Alternative to Phatte Black

[Stephen G]

Following on from some useful comments made a couple days ago (luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16079) I'd like to know if anyone  has comments on the following:

I do not want to continually swap inks on my Epson 9800 and I might not have the option of using ImagePrint and its Phatte black system. One solution offered by my printer and RIP supplier is to just "profile everything using photoblack". This causes my stomach to turn, as I feel that I will lose quality big time on matte media but I have nothing more than this gut feeling to go on.

Again, any comments or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[madmanchan]

Yes, you need MK to get deep blacks and good color saturation on matte media. I'm unaware of a way around this. (It's why MK was developed, after all.)

One option is to devote the 9800 to PK and get another printer dedicated to MK.

[Stephen G]

Yes, you need MK to get deep blacks and good color saturation on matte media. I'm unaware of a way around this. (It's why MK was developed, after all.)

One option is to devote the 9800 to PK and get another printer dedicated to MK.
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yeah, we have thought of this, 9800s are cheap as printers go. But I have to make this one work (its only 3 weeks old) before I can start pushing for a second one.

[frankric]

One solution offered by my printer and RIP supplier is to just "profile everything using photoblack".[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=112700\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

No offense meant, but I wouldn't have much confidence in any other advice from anyone who would suggest that. The difference in the depth of black between MK & PK on Matte papers is not trivial. If you want to produce quality prints on Matte papers it is essential to use MK.

Regards

Frank