Carbon-6 Inkset

In my experiments with the Epson 2000P printer, I used the Carbon-6 inkset developed by Paul Roark. Bascially, it is a dilution made from the MIS Eboni ink. It is meant for printing on matte paper only.

An ink base is made from safe and readily available components: water, glycerin and Kodak Photoflo. (Photoflo is a "wetting agent" - it breaks up the surface tension of water. It is used in the last rinse step when developing film. It helps water flow off the negatives and thus reduce streaks from water impurities, etc.)

The ink base and the Eboni ink are mixed in the following manner:
K position = 100% eboni
C position = 2 parts ink base, 1 part K position ink
M position = 1 part ink base, 1 part C position ink
Light C = 1 part ink base, 1 part M position ink
Light M = 1 part ink base, 1 part light C position ink
Yellow position = 1 part ink base, 1 part light M position ink.

Easy to mix by volume. I suppose if a printer had more than 6 ink positions, you could create further dilutions. I seemed to go through the yellow position ink quickly. I was wondering if it might be better to dilute the ink even more.

The tone of the print is dependent on a couple of factors: ink drop size (based on printer), the dilution of the ink and the paper used. I tried this ink with 2 printers, the Epson R220 and 2000P. The R220 prints with a smaller drop size. The same image printed warmer on the R220 than the 2000P. Large drop = neutral, small drop = warmth. Secondly, the dilution. As the eboni gets diluted, the ink warms up. It is visible in step wedges. The black is neutral but the midtones and highlights are warm. Thirdly, paper. One of Paul's paper recommedations is Premier Art Smooth. It is amazing how this paper prints neutral and Staples prints so warm. Both paper whites are bright white in color temperature. I'm sure both are brightened with optical brighteners. (Nice snappy highlights.)

As it is relatively inexpensive, I bought a large package of Staples Matte to experiment with. This paper produces a huge split tone with carbon-6 (7 L units in the LAB measurement with the syderprint). At first, I didn't like this. I wanted neutral prints. I had ordered some Premier Art Smooth based on Paul's recommendation. The Premier prints very neutral. I realized that I liked the split of the Staples. Lexjet Sunset Fibre Matte also printed with a split, slightly less than the Staples with a little more surface texture. There will be some experimentation to try and find a paper with the print qualities you're looking for if you try this inkset.

I like the simplicity of the carbon-6. It is not adjustable. There are no curves to apply toning. The only choice you have is the paper you use. I find this lack of choices liberating. Now if I can just convince myself to pull the colors out of the 4000, I'll be making nice B&W prints soon.

FYI - Staples matte is acid free, lignin-free, wood pulp based paper (based on phone calls with Staples customer service.)