Datacolor User to User Support Group.

Some background: I've been in photography since I was a 15 (1955)and spent some time as a pro.  In the military I worked with digital imaging in its early days as an image interpreter.  

Wet prints took on the tone of the paper as influenced by the developer and fixing solution. Bromide papers were colder and other papers were warmer and some had a definite tint of their own. So I agree with you and your experiences with the papers and processing you used.  As far as the HP B9180 goes it does not have three shades of gray inks so it is limited when printing B&W via printer B&W settings; however, I find that it does a superb job of mixing color inks to get beautiful neutral B&W prints.  I think the neutrality depends on how you convert to B&W. I find that I have better conversion control using Nik Silver Efex Pro or Realgrain.  I also use the B&W conversion in Photoshop CS3. You must have a calibrated work flow. Your monitor and printer must be properly calibrated, and you should have a decent print viewing setup. Of course the calibrated workflow is required for color printing.

I've also used Duo-tone and Quad-tone printing on the B9180 using the standard 9180 ink set to good result.


--- In datacolor_group@yahoogroups.com, Robert Peirce <bob@...> wrote:
>
> 
> On Aug 22, 2009, at 3:58 PM, CDTobie wrote:
> 
> > B&W should be dead neutral until you ask it for a tint or cross- 
> > tint, and then offer exactly the tint of cross-tint you ask for. A  
> > printer that offers selenium and olive as its B&W options is a  
> > failure as a black and white printer, which was the basis of my  
> > comment in the first place...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I guess it depends on your point of view.  Wet prints were never dead  
> neutral.  A straight print out of the fixer had (what I call) a very  
> faint olive caste.  Selenium toning would make the blacks "blacker"  
> and the whole print (what I call) colder.  The HP does that  
> automatically, and I like it.  If other printers really are dead  
> neutral, I would be hard pressed to create an ink jet print that  
> would match a wet print, which is my goal.
>