Ink Drying Problem

[sclinton]

Hello, I have a Epson 1400 printer that is dedicated to B&W printing. This is my first attempt at using a scanned B&W negative that I print digitally. I use MIS Associates B&W Ink (Inksupply.com). The problem is that the ink never seems to dry on the paper. I have used Kirkland Glossy, Staples Photo Supreme and Epson Ultra Premium Glossy. Even after 72 hours of curing the top layer of ink still smudges. What is the remedy for this situation? Am I using too much ink? If I cut back on the ink, the print looks washed out. Would appreciate any advice from some of you who have more experience with this than I.

 

[pschwart]

Hello, I have a Epson 1400 printer that is dedicated to B&W printing. This is my first attempt at using a scanned B&W negative that I print digitally. I use MIS Associates B&W Ink (Inksupply.com). The problem is that the ink never seems to dry on the paper. I have used Kirkland Glossy, Staples Photo Supreme and Epson Ultra Premium Glossy. Even after 72 hours of curing the top layer of ink still smudges. What is the remedy for this situation? Am I using too much ink? If I cut back on the ink, the print looks washed out. Would appreciate any advice from some of you who have more experience with this than I.

You didn't say which MIS ink set you are using, but my guess is that you are Eboni which is really terrific ink but is meant for matte paper and will rub off glossy and luster papers.

 

[sclinton]

Sorry, I'm using the UT-14 ink, which I thought was the appropriate ink for this printer. One of the recommended papers is Kirkland Glossy.

 

[pschwart]

Sorry, I'm using the UT-14 ink, which I thought was the appropriate ink for this printer. One of the recommended papers is Kirkland Glossy.

The UT14 black is Eboni which is a matte black and so not appropriate for glossy papers. I think you would need a workflow that uses the midtone inks to create a composite black. That means using a Photoshop curve, an ICC, or using QTR to control the individual ink channels. My conclusion was that the the Ultrachrome inks in my R1800 and 3800 are much better suited to printing digital negatives. I still plan on dedicating a 1400 to B&W printing using MIS inks.

 

[Felinik]

Sorry, I'm using the UT-14 ink, which I thought was the appropriate ink for this printer. One of the recommended papers is Kirkland Glossy.

This thread is ages old, but I'll reply anyway.


Using MIS UT-14, to print on non matte papers you should use the ICC profiles supplied by Paul Roark, or create your own ICC's (however that is done...) for Matte papers, use QTR and the supplied ink descriptors in the QTR installation (QTR does indeed supply ink descriptors for Black Only for glossy/baryta papers, but using those demands spraying the prints else the black ink will smudge, so I recommend going with Paul's ICC's instead).