Digital BW, The Print

James,

>...about to switch inks from the original Piezo/Sundance.
>.. replacing them with either Piezotones, or a blend of
>MIS FS-N (80%) & FS (20%) inks.

>...ink/print permanence

PiezoTone midtones are more lightfast than the FS and FS-N, although the FS
are better than the old PiezoBW/Sundance.

>... DSS syndrome

This is not a problem with either inkset as far as I know.

>I have read Jon Cone's published accelerated-aging tests of
>Piezotone inks in comparison with MIS FS inks, and his claims
>of under 2% fading of Piezotone, vs. a 17% fading, accompanied
>by significant color shift, for FS inks.

The tests appear to be valid.  From what I can tell, I think that the FS
inks do have a bit of dye in them.  This burns off quickly at first.  With
the FS, this causes both some fade and substantial warming.  The FS-N fades
just like the FS, but it does not warm.  So, visually, the FS-N would look
much better in these comparison tests.

Note that once the small amount of dye burns off, the remainder and bulk of
the FS inkset is pigment, which will be much more stable than the initial
warming/fading period might suggest.  That is, one cannot extrapolate the
initial dye burn-off to the long-term relative fade performance.  The fade
rate is not linear, it slows substantially with the FS inks.

(I'm now assuming the black FS-K from which the FS inks are mixed does have
some small amount of dye in it.  That is simply the best explanation for the
performance of the FS midtones.  Neither I nor, from what I'm told, MIS has
information from the manufacturer of the black ink about the dye content.)

>... FS-N is color/tone stable.

Yes.  It does fade at the same rate as the FS inks, however.  If you mix FS
and FS-N, you will get some warming due to the FS inks.

(Comparison of different fade tests is apples and oranges.  So, I'm avoiding
some of the numbers that have been mentioned.)

>...I'd like your current thoughts on this matter of fade and
>color/tone stability of FS-N ink. ...

I still use FS-N, which is reasonably stable and looks good for a long time.
That said, the new PiezoTone midtones raised the bar substantially.  When I
originally mixed the FS-N, it easily beat the PiezoBW.  At that time only
the Epson Archival inkset seemed to have an advantage, and it's metamerism
made it unusable.

Times have changed.  The PiezoTone midtones are excellent, as is the
UltraChrome inkset and it's ability to print reasonably good B&W.  When I
did comparison fade tests, I saw that the FS and VM inksets really were no
longer in the top performance category.

So, now I'm upgrading the inks I use.  An Epson Archival black-based inkset
(no metamerism in the black) is aimed at the high end of the neutral
Piezo-compatible inksets.  I hope that MIS will mix it, but that is their
decision, and I have not received any from them.  I'll mix it if I need to.
I think it will be the ultimate in ink permanence with today's technology,
and that is where I want to go.

Today, I'm fine-tuning a new VM inkset that is in the UltraChrome class.

The direction I'm going is pure pigment (no dyes at all and fade tests that
are consistent with this) and glossy-paper compatibility.  The two inksets
mentioned above are ready to go as soon as MIS puts them through its tests
and decides whether to mix then and when to release them.  A new vm-s that
is Epson Archival ink-based will be next.

So, in a few weeks there should be a full range of what I'd call "class A"
(in the 100 year and up range) inks out there for B&W printers.  Right now,
I don't think the FS or VM inks are in that class.  Technology has moved on.

>I am also concerned that the Piezotone inks may, in the future,
>lead to DSS or other problems affecting Epson print-heads. My
>understanding is that the MIS FS and FS-N inks have not
>exhibited clogging or DSS problems. Are you aware of any
>reports of DSS with the MIS FS and FS-N inks?

I can't speculate on future ink performance.  I am told by MIS that they
have a number of tests that avoid some of the problems that other inks have
had.  However, this could be competitive puffing, and I don't want to get in
the middle of that.  With any new product, there is some risk of
unanticipated problems.  Reputations and track records are obviously
important in this respect.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com