Digital BW, The Print

On 06/04/10 3:19 PM, "piezobw" <jon@...> wrote:

> If you can live with the warmth of Sepia, and having absolutely the best
> longevity is important to you...
> 
> Right now the pure carbon inks with the greatest longevity currently being
> tested at Aardenburg are PiezoTone Carbon Sepia at 60 megalux and Piezography
> Sepia K6 at 60 MegaLux - both still in 100s.
> 
> However, if longevity is not so critical

In the spirit of continuing with some honest and direct discussion. . . .
 
Aesthetics
 
I have been using Cone inks for a number of years now. I am currently using
the Special Edition and Selenium Piezography (K7) sets, and I am getting the
most beautiful images I¹ve produced to-date. Special Edition has a beautiful
warmth. It blends Sepia shadows gradually into selenium, and then into
neutral highlights. It¹s warm, but not to the extent that straight Sepia is.
I think that¹s part of what I like about it. I am also a fan of split tones,
and in all my dabbling this is the nicest I¹ve seen.
 
Selenium, conversely, is a newer set for me. I¹ve used neutral in past, but
always found it lacking, like it needed something to give it dimension or
spice. Selenium, seems to have that spice, yet is a close cousin of neutral.
I¹m really enjoying the creative contrast that selenium provides relative to
Special Edition. Warm versus cool. They each take an image to a different
place. Both are beautiful ink sets.
 
Longevity
 
Here¹s where I¹m feeling conflicted. I love the look of my prints, as noted
above, but I¹m uncomfortable with the relatively short lifespan identified
in the latest Aardenburg test results (sorry Jon). What I¹ve done is to
break this down in my mind. I find it helps to test things out and think
through them using real life scenarios.
 
I have a customer who has me print images that he¹s taken at his Parish,
images that capture the life and history there. Their desire is to preserve
this history for generations to come, and he¹s a strong voice saying this is
best done using black and white inks on cotton media with no OBA¹s. Based on
Marks¹ work, Special Edition and selenium do not meet this requirement. Cone
Sepia or Paul¹s pigment-only approaches should. The warm sepia-only
aesthetic is not my favourite however, but it¹s likely not an issue for
them. However, I¹m a small volume print maker, and there are practical
implications to adding another ink set.
 
I have another customer, a portrait photographer, who asked me which paper
would provide the greatest longevity with my black / white inks. Her
customer will hang the prints in a really bright room with a lot of direct,
outside light. Mark¹s longevity work equips me with meaningful data to make
informed choices. My current ink sets limit me, but I would like to be able
to offer an appropriate Sepia / paper combination to her.
                                                       
In my own work I have varying requirements in terms of longevity and the
aesthetic. By nature I¹m a perfectionist, and having the ability to produce
the best possible print within my means, is important to me. For work that
is shorter-term in nature, there is no conflict. Longevity is a non-issue.
When I sell a high quality portrait or fine art print however, I have some
angst. I have been careful not to quote the high numbers that many do on
their print documentation. I prefer the term ³decades², which is even
optimistic. Another dynamic however, is reputation. I don¹t want someone
disappointed with my print in 20 or 30 years. Perhaps more importantly, I
don¹t want to be disappointed with how my print looks in 20 or 30 years. The
balance to this of course, is how many of those prints will really be viewed
with this kind of critical eye in 20 or 30 years. Bottom line, if I know
what the limitations of the print are going in, I can provide that
information.
 
So, I ask myself ³Where do I go with all this?². I need longevity in some
cases. I need the creative options available by using more than one ink set
and I want a very high image quality. Right now I swap cartridges in a 13²
printer to provide the flexibility, but I want to move to a larger printer
in the future. My plan has always been to cascade the 3800 I currently use
for colour work, into a monochrome role.
 
Based on this, one solution would be the approach Jon offered to George in
an earlier post today, but with a twist. Run common blacks with 3 shades of
selenium and 3 shades of sepia (versus warm neutral - the twist). This
approach requires sepia to become gloss compatible.
 
shade 1 Matte Black / Gloss Black
Sepia shade 2/3 (50%50%)
Sepia shade 4
Sepia shade 5
Selenium Shade 2/3 (50%50%)
Selenium Shade 4
Selenium Shade 5
Gloss Optimizer
 
Profile the system as follows:
 
1. Straight sepia ­ to meet longevity needs (or provide a warm look)
2. Straight selenium ­ I like the look of selenium
3. Warm / cool split tone ­ profile a scenario using sepia 2/3 for shadows &
¾ tones; 50% sepia 4 / 50% selenium 4 for mid tones (drawing from both two
cart¹s simultaneously); selenium 5 for ¼ tones & highlights. What I¹m really
looking for is something close to Special Edition.
4. Use QTR split toning for various other sepia / selenium mixes. Now that I
think of it, QTR¹s split toning should cover #3.

I could then load this ink set into a 3800 and cover multiple scenarios. I
would trade off some image quality moving from 7 inks to 4, but I would gain
longevity and flexibility. With this configuration I could print with sepia
on the right paper when longevity is the highest priority. When I want
creative choices, I could print using the other profiles on either gloss or
matte media, and in combination with paper choice, have the creative tools I
need. 
 
I keep my costs reasonable by limiting myself to one ink set, and gain the
ability to make larger prints on a very nice printing platform.
 
These are my initial thoughts on how to address the issues. There will be
other ways, I¹m sure.
 
I appreciate the discussions.
 
Terry.