW, The Print

Index last updated: 2026-04-28 22:56 UTC

Thread

Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by SteveZ

A local gallery owner is interested in buying some of my b&w prints
and has asked me to disclose permanence ratings for the prints I would 
provide him. The Wilhelm Image Research website gives plenty of info on 
Epson papers, problem is I use other papers as well i.e. and I can't 
seem to find any reference to ratings for other brands (i.e. Moab, 
Harman, Crane, Hawk Mountain, Hahnemuhle, etc.). Does anyone know where 
I can find objective, third party ratings for these brands?

Re: Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Tyler Boley

the lack ot this kind of information continues to be a bit of a
problem. On the other hand, I've lost some degree of patience with
people insisting on this kind of longevity and back-up info on items
that cost far less than their couch...
I still struggle with a way to say that pleasantly, with a smile, that
makes them still want to write the check...
If it was a Chuck Close they'd thrillingly write their check and never
bother asking...
Testing all those papers with all those ink sets would be a daunting
task. I do think some responsibility falls on the paper manufacturers
to help us use their products out in the gallery world.
The best you can do is talk about the nature of the materials- carbon,
cotton, acid free etc..
Tyler- habitual ranter

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "SteveZ"
<blizzie12@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> A local gallery owner is interested in buying some of my b&w prints
> and has asked me to disclose permanence ratings for the prints I would 
> provide him. The Wilhelm Image Research website gives plenty of info on 
> Epson papers, problem is I use other papers as well i.e. and I can't 
> seem to find any reference to ratings for other brands (i.e. Moab, 
> Harman, Crane, Hawk Mountain, Hahnemuhle, etc.). Does anyone know where 
> I can find objective, third party ratings for these brands?
>

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Harold Jackson

I try to remove the permanence question from the conversation by using papers that have been rated by Wilhelm.  In other words start from the end and work back.  What papers have been tested and, of those papers, which ones fit my artistic vision?  Only after concluding that none of the rated papers is a match would I venture into the unrated papers.  It's already hard enough to sell our work at a good price, why add to the difficulty?  I recognize that this is a pretty commercial approach but there are so many rated papers that it is rarely necessary to compromise artistic vision for commerce. 




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Mark Savoia

I find that most people (especially artists) just want to hear the  
word archival, not how archival. I tell them we print on archival  
papers using archival inks, most just say "oh that is great, just  
what I wanted".

Mark
http://www.stillrivereditions.com

On Feb 18, 2008, at 2:05 PM, Harold Jackson wrote:

> I try to remove the permanence question from the conversation by  
> using papers that have been rated by Wilhelm.  In other words start  
> from the end and work back.  What papers have been tested and, of  
> those papers, which ones fit my artistic vision?  Only after  
> concluding that none of the rated papers is a match would I venture  
> into the unrated papers.  It's already hard enough to sell our work  
> at a good price, why add to the difficulty?  I recognize that this  
> is a pretty commercial approach but there are so many rated papers  
> that it is rarely necessary to compromise artistic vision for  
> commerce.
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other  
> resources as they are often being updated.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
>
> If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you  
> wish to unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by  
> visiting this same page.
>
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages  
> to keep them short.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or  
> flames. Hostile, aggressive or argumentative users may be removed  
> from the membership without notice.
> - Keep your posts and threads related to the group topic of digital  
> B&W printing. Users who persistently make off-topic posts may be  
> removed from the membership.
> - By posting on this forum you agree to abide by the group rules  
> and guidelines, and to abide by the actions and decisions of the  
> group Owner and Moderators. See “Group Topic, Rules and Guidelines”  
> in the Files section:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/
>
> BY PARTICIPATING IN AND/OR POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE  
> PRINT YAHOO! GROUP YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE “ 
> OWNER” AND “MODERATORS” OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP SHALL  
> NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,  
> CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO,  
> DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER  
> INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  “OWNER” AND “MODERATORS” OF DIGITAL  
> BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF  
> SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE  
> THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; (ii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO  
> OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iii) STATEMENTS OR  
> CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO  
> GROUP; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE  
> PRINT YAHOO GROUP.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Tyler Boley

