The matte black bummer
(I've edited and reposted this to clarify, sorry if a comment was lost)
After learning more about the matte black situation with the 4800 today I'm considering staying with Photo black for everything including matte prints, maybe moving to non matte papers.
Matte black on the 4800 is the same matte black used on the 4000 (some of the Epson reps did not know this, no wonder stores are confused atm. On the upside at least the matte black ink is available!) - that's no big deal but it raises a few questions about mixing the K3 inks with what you'd presume isn't a K3 matte black ink, or is it? or does it not matter...
(come to think of it, Epson have released Ultrachrome and now K3, but are still peddling the same old papers overall. An Epson rep mentioned there wasn't much in the way of new papers from Epson on the horizon.)
What is a bigger deal is the process and cost of swapping between the photo and matte black on the printer. 10-20ml of black ink are flushed with each swap, not something you'd want to be doing often.
Swapping to matte black means swapping out Photo black for Matte black but also means removing Magenta, Yellow and Cyan i.e. all inks on the left, swapping in dummy cartridges, levers up and down - in and out, rub your tummy and pat your head. Here's the process as described in the help files:
> Converting the Black Ink Cartridges
I haven't seen the same image side by side printed on matte paper using matte black and then using photo black on matte, but I have seen images today printed on matte paper using photo black that looked very good, the blacks were definitely acceptable. I will print some myself along these lines tomorrow - photo black ink/matte paper.
Which leaves me thinking that while I'm going to explore different materials I'm not going to be swapping the blacks back and forth, not just yet anyway. As a rep said today, (if you intend swapping blacks often) "you might as well buy a second printer!"
I think Epson have again missed the boat when it comes to providing a user friendly way to swap blacks back and forth. As it stands it's like learning a barn dance, to the sound of someone taking a piss on the wall outside!
Metamerism and bronzing on non matte papers are no longer big problems, black and white prints on non matte papers look incredible, prints on matte paper using photo black look good. So.... why go the matte black route?
posted by Pete Walsh @ 11:37 PM 9 comments
At 11:53 PM, stephen best said...
"Black Ink Conversion Kit"? I was planning on sticking with MK for my 4800 (due soon) but this is seriously weird.
At 12:17 AM, Pete Walsh said...
Yes, I agree. ATM it looks like the only silly thing on an otherwise incredible system. I wondered what those emtpy conversion cartridges in the box were for!
At 12:24 AM, Anonymous said...
PITA, PSPP, ATM....
Loving your blog, but you are using many abreviations in your posts that I have no idea what they mean. Will keep reading, but would suggest you not use "insiders" abreviations in your posts, especially in that we are so interested in your thoughts.
Thanks,
Scott
At 12:27 AM, Pete Walsh said...
Sorry Scott, will try not to from now on.
PITA - pain in the arse :)
ATM - at the moment
PSPP - Premium Semigloss Photo Paper
At 12:42 AM, stephen best said...
Well I suppose we should grateful that Epson threw in the conversion cartridges instead of charging big bucks for them ... but all this is contrary to what I've read elsewhere that the black is "capped" and changeover is a simple process. I'm wondering whether they're dumping earlier revisions of the printer here. That comment about not closing the covers if you're using 220ml cartridges seems at odds with the fact that the cartridges are now the same size.
At 12:45 AM, stephen best said...
I mean all other carts are capped. I should go to sleep.
At 12:57 AM, Pete Walsh said...
Don't know Stephen. The black changeover is probably not difficult once you've done it a couple of times, I haven't ready anything that conflicts with what needs to be done to swap the blacks. but is it necessary? I think Epson could have done a lot better in this respect, and even some of the reps said the same thing.
At 7:39 AM, stephen best said...
I could probably live with $10-$20 for a very occasional switchover, but it concerns me that the conversion carts may need replacing (as per the instructions you posted). Either they fill up or become empty ... in either case it will cost you in colour inks as well.
At 11:24 PM, Pete Walsh said...
Stephen I don't think it's dumping early versions of the printer - the way everything is packaged etc, it looks like the way it is. I think they are just working within the constraints of the existing 4000 printer. The Epson rep was talking about how insanely low Matte Black ink sales have been over the last few years, he suggested this was partly responsible for the situation with the blacks i.e. it doesn't need to be that good because not that many people change back and forth. I don't buy it :)
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