Ink system question

[sergiob]

Hi everybody,
I have a hassle-free, low use Epson 7600 UC Epson inks paired with ImagePrint 6.5. I mostly print B&W these days and was wondering if switching to Piezography is really going to make a substantial difference in my prints vs. IP B&W which is pretty good. The Carbon inkset looks like something I would like a lot, but I'm wondering if the difference is very noticeable. I know it is a tough question because because we all have different standards, but would like to know your personal opinions about it. Thanks for the great info on this forum. It is one of the best sources of good info on photography on the web.

Best

Sergio

[Peter De Smidt]

I would have Inkjetmall print you an image on the type of material that you're thinking of printing on. That way you can make an informed choice.

[Ken Lee]

If the longevity of your images is a priority, you should give further consideration to an ink set made of Carbon pigment.

The Epson inks are made from a combination of pigments and dyes, and fade at irregular rates. No image is entirely permanent, but some are more stable than others.

[mdm]

The difference is very noticeable. Piezography carbon is much warmer than the green toned Epson black ink. Piezography carbon is my favourite on matte papers but on glossy paper I like selenium. I am a big fan of glossy Piezography. I find that glossy prints seem to stick around a lot longer before they annoy me.

[sergiob]

Is there any other visible difference apart from black and gray neutrality? I find Imageprint to be very good at that, but I have never compared it next to a piezography print.

[Michael Graves]

Pardon me for hijacking, but I've been looking for an ink system as well. Does anyone have any experience with the cone system?

[Lenny Eiger]

Pardon me for hijacking, but I've been looking for an ink system as well. Does anyone have any experience with the cone system?

Michael,
It appears to be about an hour and a half from your place to Cone's. Jon has quite a collection of prints that you can see, and if you time it when they are doing a print for you, as Peter suggested, you might get a real education.

I think the stuff is great, and a trip would be fun...

Lenny

[sergiob]

Another important issue I would like to know is for how long can the printer be unused with the piezography inks loaded?

[Lenny Eiger]

Sergio,
This varies from printer to printer. Piezography inks won't clog any more than any other inks. However, most printers will clog up if left without printing for a month at a time. Certainly two. The first time you leave it this long, you end up running lots of cleaning cycles until it is clear. Then you figure out how to run a cleaning cycle once a week and see what its like when you come back to printing (how many cleaning cycles do you have to run to get it clear). Then you run it once a day... At some some you figure out what your printer needs... at minimum, to stay reasonably clean.

Lenny