Harold, with respect I have to disagree, and this is fodder for
another thread entirely- the impact of people like Wilhelm on the
marketplace...
anyway, my point is that in my subjective opinion, for my own work and
offered services, my artistic vision would be severely compromised by
having to stick with materials combinations rated by Wilhelm.
Obvioulsy I belong to a small niche group and the majority may
disagreee. I still think it would serve the manufacturers well to help
us out a bit with this issue.
Tyler

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harold Jackson
<harold@...> wrote:
>
> I try to remove the permanence question from the conversation by
using papers that have been rated by Wilhelm.  In other words start
from the end and work back.  What papers have been tested and, of
those papers, which ones fit my artistic vision?  Only after
concluding that none of the rated papers is a match would I venture
into the unrated papers.  It's already hard enough to sell our work at
a good price, why add to the difficulty?  I recognize that this is a
pretty commercial approach but there are so many rated papers that it
is rarely necessary to compromise artistic vision for commerce. 
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by SteveZ

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harold Jackson 
<harold@...> wrote:
>
> I try to remove the permanence question from the conversation by 
using papers that have been rated by Wilhelm.  In other words start 
from the end and work back.  What papers have been tested and, of 
those papers, which ones fit my artistic vision?  Only after 
concluding that none of the rated papers is a match would I venture 
into the unrated papers.  It's already hard enough to sell our work 
at a good price, why add to the difficulty?  I recognize that this is 
a pretty commercial approach but there are so many rated papers that 
it is rarely necessary to compromise artistic vision for commerce. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

What's troubling and confusing is why a company like Wilhelm - who's 
world-wide reputation is unsurpassed in research and testing - does 
not provide ratings for some of the most commonly used, popular 
papers.

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Mark Savoia

Gee, think it has anything to do with kickbacks?
;)

Mark
http://www.stillrivereditions.com

On Feb 18, 2008, at 2:28 PM, SteveZ wrote:

> What's troubling and confusing is why a company like Wilhelm - who's
> world-wide reputation is unsurpassed in research and testing - does
> not provide ratings for some of the most commonly used, popular
> papers.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by SteveZ

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Mark Savoia 
<mark@...> wrote:
>
> Gee, think it has anything to do with kickbacks?
> ;)
> 
> Mark
> http://www.stillrivereditions.com
> 
> On Feb 18, 2008, at 2:28 PM, SteveZ wrote:
> 
> > What's troubling and confusing is why a company like Wilhelm - 
who's
> > world-wide reputation is unsurpassed in research and testing - 
does
> > not provide ratings for some of the most commonly used, popular
> > papers.
> 
> I don't know about kickbacks but I'm sure each paper company must 
pay the toll to have their respective papers tested. Strangely, most 
manufacturers have opted not to do this.
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Harold Jackson

Tyler --
  I have no disagreement with you. It would serve the paper manufacturers well to band together to form an independent Institute that would rate all papers, for archivibility and a host of other measures before introducing new papers to the market.  As it stands now, we are actually their testers.  
   
  This institute would look at issues, such as bronzing, across the spectrum of printers offered by a given printer manufacturer such as Epson and objectively report their findings.  For instance, with Epson they would try the paper with all generations of Epson inks and report their findings in a standardized way such that it would be possible to make accurate comparisions across ink generations. This hypothetical institute could also look at whether images printed on the paper appeared different using Epson, HP, Canon or,  3rd inks. Such questions as, Does the Epson Gloss Optimizer provide a different appearance than HP Gloss Enhancer?  would be addressed.  Do B&W prints differ in appearance depending on printer/ink combination?  Same question for color.
   
  These are the kinds of issues that I would like to see addressed.  However, until such a place is invented, we have Wilhelm.  We have only lemons in our baskets so let's make lemonade!  That is the spirit of my earlier comment.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by BKPhoto@aol.com

Harold and Tyler, et al-

I seldom post but this topic really gets me going.

