Digital BW, The Print

For a few years I happily used MIS's UT-3D in an Epson 2200.  It produced image tones that worked well for me, but most importantly, I could switch between matte and glossy surfaces without changing cartridges.

My 2200 bit the dust some time ago, and I am now using an Epson 4880.  The 4880 uses a great deal of ink when switching from matte black to photo black (because the ink has to be carried through tubes from stationary ink cartridges).   It would be *really* nice if there was a UT-3D way of enabling both matte and glossy printing.

I *assume* that I could use UT-3D inks in the 4880. Has anyone worked out the curves?

The real question:  Has Paul or anyone else developed any other ink set that allows matte/glossy switching via curves for the 4880?   It was never clean to me from the description of UT-3D how stable it was compared with other ink sets.

When I think about the 8 color printers like the 4880, I wonder whether it would be possible to replace one of the colors with the "other" black, and do a QTR version of ABW.  ...although perhaps the ink channels cannot be controlled that independently.

Myron

Oops!   How embarrassing!  All the recent discussion of weak blacks on the Epson 4000 was in reference to the very kind of inkset I was asking about.

So:   Yes, Myron, there *is* a glossy-and-matte inkset other the  UT-3D that might work well with the 4880.

Myron,

I'm sure the UT-3D approach would work in the 4880, but there are some
caveats.  First, I don't have any profiles for it.  Second, in K3 printers
I was not impressed with the Epson driver controls.  I think QTR is
necessary for good control in K3 printers.  The gray channel substitution
is too high for the Photoshop curves to have good control.  Third, I don't
recommend blended third party inks for wide format printers.

In terms of stability, I think the UT-3D would be about like other third
party B&W, blended inksets.

If you are proficient with QTR and want a variable tone inkset that can
print matte or glossy, consider
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/4000-6K-Plus.pdf

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 8:03 AM, MyronG <goch@...> wrote:

> **
>
>
> For a few years I happily used MIS's UT-3D in an Epson 2200. It produced
> image tones that worked well for me, but most importantly, I could switch
> between matte and glossy surfaces without changing cartridges.
>
> My 2200 bit the dust some time ago, and I am now using an Epson 4880. The
> 4880 uses a great deal of ink when switching from matte black to photo
> black (because the ink has to be carried through tubes from stationary ink
> cartridges). It would be *really* nice if there was a UT-3D way of enabling
> both matte and glossy printing.
>
> I *assume* that I could use UT-3D inks in the 4880. Has anyone worked out
> the curves?
>
> The real question: Has Paul or anyone else developed any other ink set
> that allows matte/glossy switching via curves for the 4880? It was never
> clean to me from the description of UT-3D how stable it was compared with
> other ink sets.
>
> When I think about the 8 color printers like the 4880, I wonder whether it
> would be possible to replace one of the colors with the "other" black, and
> do a QTR version of ABW. ...although perhaps the ink channels cannot be
> controlled that independently.
>
> Myron
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]