Inkjet negs: Pigment vs. Dye, etc.
I've recently been given an Epson 7600 printer. It needs ink, and Epson ink isn't cheap, and I'm pondering how I can use this monster to make big negatives for gum prints. I've been way out of circulation on the topic of inkjet negatives, only just recently having hooked up an Epson 1280 to make my first paper negatives in about 8 years, so I'm pretty clueless about how to proceed. Maybe someone here can steer me in the right direction regarding this 7600. My goal is to use this 7600 to make paper inkjet negatives. The 7600 uses Ultrachrome inks, which I gather is an archival pigment-based ink. So I'm wondering: 1) Can one make usable paper negatives using pigment inks? Are dye-based inks better? (Here let me insert my own hunch, limited in scope by my never having used pigment inks: I'm assuming that dye, which will sink into the paper rather than sitting on the surface would make a better inkjet neg) 2) I'm told that Epson pigment-ink printers can never be switched over to dye-based inks. Is this true? Seeing as how re-fillable cartridges are still available, would the printer really "care" what liquid is coursing through its mechanism? Keep in mind, I'm not looking for archival-ness or "print-perfection", just a way of producing something that will block light. 3) Any thoughts on what paper to use? I've seen some pretty good prices and paper rolls (here, for instance: http://www.freedompaper.com/s.nl/it.I/id.34/.f ) but I have no idea whether this kind of paper is appropriate for dye OR pigment. It is really difficult to glean any kind of information on-line or from vendors, because the topic of producing inkjet negatives is so different from the "fine-art print" that this machine was intended for. Thanks! Keith
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