Archival is an artificial construct. Yes, I understand how and why it 
is used. But Tyler made an excellent point in an earlier post: if an 
artist's reputation is good enough, any issue related to "archival" is 
either minimized or completely ignored. No one asks a painter. I've 
rarely heard intaglio printmakers discuss the issue.

I use the best products available (for my own work and our customers), 
and I gladly pay more for the privilege. I have learned and used "best 
practices". But if I felt that making a print on newsprint or kraft 
paper was the correct aesthetic decision, I have and will do it. And 
will gladly disclose my process to a prospective buyer.

Lastly, to use "archival" to market images, and then use Wilhelm's 
reports to justify it, doesn't make any sense to me. It isn't as bad as 
asking the tobacco industry about health issues, but it's in the same 
neighborhood.

Bill Kennedy
K2 Press
Austin, Texas
Show quoted textHide quoted text
-----Original Message-----
From: Tyler Boley <tyler@...>
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 1:21 pm
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media






Harold, with respect I have to disagree, and this is fodder for

another thread entirely- the impact of people like Wilhelm on the

marketplace...

anyway, my point is that in my subjective opinion, for my own work and

offered services, my artistic vision would be severely compromised by

having to stick with materials combinations rated by Wilhelm.

Obvioulsy I belong to a small niche group and the majority may

disagreee. I still think it would serve the manufacturers well to help

us out a bit with this issue.

Tyler



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harold Jackson

 wrote:

>

> I try to remove the permanence question from the conversation by

using papers that have been rated by Wilhelm.  In other words start

from the end and work back.  What papers have been tested and, of

those papers, which ones fit my artistic vision?  Only after

concluding that none of the rated papers is a match would I venture

into the unrated papers.  It's already hard enough to sell our work at

a good price, why add to the difficulty?  I recognize that this is a

pretty commercial approach but there are so many rated papers that it

is rarely necessary to compromise artistic vision for commerce.

>

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

>







    




#AOLMsgPart_2_233efac7-12b8-4274-b665-efb18a6e4196


#AOLMsgPart_2_233efac7-12b8-4274-b665-efb18a6e4196


#AOLMsgPart_2_233efac7-12b8-4274-b665-efb18a6e4196


________________________________________________________________________
More new features than ever.  Check out the new AOL Mail ! - 
http://webmail.aol.com

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by David Emerick

Harold and Tyler,

Mark Gottsegen is attempting to do this as a new director

Mark D. Gottsegen
Chair, ASTM D01.57
Materials Research Director, ICA
Co-Director, AMIEN
Tel:  336 707 3647
Fax:  336 334 5270
email:  mdgottsegen@...
web:  www.amien.org <http://www.amien.org>
more web:  www.thepaintershandbook.org <http://www.thepaintershandbook.org>

Cheers


|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

D A V I D    E M E R I C K
Digital Media Specialist
St. Mary's College of Maryland
dnemerick@...
http://staff.smcm.edu/dnemerick/
http://emerick.blogspot.com
http://smcmlibrary.blogspot.com
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: Harold Jackson

Tyler --
 I have no disagreement with you. It would serve the paper manufacturers
well to band together to form an independent Institute that would rate all
papers, for archivibility and a host of other measures before introducing
new papers to the market.  As it stands now, we are actually their testers.
 
 This institute would look at issues, such as bronzing, across the spectrum
of printers offered by a given printer manufacturer such as Epson and
objectively report their findings.  For instance, with Epson they would try
the paper with all generations of Epson inks and report their findings in a
standardized way such that it would be possible to make accurate
comparisions across ink generations. This hypothetical institute could also
look at whether images printed on the paper appeared different using Epson,
HP, Canon or,  3rd inks. Such questions as, Does the Epson Gloss Optimizer
provide a different appearance than HP Gloss Enhancer?  would be addressed.
Do B&W prints differ in appearance depending on printer/ink combination?
Same question for color.
 
