Re:Changing ink colors in different lighing comditions

[Dan Culbertson <danculb@concentric.net>]

I don't think you can really solve that problem with any color inkset --
they all look different under different color lights.  If you look *real*
close you will also see that color prints look different as well, you just
don't notice it near as much as with a print that is supposed to stay
neutral gray.  The only solution is to replace the color inks with gray
inks such as are available from MIS in their quadtone line.  Even with
these, the earlier inks (which had some minor color in the lightest ink and
the medium dark ink) show a difference on some papers in some lights,
fluorescent light being the worst offender.  The latest MIS quadtones are
supposed to be totally neutral.  Though I haven't tried these latest quads
yet I'd expect them to be free of any metamerism.

In the meantime you might try out some different papers.  So far the best
one I've found for keeping neutral grays (with MIS archival color inks) is
Sommerset Enhanced.  It drifts a bit toward a bluish gray in the midtones
but seems to stay more stable overall.  Uncoated paper, like Hawk Mountain
Red Tail and Somerset Velvet help also but keeping detail in the shadows
can be much more difficult on these standard watercolors.  In the long run
I think you'll need to go quadtone to totally keep the metamerism goblins
away.

Above all -- avoid Epson paper.  It has a fluorescent characteristic to it
that compounds the problem in a big way.

Dan Culbertson

Gerald Olson wrote:

>To all of you who are selling your black and white photos made with
>archival inks on epson printers:
>
>Surely by now you've noticed that no matter how you print them, Prints
>made on epson printers with archival inks are red/purple and white in
>tungsten and fluorescent lighting, and black and white in Daylight.  I
>am opening a show in 2 weeks, and The gallery owner is not happy with
>the reddish color of the prints in the tungsten light viewing areas. I
>agree with her. They don't look attractive at all. She thinks this will
>have a heavy impact on sales, as do I. The color images do not exhibit
>this problem.
>
>The question is, by now, a lot of you epsoneers must have noticed this.
>Are you doing anything about it? Can Anything BE done? Do you have
>trouble selling your black and white images? This happens with Fotonics,
>MIS, and Generations archival inksets.
>
>Thanks.  Jerry




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