interesting B&W ink commentary

[Tyler Boley]

from the new Richard Benson book- "The Printed Picture", published along with a companion exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, in the final section called Digital-

"The monochromatic ink sets use one or more black inks and various weights of
gray. The cartridges or tanks in the printer are replaced with these new ones,
and specialized software is installed in the computer to build print tones that
match the monitor display. One of the pioneers in the development of these black
and white ink sets - Jon Cone - even developed new software that lets the inkjet
put down a diffuse dot, producing a print that looks truly tonal, even under the
magnifying glass. A fine print made with these inks and that dot structure is as
rich in grays as anything silver produced in the long history of chemical
photography".

Richard is THE MAN, so good to see this kind of acknowledgement at this level.
Tyler

[Kirk Gittings]

I agree completely. Richard is a master traditional printer and I highly regard his opinions.

[PViapiano]

Yes, I agree and am a big fan of Richard's...but, there are a few things in that wonderful book of his that are a bit off the mark, for one, his description of gum printing.

But overall, an amazing work and one of my favorite books! A Christmas gift from my wife...

[PenGun]

I'm really liking the B&W prints from my 3800 with the original ink set. I have only printed a couple of colour prints and I may get through the Epson ink without printing another.

I plan to get the Cone Ink stuff when I run out the Epson set. It does appear to be highly regarded by many.

http://www.piezography.com/What_is_Piezograpy_site.html

[Brian Ellis]

I'm really liking the B&W prints from my 3800 with the original ink set. I have only printed a couple of colour prints and I may get through the Epson ink without printing another.

I plan to get the Cone Ink stuff when I run out the Epson set. It does appear to be highly regarded by many.

http://www.piezography.com/What_is_Piezograpy_site.html

If you're using the Epson Advanced B&W mode for your b&w prints, you might try QTR (www.harrington.com). I thought it did a better job with the Epson K3 inks than Advanced B&W. In fact it may make you change your mind about switching to Cone inks.

[PenGun]

If you're using the Epson Advanced B&W mode for your b&w prints, you might try QTR (www.harrington.com). I thought it did a better job with the Epson K3 inks than Advanced B&W. In fact it may make you change your mind about switching to Cone inks.

I will be trying that soon.

If I do only print B&W, which does seem to be where I'm going, I think the Cone stuff will be at least as good and quite a bit cheaper.

We all have to decide when we run out. ;)

[Jim MacKenzie]

Now, to see what the longevity is.

[Stephen Best]

Now, to see what the longevity is.

Let's hope they do better than Piezotone with Portfolio Black:

http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/

[Bruce Watson]

Let's hope they do better than Piezotone with Portfolio Black:

http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/

I don't see a problem here. Cone sold the Portfolio Black as being a short term ink for use in portfolios and exhibitions. He explicitly called out the dye content of the ink, and explicitly said it would fade down to the Dmax of the museum black over time.

I've used the ink. It does what he says, but it takes a lot longer for it to fade than Cone indicated. I've had prints made with portfolio black in locations where they get direct sunlight for at least part of every day for like four years now. No noticeable fading on any of them.

What's not to like?