Digital BW, The Print

Hello, Paul. Do you have dmax info for Eclipse Satine printing with 
the UT inkset?

Chris Hargens

  --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> I just printed MIS UT inks with the Eboni black on the new Arches 
Infinity
> paper.  (Thanks John E. for sending the samples.)
> 
> The Arches smooth surface prints very smoothly with these inks.  The
> textured version has some artifacts in the shadows that appear to 
be from
> it's texture.
> 
> This paper has an odd solvent smell to it -- not very pleasant.  I 
don't
> think I've ever noticed this with another paper.
> 
> The dmax for the papers with Eboni, the 1160, and HW Matte paper 
setting was
> 1.53 - 1.54.  In comparison to EEM (1.65 - 1.66) and UltraSmooth 
(1.58 -
> 1.59) the Arches paper looks weak.  The visual difference between 
Arches and
> UltraSmooth is noticeably more that the difference between 
UltraSmooth and
> EEM.
> 
> The Arches paper base (coating) readings are as follows (c, m, y, 
visual):
> 
> 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, 0.03.
> 
> This is the same as UltraSmooth.
> 
> Although the name (Arches) and the nice weight of the paper are 
plus factors
> compared to the Epson UltraSmooth, the smell and weak dmax knock it 
out of
> the competition for me.
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com
> ____________________________________
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Roark [mailto:paul.roark@v...]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 11:20 PM
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Ink Jet Art's Museum Digital Art paper
> 
> 
> Because printers, inks, densitometers, etc. are not completely 
consistent, I
> wanted to be sure that I was making a fair comparison of this new 
paper to
> the other papers I had mentioned in my first post, below.  So, I 
printed and
> measured a fresh 100% patch on 5 papers -- Ink Jet Art's new Museum 
Digital
> Art, Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art, "PhotoRag" (actually Media 
Street's Royal
> Renaissance 189), Eclipse Satine Bright White, and Epson 
Archival/Enhanced
> Matte (a relatively new batch).  The printer was the 1160, paper 
setting at
> Heavy Weight matte, Eboni black ink, RGB file and "color ink" 
setting.
> 
> I measured both the 100%/dmax and the paper base.
> 
> Here are the results for the 100% black:
> 
> InkJetArt Museum Digital Art -- 1.58
> 
> Epson UltraSmooth -- 1.58
> 
> "PhotoRag" -- 1.64
> 
> Eclipse Satine -- 1.59
> 
> EAM/EEM -- 1.66
> 
> 
> The paper base measures were as follows (c, m, y, and visual):
> 
> Museum Digital Art -- 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.03
> 
> UltraSmooth -- 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, 0.03
> 
> "PhotoRag" -- 0.03, 0.04, 0.03, 0.03
> 
> Eclipse Satine -- 0.02, 0.02, -0.01, 0.02
> 
> EAM/EEM -- 0.04, 0.04, 0.02, 0.04.
> 
> The Digital Art and UltraSmooth are the only two papers here that 
do not
> have optical brighteners in them, I believe.  As such, they might 
be direct
> competitors for those who want the most stable paper possible.
> 
> Based on this more accurate comparison of Museum Digital Art 
("MDA" ?), I'd
> say Epson's UltraSmooth could be in for some tough competition.  
The printed
> test strips look identical and very good.  It will be interesting 
to compare
> prices when the Epson product is out and readily available.
> 
> One concern I have with MDA is flaking of the paper surface.  I 
have no way
> to accurately and objectively compare the papers in this regard.  
One MDA
> test strip that had been rubbed by other papers in a pile showed 
serious
> flaking, however.  This is, of course, a problem with many of these 
papers
> (PhotoRag and Eclipse, specifically) but one that, I believe, Epson 
put some
> effort into solving or improving with its UltraSmooth.  I have yet 
to see
> such flaking on UltraSmooth, but this is just a casual observation 
and not
> an objective comparison I'd put much weight on.
> 
> I hope this more accurate comparison helps.
> 
> For more information on this paper, see the InkJetArt website at
> http://www.inkjetart.com/wc/museum/ .
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com
> ______________________
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Roark [mailto:paul.roark@v...]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 8:28 PM
> To: DigitalB&WPrint
> Subject: [Digital BW] Ink Jet Art's Museum Digital Art paper
> 
> 
> I just received my sample pack of Ink Jet Art's "Museum Digital 
Art" paper.
> It's a 205 gsm, double-sided, acid-free, cotton paper that appears 
to be a
> good value.
> 
> It feeds and prints well in my 1160 with the MIS Ultra Tone 
inkset.  The
> standard curves could use a little tweaking to be perfect on it, 
but they
> are very close as is.
> 
> The general look of the paper is very smooth.  I think the 
smoothness rivals
> EEM.
> 
> The only problem I see with the paper is that the dmax is only 
1.56.  The
> competing cotton papers -- Epson UltraSmooth, PhotoRag, and perhaps 
Eclipse
> (if there is any left) -- get a bit over 1.60.  EEM gets about 
1.65.  So,
> with Eboni black, the Ink Jet Art paper is at a disadvantage.
> 
> To see if a higher ink load such as what a RIP might be able to do, 
I double
> printed a test strip.  The dmax stayed at 1.56.  So, I'd say it is 
doubtful
> whether a RIP will be able to do any better than the Epson driver.
> 
> To see if less ink would raise the dmax, I printed a test strip 
with the
> driver set to "Photo Quality Ink Jet" paper.  The dmax stayed at 
1.56.
> 
> Perhaps a different black ink would do better, but with Eboni (and 
I'm
> guessing Piezo Museum) 1.56 looks like it is about as good as we're 
going to
> get on this paper.
> 
> Overall, aside from a slightly weak dmax, this paper looks like a 
winner.
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com