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The 1160 is the first printer we set up with UltraTone inks. These inks are variable tone inks that
will produce warm, neutral or cool prints on matte papers. They will also make glossy prints, on
some papers. The use of Roark's workflow, explained below, is required. Adjustment curves are
applied using Photoshop to achieve the variable tones. The 1160 and the 860 (letter size version)
remain one of the most popular printers for making B&W prints.
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ULTRATONE CARTRIDGES FOR THE 860 AND 1160
Cartridges prefilled with Ultratone ink are available for the 860 & 1160 printers. Click on
the blue part number links to order.
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| Printer Models |
Original UltraTone Cartridges for Epson 860/1160 |
| Cartridges |
Ultratone |
Price |
Description |
| Eboni Black |
ARC-SO20108-UTK |
$22.08 |
Eboni black for use on matte paper only. |
| Photo Black |
ARC-SO20108-UPK |
$22.08 |
Photo black for use on gloss and semi-gloss paper, not for matte papers. |
| Color Cartridge |
ARC-SO20089-QUT |
$32.76 |
Contains 1 cool toner - for variable tone printing |
| Note: Roark's workflow, below, is required for making B&W prints with these inks. |
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ULTRATONE BULK INK FOR THE 860 AND 1160
The MIS Ultratone ink for the 860 & 1160 printers is available in 4 oz and pint bottles. Click on
the blue part number links to order.
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CONTINUOUS FLOW SYSTEMS FOR THE 860 AND 1160
If you are a frequent printer or doing some production work, then we recommend you purchase a MIS Continuous Flow System
for your 860 or 1160 printer. This will save you a tremendous amount of money. The cost to operate a CFS is at least 10
times less than using cartridges. If you only print occasionally, then do not get a CFS. If left idle for 3 or 4 days
at a time, CFS units can start to develop problems. Our AUTOPRINT program
(see CFS Page- halfway down) can be used to prevent problems from occuring,
provided the printer and its computer remain powered.
| Continuouse Flow System with UltraTone B&W Ink - for Epson 860 & 1160 Printers |
| Printer Model |
Part Number |
Description |
Price |
| Epson 860 |
CFS-860-UT |
Prefilled CFS with UT Ink |
$175 |
| Epson 1160 |
CFS-1160-UT |
Prefilled CFS with UT Ink |
$175 |
For more information about these CFS units, go to CFS-860-UT or
CFS-1160-UT. Or start at the beginning and get an overview
of all the available CFS Units.
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WORKFLOW INSTRUCTIONS
Making Prints with MIS Ultratone Inks on an Epson 860 or 1160
Here is Paul Roark's workflow for making B&W prints with MIS Ultratone inks. The Ultratone inks are a
variable tone ink and can produce warm, meduum warm, neutral and cool prints by selecting the proper adjustment
curve. These curves were created by Paul and they are free. Follow the steps outlined below and you will end
up with a beautiful B&W print.
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| A. |
Download the adjustment curve file, 1160ut.zip. Extract the files using
WinZip for PC's or
Stuffit for Mac's. Save them anywhere on your hard drive, in a folder you know the name of, like 1160 Curves.
Read Paul's 1160-UT Readme file. These are the notes he supplied
when the UT curves for the 1160 were created.
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| B. |
Use Photoshop 5.5 or higher or the Picture Window Image Editor. Start with the best
possible grayscale image. Don't start with a color image. Convert the mode to RGB for printing. Do not resave the
image after you convert to the RGB mode, or after applying the adjustment curves, this is only for printing purposes.
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| C. |
Load and apply the desired Image Adjustment Curve. Click on Image, Adjust, Curves, and Load.
Then click on Browse to find the adjustment curve you have downloaded. Highlight the curve to be
loaded and click on OK. The curve will be applied to your image.
The curves were designed to work with Epson Archival Matte (EAM or EEM). In most cases Hahnamuhle Photo Rag,
or Crane's Museo will also produce good results due to their similar profile with EAM or EEM. Some papers
will require an adjustment to the curves. Use the article by Dirk Hobman below to understand how to modify
the curves.
When a curve is applied, the image will turn nice bright colors, but these are false colors.
The image is no longer WYSIWYG. This is for printing only, and should not be saved over
the good grayscale working file. Do not attempt to edit the image once the curve has been
applied.
(Note that a Photoshop Action (macro) can program a function key to convert to RGB, call
up and apply the desired adjustment curve/tone, and get the user into the print driver.
That is, this can be a one-button procedure/workflow.)
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| D. |
Making the Print -
The Epson driver is used to print this inkset. Follow the steps below to make a print.
| 1. |
The Color Settings (edit, color settings) are first set to "Photoshop 5 defaults" in
the top box. Then go to the RGB working space and set it to AdobeRGB(1998). |
| 2. |
In the Epson driver, set Print Space to Same as Source. |
| 3. |
In the Epson driver, set Media Type to Matte Heavy Weight. |
| 4. |
The print resolution should be set to 1440. |
| 5. |
If there is a gamma setting, set it to 1.8. |
| 6. |
The ink setting is "Color." |
| 7. |
In the Color Management section, check No Color Adjustment. When this is checked
the sliders should not be showing at all. |
| 8. |
Set High Speed = Off if heavy blacks or microbanding are present. |
| 9. |
If you have a Half Toning option set it to - Error Diffusion |
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| E. |
Going Beyond Perfect -
Be sure to let the print dry before judging the color or tones. If you need a good stepwedge
to work with, you can download the one we use.
If you would like to know more about how the Photoshop Curves are constructed, you can read the information provided
by one of our "expert customers", Dirk Hobman. Dirk explains how to make curves for the MIS UltraTone
B&W inks. Plus he offers a couple of graphic forms for keeping track of the data that is gathered in the process.
To read his article on B&W curve making, download this file... hobman.zip.
There is an excellent forum called
Digital B&W, The Print. The forum discusses all digital technologies related to
making monochrome prints from digital sources, including the MIS ink sets and
workflows. If you are using MIS inks or plan on using them, this is a great place to
find additional information and to contact current users.
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| F. |
Information about the Inks
If you are using matte paper, then put in an Eboni black cartridge (ARC-SO20108-K). If you are using glossy or
semigloss paper, put in a Photo black cartridge (ARC-SO20108-PK). The 3 inks in the color cartridge do not have
to change, they will work on matte or glossy papers. Do not use MIS Universal black (MK). The
fade resistance of MK is not adequate for making archival prints.
Do not mix these inks with other Non Ultratone inks. For refilling or Continuous Flow Sytems, you must start with
virgin empty cartridges. Provided this condition is met, no flushing or purging of the printer is needed. One or
two cleaning cycles will remove any color or non Ultrattone ink from inside the print head. These inks will not
clog or damage your printer if you follow this advice.
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WHICH PAPER TO USE
Epson Enhanced Matte
Epson Archival Matte
Epson Ultrasmooth or Scrapbook
Hahnamuhle Photo Rag
Crane's Museo
The best results on the 860 and 1160 are on Matte papers. Epson Photo Glossy, Premimum Glossy or Luster can be used, but we like the
matte papers better.
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WHERE TO BUY ONE OF THESE PRINTERS
We have an alliance with a company called Geo Data Systems. GeoDataSys has made it one of their missions to
round up all new, un-sold Epson printers and offer them for sale. They are an authorized Epson dealer.
Epson 1160's are very hard to find. There are no new ones left in the USA according to GeoDataSys. Used versions
can sometimes be found on EBay or UBid websites.
The 860 (letter size version of 1160) is in stock at Geo Data Systems.
The price, last time we checked was $169. These are brand new units, with warranty.
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