[Leica] Carbon Printing... any experiences?

Sat Jun 18 16:29:06 PDT 2016

Ken, Jayanand, John

Thank you very much for your comments, they was useful for me. It’s true that the actual standard inks give a great quality and it can be achieved easily, I don’t know how much can be improved with only B&W inks, a friend has installed on his printer the Piezography system, the differences are subtle but great, the grey gradation is smooth and rich and they look much more close to the chemical development.

I’m afraid about clogging, and after I’ve read your opinions it is still more frequent when using carbon inks, I don’t understand why my printer is clogged, of course I don’t print every day, neither every week but my last printing (documents, not photos) was made 10 or 15 days ago…., and photos maybe 1 or 1,5 months ago, you say that with Epson inks you can be 3 months without printing, maybe the new inks for P600/P800 but this is not my experience with the R3000.

My usual paper is Canson Infinite Platine Fibre Rag, I like it very much, it is semi-gloss and has a similar look to the classical photographic papers, I do a few use of Matte, on this case my favorite is Hahnemühle but Canson Rag or even Epson Matte Archival are not bad at all.

John is right, here Epson is expensive and unfortunately there is not the offer you mention for the P800. 

Thank you very much again, now I go to read Paul Roark comments

Cheers
Lluis

> El 18 juny 2016, a les 1:30, Ken Carney <kcarney1 at cox.net> va escriure:
> 
> Lluis,
> 
> My experience with the aftermarket b&w pigment inksets (mostly MIS, not Cone) is a few years back, not current, but I can tell you what I found.  These were inks in cartridges as well as a continuous ink supply (CIS, feed from bottles).  I got some fine prints, but did discontinue this option because of clogging problems.  I should note that the people at MIS were candid about this if I didn't print regularly, but of course I plowed ahead anyway.  If I printed every day I might look at these inks again. At the time I used the inks, the only option was printing on rag papers, but I prefer papers similar to the old darkroom "fiber" papers such as Seagull.  That may well have changed now.
> 
> I have used RIP's, such as the Quadtone (QTR).  Personally, I would take claims that a RIP or profiling is not required with a grain of salt.  I don't print every day, but I use an Epson 3880 (pigment inks) since it was introduced.  The Epson P800 is its replacement, printing on paper up to 17x22" or longer and evidently with better blacks than the 3880.  I have gone for as long as three months without printing and a check shows no clogging.  Personally, I would look at the Epson P800.  You can print on rag or gloss papers, use the Epson factory paper profiles, or use the Epson Advanced B&W (ABW) option.  The printer is $945 now with an Epson factory rebate of $250, and replacement ink cartridges are about $60, and you are free from headaches such as clogs and RIP's.
> 
> The Epson ABW option is good, but I prefer to edit the print in Photoshop and perhaps add a slight warm or cool tone.  Then I can do soft proofing for b&w, which so far as I know is not possible with ABW.  With an accurate monitor, I see a good print match and don't see issues like bronzing that we used to see. With regard to references, probably the master of b&w printing is on the LUG, Paul Roark, http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/.  I'm confident he would have more info.
> 
> Ken
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/17/2016 7:52 AM, lluisripollphotography wrote:
>> As you know I have to decide what I do with my printer, up to the moment I was very happy with the B&W from my R3000, I have no intention to go to Canon, I have to decide if I repair, I buy a Epson P 600, I buy Epson 1500w (even is the possibility to buy 2, one for B&W and one for color for the same amount that the P600). I do very, very few color printing, in the case I can go to a external service.
>> 
>> I have read that the problem with my printer, clogged, is quite usual using pigmented inks if the printer is not used frequently, Canon 100 don’t have this problem because it uses colorant inks, but the actual trends on printers, inks and papers are that all the developments are for pigmented inks. Secondly main of the systems I know have more developments for Epson than for Canon. These are my reasons.
>> 
>> I’ve examined the existant systems, in my opinion I shall look for systems based in Europe, as far as I know there are two good ones:
>> 
>> <http://www.taos-photographic.com>: This Company is the European distributor of Inkjet Mall (Cone Colors) The inconvenient is that they don’t have cartridges for the EPSON 1500w
>> 
>> <http://www.farbenwerk.com/farbenwerk-Home-eng>
>> 
>> I would appreciate if someone have some information about:
>> 
>> - Farbenwerk reviews, experiences…
>> - Quality compared with Epson 1500w, R3000, P 600 with Epson inks and Carbon inks (Inkjet Mall or Farbenwerk)
>> - I see 1500w is 6 inks vs R000 or P 600 are 9 inks. How much can be the difference using only B&W inks?
>> - Farbenwerk says that not RIP is required. I don’t know which can be the difference if using RIP and/or QTR Driver
>> - I suppose that the first time you fill the printer with B&W inks you spend a certain quantity of ink cleaning and filling. How much…?
>> 
>> I have no experience on these aspects, neither in building own ICC profiles and I have no intention to do them, I don’t have enough time. I would appreciate if there are some books or sites where I can get some information about Carbon Printing.
>> 
>> Thank you very much!
>> 
>> Saludos cordiales
>> Lluis
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
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