Re: Inks, inks, inks, pigments, dye-based, your experiences?
Re: Inks, inks, inks, pigments, dye-based, your experiences?
- Subject: Re: Inks, inks, inks, pigments, dye-based, your experiences?
- From: "John M. Morgan" <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2001 16:17:19 -0400
- Organization: Raven Rocks Press
My experience is as follows:
Wide Spectrum ink
I have used Wide Spectrum ink in a 3000 printer for about 6 months and
in the past week started using it in an 1160. For glossy prints I like
it better than anything I've used.
The color gamut and black density on gloss are excellent. The fade
resistance is very dependent on paper. On Ilford gloss I get about 2
months in a west window without noticeable fading. WS ink on Epson
premium papers fades from light and ozone much quicker. On the other
hand, the ink is not waterproof on Ilford paper while it is on several
other glossy papers. It fades quickly on most matt papers as far as I
know.
Piezography color
I have been experimenting with Piezography color in another 1160 with a
continuous ink supply. I haven't had time to do fade tests but I assume
it is excellent on that score. The biggest downside for me is that, in
my experience, it isn't practical to use this ink on glossy paper
because it never dries hard enough to handle. On matt and coated art
papers it does fine. The color gamut looks excellent, but the blacks
are a bit lacking. A maximum black of about 1.5 is all I can get out of
it (compared with well over 2 with dye inks on glossy paper).
I have also had recurring problems with the ink flow (banding in other
words) especially with the yellow, though I switched to the improved
yellow formulation. The viscosity of the ink appears to be taxing the
limit of the system.
I also note that the 1160 dots are slightly larger and more observable
with pigment ink than with dye ink.
Generations
I haven't tried Generations yet, but judging by the sample I've seen it
appears the color gamut is comparable to Piez and the blacks stronger
(because they have added some dye to the black).
MIS pigment
I used MIS archival pigment ink a couple years ago and was not happy
with the color gamut. It may not have been a fair test, however,
because I had no means of profiling at that time. Another issue with
that ink is that I got noticeable yellow fading, on every paper I tried,
in 6 weeks of window exposure. For a pigment ink with significant
liabilities I found that unacceptable, but it may be improved by now.
I have also tested MIS beta "Full Spectrum" ink in the 1160. The color
is very close to Epson inks. The downside is that I didn't find any
glossy paper on which it was rub proof and it appears to be less fade
resistant than WS ink. Interestingly, it fades less on papers that Wide
Spectrum inks fade worse on.
Epson pigment
As far as I can see, the big advantage that Epson pigments have over all
others currently, is the ability to print rub proof and water proof on
semi gloss papers. The downside is metamerism, limited color gamut and
cost.
For now I've decided I need to keep printers dedicated to both dye and
pigments for the advantages of each.
John Morgan