Digital Negative media settings

[Pyrodog]

Making digital negs with Pictorico and my Epson R3000. Dan Burkholder says to use Matte Black ink and Ultra Premium Presentation Matte as the media type setting. No question there, that's my standard workflow and it works. Researching another issue however I wound up on the Pictorico website and their recommendation for a media setting for the Epson printer is Premium Glossy Photo Paper. I've been using the Presentation Matte very successfully and don't intend to switch but can anyone explain the discrepancy?

 

[hadeer]

I've found that it doesn't matter very much whether you use matte black or photo black ink. I hate switching ink with my printer (Epson P600), so I stick to the PK. The paper seting I use is Epson semi gloss; works well for me.

 

[nmp]

I don't know when you heard Dan Burkholder say to use matte black ink, but my guess is this is from the early era of digital negatives (correct me if it is more recent.) At the time, the UV opacity from PK ink was not adequate to get fog-less prints. Also the transparency media coatings were not receptive enough for higher ink loading. MK in general has higher UV opacity than the PK. This led some of the early adopters like Dan Burkholder and Ron Reeder to recommend using the matte inks to make digital negatives.

Over the years though the newer printers, like those from Epson, came out with more opaque PK inks. Additionally media companies like Pictorico developed better coatings that could take higher ink loading, designed specifically for the PK inks. In general, the MK ink does tend to run more as it is not absorbed completely on the transparency coating. It also takes longer to dry to touch, causing smears if not careful. This is why Pictorico recommends using PK inks for their media.

However, if it using the matte inks works for you workflow, there is nothing that says you must use the PK inks.

:Niranjan.

 

[Pyrodog]

The manual that Dan B currently provides with his negative template (2014) says specifically to use the ultra premium presentation matte setting which of course means MK ink. I know Pictorico worked on their coating and came out with Ultra Premium OHP which I just now used instead of the Premium so I'm not surprised that the information may no longer hold true. For now I'm just trying to have as few variables as possible while I work on a system to develop good, accurate curves. Having read Burkholder, Reeder and most recently George Smyth I'm beginning to rely more on my own observations and develop my own dig neg workflow. My kallitype exposure, development and toning are satisfactory for the moment so I'm just trying to fine tune the contrast in the results through the dig neg rather than through chemical additives to sensitizer or developer.