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POPULAR INK AND PRINTER COMBINATIONS
EASY B&W Ultratone - for the C84, C86 & C88 Epson Printers
In the past, computer/software skills were an important part of printing a B&W image. Now we have made B&W
printing really EASY. Our new Easy B&W inks have the following advantages....
- Photoshop is not required. Use any software that will print images.
- Adjustment curves are not required
- No Workflow to learn or complicated procedures to follow
- No RIP, Plug-in or ICC profile is required
- Compatible with any computer that will support the printer (Mac, PC, Linux)
- Two inksets available, one for warm prints, one for neutral prints.
- Prints on matte with Eboni black, and on glossy with Photo black.
Easy B&W inks are available for the Epson C82, C84, C86 and C88 printers. No workflow required, great for
getting started with Digital B&W Printing. These are UltraTone inks and make fantastic archival prints on a variety of paper,
both matte and glossy. Click on the UltraTone Family above for more info.
ULTRATONE14 (UT14) - for Epson 1400 Printer
The NEW UT14 - Ultratone ink set looks to take quality Black and White printing to an all new level. The
Epson Stylus Pro 1400 is now taking over where the 1270, 1280 and 1290 printers have left off.
Read More<<<
ULTRATONE2 (UT2) - for the Epson 890, 1280 & 1290 Printers
Master printer Paul Roark's quest to perfect B&W digital printing has resulted in UT2 -- the most advanced and
flexible B&W inkset yet. This variable-tone inkset prints the full range of traditional photographic tones from
sepia to cold silver print, on both matte and glossy papers, without the need to change ink cartridges.
UT2 is an Easy B&W ink. Without any workflow or special software it can make either warm or neutral prints by
adjusting the sliders on a 890, 1280 & 1290 printers. With the application of some Photoshop curves it will print full
sepia or a deep cool print and anything in between. Paul has published over 20 curves for UT2. He says it is the
best ink he has ever used. Read Paul's website for more information.
Click on the UltraTone Family above to purchase.
ULTRATONE FS & FSN INKS
- 4 Color Printers
For all of our customers that use our Original FS and FSN inks, we have made an UltraTone version of them. The prints
will look the same, but the fade resistance will be much better. Making the switch is not as easy as we would like it
to be, because the UltraTone inks and the Original FS & FSN can not be mixed together. You must start with virgin
cartridges for refilling or Continuous Flow (CFS). Click on the UltraTone Family above for more info. These inks will
print using the R9 Driver which is a Photoshop Plug-in. UT-FS and UT-FSN are monochrome B&W inks. They are not
variable tone. FS is warm and FSN is neutral.
- 6 Color Printers
UT-FS and UT-FSN can be used on a 6 color printer by using a RIP, like Studio Print, or the R9 Driver (Plug-in). If you
do not have such software, there is another way to use these inks with the Epson driver. On a 1270, 1280, or 2000P Epson
printer, Roark has discovered that they work very well if placed in a C,M,C,M,Y configuration. We are now making cartridges
in this configuration. See the UT-FS pages for these printers to learn more.
ULTRATONE7 (UT7) - for EPSON 2200, 7600 & 9600
- Roark Configuration- This is for use with Windows or Mac and the Epson driver. There are 7 inks in the set. They will
print from full sepia to cool using Photoshop adjustment curves or from warm to neutral using just the Epson sliders on the
print driver. They will work in the 2200, 7600, and 9600 Epson printers. The workflow for the 2200 is released, the
7600/9600 workflow is under development (as of 5/22/04). The Roark Configuration inks and cartridges all start with UT7
as the first 3 digits of the part number. If you don't see this, you may have the other configuration.
- Bowhaus/QTR Configuration - We have Ultratone B&W inks specifically formulated to work with Bowhaus Inkjet Control
and PrintMaker or with the Quadtone RIP software. These inks can not be used with the Epson driver. The set of 7 inks is a variable tone
set that prints from full sepia to cool and anywhere in between. Both Photo Black and Eboni black are in the printer at
the same time. The software controls which one is being used, while the other is shut off.
MONOTONE vs. VARIABLE TONE
Inksets that can print with different tones by changing the adjustment curve are called Variable Tone B&W inks. Inks that
only print in one tone, regardless of which adjustment curve is used are Monotone B&W inksets.
| Monotone Inks |
EZN & EZW |
UT-FS |
UT-FSN |
UT-R2 |
| Variable Tone Inks |
UT |
UT2 |
UT7 |
FLUSHING REQUIREMENTS
On Epson desktop printers, using cartridges, there is no need to flush out old inks before using the
Ultra-Tones. After a couple of cleaning cycles the old ink will be gone. Of course if you had been
using Lyson™ or Luminous™ inks, then the use of a cleaning or flushing cartridge is
definitely recommended.
On Epson printers using Continuous Flow, a new virgin empty Continuous Flow cartridge will be
required. This is because there is no way to get the residual ink in the sponges out of the
cartridge. Every print you make will be different for a long time. Furthermore, if the old
or previous ink in the cartridge was dye base or partial dyebase, when it mixed with the new
Ultra-Tone inks the resulting mixture will be too thick to print. This will result in temporary
clogging of the print head. The Ultra-Tones will mix fine with MIS Original Archival, Original Quadtone,
VM and FS inks, but not with MIS Dyebase or Double Density Black. Always start with virgin empty CFS carts to be
safe.
On Epson wide format printers (3000, 5000, 7000, 7500, 7600, 9000, 9500, 9600) the use of flushing or cleaning
cartridges is mandatory. There is just too much residual ink in the tubes and dampers to make a
clean switch to the new inks with out using cleaning carts. Mixing MIS Ultra-Tones with all other
inks (including Epson inks) should be avoided. When introducing just Eboni black, flushing is
still mandatory, regardless of what ink is in the printer.
USING COLOR OR BLACK ONLY -
When color inkjet printers are used to make digital B&W prints, there will always be traces of color visible
in the print. The printers are getting better all the time, so this technique is coming closer to being feasible. Even
if it could be done, the color pigments have iridescence or metamerism. The traces of color will show up in
different light (daylight vs. indoor) and most find this unacceptable. Read
Paul Roark's article on this topic.
When the inkjet printer is set to Black Only, then digital B&W prints can be made using just the one black
ink in the printer. Until recently, trying to spread just one ink from total black to white results in the presence
of dot patterns. These dot patterns are not what is expected in a fine art B&W print. Some of the newer printers
like the Epson 2200 may be able to spread two inks, black and light black, across the full black to white range
without dots. It is being worked on now by a few of the digital B&W experts. Clayton Jones is one of the experts
in this area. Visit his website for more information,
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm.
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