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.)

Quad Tone Rip + Printfix Pro (spyderprint)

I've pretty much given up on the Epson 2000P for black and white printing. The main reason is print speed: It is really slow. It's interesting to read back to earlier posts on the web for this printer. It was very expensive when it first came out. According to an article on Luminous Landscape, it retailed for $899. Ouch. I got it for a bargain at $30.

I plan to clean out the printer, clean out my refillable cartridges and put a nice add on Craigslist. It was a decent experiment and taught me a few things. I'll be happy to have more desk space.

I have had a running debate in my head whether or not to convert my Epson 4000 to a dedicated black and white printer. I've been fooling around with QuadTone RIP for about a week now. I have MISPRO inkset in the 4000 right now. I've been pretty happy with the inkset. Color images are a bit on the magenta side without a profile. Profiles made with Syderprint have straightened everything out. While there are work-arounds for not having a densitometer or spectrocolorimeter, the Syderprint has definitely made my life easier. It has been a great tool and I would buy it again and sooner had I known then what I know now.

Quad Tone Rip has allowed me to continue to use the full color inkset and print black and white images. The measurement tool of Spyderprint was very use in determining the ink limit of my printer and comparing between the matte black and light black inks. I remember getting frustrated fairly quickly the first time I tried QTR. I didn't have the tools to make the measurements needed to linearize the grayscale stepwedge . Syderprint solved my frustration.

The main thing I don't like about QTR is not being able to print directly from Photoshop. You have to save an image in TIFF format, close out of PS and open to print in QTR. I suppose no real biggie, but kind of cumbersome if you're trying to dial in your print. The second thing I don't really like about QTR is the lack of documentation. It comes with a user guide, but I was really dumb in the beginning and really didn't make much sense to me. It took a few readings, lots of fooling around with the interface and a healthy dose of patience.

If I do switch over the 4000 to a dedicated B&W printer, Syderprint and QTR will definitely be important tools to have.

1st print of 2009

First print of 2009.


I've been working with Quad Tone Rip, Epson 2000P and the Carbon-6 inkset. I can honestly say that this combo has produced a nice looking print.