QTR-Quadtone RIP

Myron,

I have the MIS PK loaded onto my 4800 - in the Cyan ink position, so I cannot use the Epson driver. But, since I had some old Kikland paper, I decided to use the K only ink limit calibration test. Sure enough, I can confirm your observations exactly. I also get similar results on Ilford Gallery Smooth Gloss paper. 

On my OEM PK 4880, I get Dmax in excess of 2.5

Shilesh



--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, Myron Gochnauer <goch@...> wrote:
>
> Although this is the QTR group, I was printing with the Epson driver, using ABW and/or black-only.  The ink load seems appropriate.
> 
> In fact things are even worse than I reported.  A few hours later I remeasured the black and it had dried further to 1.87 !!   Yikes.
> 
> Then, just for the "L" of it I sprayed the print with Krylon "Workable Fixatif", which I often use on matte papers.  On the glossy Kirkland surface it soaks in very little, so a fairly light spray quickly smoothed out.  When it dried, the surface was perfectly glossy, and Dmax measured 2.37.
> 
> So the low density I measured was probably entirely a result of the slight "tooth" or "matt-i-ness" of the ink.
> 
> This is happening *after* I switched from two years of MK (mostly MIS Eboni) printing with color and ABW.  When changing black inks, I followed the Epson instructions for changing cartridges. It requires a changing "kit" --- empty C, M & Y cartridges. The black position is left empty while the old ink charge is pumped our or drained.  I wonder whether the old matte ink was not fully drained and I am still seeing some of it mixing into the new PK.  If this has happened, things should slowly improve over time.
> 
> If anyone else can print a pure black with the Epson driver, using MIS PK ink, and measure the density on Kirkland paper, I would be interested in hearing what your result is.  Epson Premium Glossy would probably be similar.   I printed a letter sized version of the black "purge" image from the MIS website.
> 
> For what it is worth,  my lightly-selenium-toned silver prints were/are usually in the range of 2.1-2.2 Dmax, and I have never had a sense that they could be improved by deeper blacks.  Once I get Dmax into that range, improvement seems to depend mostly on subtlety of gradation, for which silver prints from large format negatives are my standards.
> 
> And finally:   I have stuck with MIS inks because they look good generally, they are *much* less expensive than Epson's, there are at least a few independent tests showing good archival properties, *and* Paul Roark uses/recommends/works-with them.  The other full color alternatives make me a little nervous, since truth-in-advertising is not rampant in this business.
> 
> Myron
> 
> 
> On 2011-05-23, at 4:22 PM, shileshjani wrote:
> 
> > Myron,
> > 
> > That you measured lower Dmax for MIS than EOM is not s surprise. But it surprised me how much lower. I have used the MIS PK (supposedely Image Specialist ink) and can typically hit Dmax of 2.2 on most PK papers. So you may want to check that you are using the best PK ink limits in your QTR curves.
> > 
> > The difference between Dmax 2.5 and 2.2 is definitely visible side-by-side. But another thing to take into consideration is that if you have a Dmax of 2.5 or more, and your image file has a lot of information in the 95 to 100% shadow range, it will take some really bright lights to open up those deep shadows to the viewing eye. When I print my images for framing and hanging on my wall, I deliberately ratchet down the Dmax to the 2.2 range, even though my system is capable of producing Dmax of up to 2.8 - after GLOP coating. But if you intend to display your images in real bright focused lights, by all means aim for the highest Dmax, because it can make a dramitic difference.
> > 
> > The only 3rd party PK inks to rival Epson PK I am aware of are (1) inkjetfly.com, and (2) some special formulation that I have read Jon Cone has produced for transparencies. Of course Paul Roark has been experimenting with dye based inks that may well eclipse all PKs in Dmax.
> > 
> > Good luck.
> > 
> > Shilesh
> > 
> > --- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "MyronG" <goch@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I recently switched my Epson 4880 printer from MIS matt black to photo black. 
> > > 
> > > I noticed that the MIS photo black showed "gloss differential" -- i.e. deep black showed a slight "haze" in comparison with other tones and colors.
> > > 
> > > Since the 4880 is sitting next to a 3880, which is using Epson K3 inks, I printed out a page of pure black on the two printers, using Kirkland glossy paper.
> > > 
> > > The Epson black was plainly glossier (no haze at all). I measured the densities: Epson photo black had a density of 2.48, and MIS photo black had a density of 1.97.
> > > 
> > > The MIS result was surprising. Even Paul Roark's tweaking of the black-only Epson 1800 (?) to allow printing on glossy papers did noticeably better. (...and this did not use the MK/PK cartridge at all.)
> > > 
> > > Are my results surprising? If so, does anyone know what might be going on? If not, is there any alternative to using Epson's pricey ink? (Archival properties are important!)
> > > 
> > > Myron
> > >.
> > 
> >  
> > 
> 
> 
> 
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