This statement needs to be qualified somewhat. The Piezography "Carbon Sepia" and the more recent "Carbon K7" sets are indeed full carbon pigment ink sets, and as such they are more lightfast than OEM color sets even when the OEM inks are run in full grayscale or "advanced B&W" modes. But the OEM B&W modes are significantly more lightfast than other Piezography shades like "selenium", "neutral", "warm" etc., on just about any media. The Piezography full carbon pigment is considerably warmer than the MIS Eboni full carbon on most media, so Cone achieves his more neutral Piezography shades by blending cyan and magenta pigments into the mix. The magenta drops out first, causing the print to eventually turn more greenish-gray in appearance. Greenish-gray tones in B&W prints are not a visually acceptable outcome for most folks. The light fade resistance of the cooler Piezography shades is therefore only moderate at best and also more sensitive to choice of media as well when compared to B&W prints made using OEM inks and OEM driver settings.
That said, as long as the print collector knows that not all Piezography prints are highly lightfast and therefore takes care in choosing illumination levels and/or managing the time on display, then the more conservative display policies will allow the more neutral toned Piezography prints to last many generations before noticeably turning more greenish gray. Failure to implement smart illumination/display policies for the cooler toned Piezography ink sets will indeed result in greenish-gray prints more than likely within one's own lifetime.
cheers,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com
Thanks for the rundown. Sounds like a dye Transfer print...holds up OK in the dark but fades like hell in strong light.
My best Epson 3880 BW prints are only 10% off from the best BW I've ever seen. My prints need a smidgen more richness in the blacks to match the finest prints. But the Epson and Canon pigmented inks are very light fast, holding up 'perfect' to 'excellent' in 6 months of sunlight.