 These are the kinds of issues that I would like to see addressed.  However,
until such a place is invented, we have Wilhelm.  We have only lemons in our
baskets so let's make lemonade!  That is the spirit of my earlier comment.

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Harold Jackson

Bill -- 
   
  Your post presupposes that an artist has a reputation.  What if he or she is in the process of establishing a reputation?  And surely you're not saying that a print made on newsprint can have the same lasting value as one made on a material that has been demonstrated to last longer?
   
  I suppose that I should have prefaced my remarks by saying that if it is ones intent to gain acceptance by the collector market then it is necessary to address the concerns of collectors. That is where Wilhelm comes in.  
   
  Certainly we, as artists, are free to print on anything of our choosing.  However, if we expect representation of our work by serious galleries and to be paid for our artistic vision then we must pay some heed to the rules of the game.  Not to take anything away from your work but, I doubt that there is anyway to assign a value to your newsprint images that would be accepted by an art appraiser or, insurance company.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Tyler Boley

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harold Jackson
<harold@...> wrote:
>
> Bill -- 
>    
> ...if we expect representation of our work by serious galleries and
to > be paid for our artistic vision then we must pay some heed to the
> rules of the game.  Not to take anything away from your work but, I
> doubt that there is anyway to assign a value to your newsprint
images > that would be accepted by an art appraiser or, insurance company.
> 
> 
> 
> 

I hope Bill answers for himself, but let me just add this- A very well
known print artist did a widely collected and exhibited group of work
made from inks mixed from food, like blueberry pie filling, etc...
I suspect they are insured by the large museum I saw them at for very
large amounts...So, what rules apply there?
We don't disagree Harold, as far as I can tell, like Bill I think this
is a hot button for me. The rules are whatever suites them at the
time. You will become established, or not, for other reasons.

Tyler

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by SteveZ

Bill, well stated and I agree with you. Problem is since I'm not a 
big name, marquis photographer I still must address my client's 
concerns about permanence. I think Harold has the the best solution 
for me, that is, "removing permanence from the conversation" and 
working around that issue. I could sacrifice my artistic integrity by 
using only Wilhelm tested papers but I'm inclined to keep using the 
papers I'm comfortable with and that give me best results. Besides, 
most manufacturer papers are similar to each other aren't they? (i.e. 
cotton rags,cellulose, barytas, etc.)and I'm sure all will perform in 
a comparable fashion over time. 

And if Mr.Client doesnt buy that, then tough for him!

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, BKPhoto@... 
wrote:
>
> Harold and Tyler, et al-
> 
> I seldom post but this topic really gets me going.
> 
> Archival is an artificial construct. Yes, I understand how and why 
it 
> is used. But Tyler made an excellent point in an earlier post: if 
an 
> artist's reputation is good enough, any issue related to "archival" 
is 
> either minimized or completely ignored. No one asks a painter. I've 
> rarely heard intaglio printmakers discuss the issue.
> 
> I use the best products available (for my own work and our 
customers), 
> and I gladly pay more for the privilege. I have learned and 
used "best 
> practices". But if I felt that making a print on newsprint or kraft 
> paper was the correct aesthetic decision, I have and will do it. 
And 
> will gladly disclose my process to a prospective buyer.
> 
> Lastly, to use "archival" to market images, and then use Wilhelm's 
> reports to justify it, doesn't make any sense to me. It isn't as 
bad as 
> asking the tobacco industry about health issues, but it's in the 
same 
> neighborhood.
> 
> Bill Kennedy
> K2 Press
> Austin, Texas
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tyler Boley <tyler@...>
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 1:21 pm
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Harold, with respect I have to disagree, and this is fodder for
> 
> another thread entirely- the impact of people like Wilhelm on the
> 
> marketplace...
> 
> anyway, my point is that in my subjective opinion, for my own work 
and
> 
> offered services, my artistic vision would be severely compromised 
by
> 
> having to stick with materials combinations rated by Wilhelm.
> 
> Obvioulsy I belong to a small niche group and the majority may
> 
> disagreee. I still think it would serve the manufacturers well to 
help
> 
> us out a bit with this issue.
> 
> Tyler
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harold Jackson
> 
>  wrote:
> 
> >
> 
> > I try to remove the permanence question from the conversation by
> 
> using papers that have been rated by Wilhelm.  In other words start
> 
> from the end and work back.  What papers have been tested and, of
> 
> those papers, which ones fit my artistic vision?  Only after
> 
> concluding that none of the rated papers is a match would I venture
> 
> into the unrated papers.  It's already hard enough to sell our work 
at
> 
> a good price, why add to the difficulty?  I recognize that this is a
> 
> pretty commercial approach but there are so many rated papers that 
it
> 
> is rarely necessary to compromise artistic vision for commerce.
> 
> >
> 
> >
> 
> >
> 
> >
> 
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>     
> 
> 
> 
> 
> #AOLMsgPart_2_233efac7-12b8-4274-b665-efb18a6e4196
> 
> 
> #AOLMsgPart_2_233efac7-12b8-4274-b665-efb18a6e4196
> 
> 
> #AOLMsgPart_2_233efac7-12b8-4274-b665-efb18a6e4196
> 
> 
> 
______________________________________________________________________
__
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> More new features than ever.  Check out the new AOL Mail ! - 
> http://webmail.aol.com
>

