Re: Quadtone Inks & Digital Negatives

Hi Rita,

So far I have heard from two other members of the list who have been
successful at printing Quadtones on Pictorico OHP film. You would make three.

Unfortunately, I have not heard from anyone yet who has not had success—
though I recall that someone reported that—it would be just as helpful to hear also
from those who were not successfull and what substrates they tried in
addition to Pictorico OHP film.

I tried it yesterday and found only one advantage—since the inks are very
expensive and Pictorico is very cheap, they can be easily recycled after you
print the negative. You just take a squeegee and wipe the ink off the Pictorico!
  The Pictorico is fine, but I guess you are down to a monoblack mix of ink,
rather than a quadtone. But seriously, it did not work at all.

So, my guess is that since there are at least 5-6 Quadtones marketed by Cone
and each is a different ink of sorts, some of the inksets are compatible with
Pictorico and some are not. I am trying to figure out which ones are. I
have asked for specific information regarding the inksets used successfully.

One additional confusing issue may be that people are also substituting
different black inks with the inksets—this makes the issue more complicated,
because it increases the number of combinations that may or may not work.

Then you have the issue that there are other quadtones besides Cone's and how
do they work?

See why I thought it best to discuss it offlist? hehehehehe it's a bit
esoteric.

So, if you could give me specific information about the inkset name and
maker, etc... it would be helpful. Also whether or not you are substituting
another black ink for the black ink of the set you are using. I will send a
summary of the inks used to everyone.

Thanks,
Mark Nelson

In a message dated 2/4/04 7:43:31 AM, Ritab19106@aol.com writes:

> Mark,
>
> I think other list members -- including me -- would be interested in
> responses to this question so I encourage people to answer via the list.  (If not,
> would you forward responses to me, please?)
>
> FWIW, I have made digital negatives using piezotone inks on an Epson 1160. 
> I used a variety of different "papers," though Pictorico was perhaps the most
> successful. My inks (carbon pigment) seem to hold back alot of light, so
> exposure times are long(er).  Banding was a big problem, but that may be the
> temperamental 1160.  I experimented with some of the Burkholder curves and used
> the negs pretty successfully for cyanotype, though, frankly, film negatives
> looked much better.  I also tried the digital negs with POP...results were
> poor;  every imperfection (and there were many) showed up.
>
> I am trying to find a vellum that I can use for inkjet negatives (with
> pigment inks).  Anyone have any suggestions?
>
> 'Looking forward to hearing of others' experiences.
>
>
> Rita Bernstein
>
Received on Wed Feb 4 12:27:31 2004