Re: [Digital BW] Permanence Ratings for Fine Art Media

2008-02-18 by Ernst Dinkla

Tyler Boley wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harold Jackson
> <harold@...> wrote:
>> Bill -- 
>>    
>> ...if we expect representation of our work by serious galleries and
> to > be paid for our artistic vision then we must pay some heed to the
>> rules of the game.  Not to take anything away from your work but, I
>> doubt that there is anyway to assign a value to your newsprint
> images > that would be accepted by an art appraiser or, insurance company.
>>
>>
>>
> 
> I hope Bill answers for himself, but let me just add this- A very well
> known print artist did a widely collected and exhibited group of work
> made from inks mixed from food, like blueberry pie filling, etc...
> I suspect they are insured by the large museum I saw them at for very
> large amounts...So, what rules apply there?
> We don't disagree Harold, as far as I can tell, like Bill I think this
> is a hot button for me. The rules are whatever suites them at the
> time. You will become established, or not, for other reasons.
> 
> Tyler

Dieter Rot and Daniel Spoerri have done that in the past. 
Not all their art survived in an aesthtically nice sahpe but 
that was more or less intended. If the English shark, cow, 
etc rots away despite conservation it is another issue.

Back to the original question:

I gave the address to collect a German test on 50 papers 
with the three most common pigment ink variations available. 
It is in one of the B9180 messages on this list:

http://www.colorfoto.de/kameras/testberichte/50_papiere_auf_3_druckern.155431.htm 

More than just fade aspects. You can also lay your hands on 
the Febr. issue of ColorFoto for it. The article also gives 
information on inkjet paper manufacturing.

3 Euro and a bit of German translation.

Dietmar Wueller of Image Engineering is also on the ISO fade 
standard committees Wilhelm was/is involved with. Both with 
credit like McCormick a former committee member wrote in a 
message discussing the new tests. Mark McCormick is also 
starting up independent testing, see a copy of an older 
message I wrote:


 >>A carbon pigment. There must be another colorant in/on the
pigment particle, in the encapsulation or the ink media as
carbon itself isn't neutral. Could be another trick but in
the end it behaves as a colorant and could shift test
results. The inks test well in fade tests though both for
color and B&W with light and ozone fading counted. The test
results have been updated recently by Wilhelm.

http://www.wilhelm-research.com/hp/WIR_HP_Z3100_2007_12_28.pdf

another test result for color only:

http://digitalkamera.image-engineering.de/downloads/Haltbarkeit_Papiere-Cofo.pdf

There are some English articles on the same site.
Given the high resistance of all the colors to the tests I
think they will have a good neutraliser on the grey inks too.

 > >
 > > Apparently the HP machines use 4 inks for the 100% 
black. These include
 > > the light gray inks.   The use of all these inks at 
once is said to be
 > > what is behind the high matte paper dmax.  This is 
certainly different
 > > than my experience with pigment inks in Epson printers. 
  The only time
 > > I've seen addition of an LK to the 100% spot raise the 
dmax is when the
 > > K is not covering well.  If the MK is covering well, I 
almost always see
 > > a decrease in dmax when a lower load ink is added to 
the mix.

The quad set is only used in 2 media presets for matte
papers, the other matte papers and the gloss depend on 3
inks only. I have used two different ones (3 and 4 inks both
MK) for Photorag and there was a Dmax difference, the quad
was better. HP's gives different inkloads for the two too:
42 versus 60 but call that ink limiting and now I doubt it
is what we call ink limiting. I thought that the PK would be
used in the quad to offer that higher Dmax but I'm no longer
sure that that is the case since I observed that the Z3100
PK doesn't deliver that much density on matte papers and
could cooperate well as a second quad ink for that reason
alone and not as an addition to boost the MK Dmax. The ink
load term then corresponds better with an additional use of
PK and and less MK in the lighter shadows. The Quad media
presets are only used on heavier stock, there's for example
a split between Photorag above 250 grams and below (HP uses
other names in the media presets). The PK is squirted as a 4
picoliter droplet and the MK as a 6 picoliter droplet, I
guess the last together with the latest dithering/weaving
methods is the reason for the high Dmax on matte papers. A
real difference in inklimit on the black between the Kkk and
Kkkk on top of that.  The Dmax is not higher than the K3 on
some Epson matte papers as I have seen quotes of 1.77 D for
that combination too. Whether they both end equal with real
neutral black prints is something else. On plain HM Photorag
I didn't get better Dmax with any other inkset before.

 > >
 > > I believe Wilhelm tests do not pick up a hybrid black, 
which my testing
 > > indicates included the original Eposn 7500 Archival K. 
  So, a good
 > > Wilhelm rating may not be a guarantee that the black 
ink is not a
 > > hybrid.

True but as written both B&W and color test extremely well
with Vivera pigment if compared to the other manufacturers.
The Epson 7500 Archival (with a universal gloss/matte K) was
the first Epson pigment ink for their own brand of printers
with lots of metamerism problems and the black not high in
density on matte papers. Since then there have been 2 new
Epson pigment inks with changes on the black inks.  Epson
went for straight carbon so one needs compensation colors to
get neutral prints. HP introduced a neutral K range in the
Vivera pigment inks for the B9180, Z2100, Z3100 and Z6100.
If the test institutes use the plain B&W mode of the drivers
and do not seek neutrality in the test targets then at least
HP sticks its head more out than Epson.

Neutrality shifts during fading are checked by Image
Engineering on some density numbers, in fact the majority of
the criteria is related to neutrality, see:

http://digitalkamera.image-engineering.de/downloads/printer_test_white_paper1.0.pdf

I guess Wilhelm must have similar methods.
There's a note under the test criteria list where they
explain that the densities measured may be altered in the
future and the density loss may be changed from percentage
to Delta E. The ISO is more than 10 years in draft now and I
understand that this is one of the issues that keeps the
discussion going. Another opinion on what to test and
measure is what Mark McCormick voices here and testing will
start soon as I understand it:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=26244617
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/digitalprintresearch.html

He has a list where the new Fiber papers are included, an
omission in the latest testing results. Wilhelm has the
Epson Exhibition Fiber also on the list to do though.

Wilhelm, McCormick and Wueller, all three are or were on the
ISO committee. There may not be a universal testing method
yet but with more labs around with some credibility  (WR,
IE, RIT, Fogra, McC)  that use different methods it may even
be better than one standard with some flaws <<

-- 
Met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst


|  Dinkla Grafische Techniek  |
|     www.pigment-print.com    |
|             ( unvollendet )            |

Move to quarantaine

This moves the raw source file on disk only. The archive index is not changed automatically, so you still need to run a manual refresh afterward.