Is there an alternative ink that I can use on the special edition glossy inks to cool the print down a bit? I know that the PK for glossy is a warm tone. Is it possible to cool down the print with just changing the PK cartridge?
I like the warm tone for some prints, but would like it cooler for others, so I was hoping I could just swap cartridges.
Thanks,
Jeff
You could swap cartridges… I was at an installation over the last two days exploring this option. Special Edition inks on Hahnemuhle and other matte papers have a lot of coolness. Printing on some of the Canson Barytas really emphasize the warmth. So you can either look for cooler promoting papers or shift the carbon out of the ink and bring in more selenium.
The only warming agents are in shades 2, 3, 4. Shade 2 is pure carbon. Shade 3 is 75% carbon, 25% Selenium. Shade 4 produces the split past the mid-tones. It is comprised of a 50/50 solution of carbon and selenium So this Shade can be swapped out for Selenium Shade 4.
This is an old thread, but I’ve got the same question. I print mainly using the SE inks, although I have neutral shades 2,3,4,5 at hand as well. Like Jeff, I find the SE inks to be pretty warm on gloss, such as IGFS. I’m increasingly starting to use Canson Rag Photographique, which is also a warmer paper and the SE effect is more prominent than on say HPR or EEM, where it is just about right in my view, but of course the SE effect on any of my matte papers is still a lot more subtle than on gloss.
So with the inks I already have, I’m wondering what the options are for producing a mix that tones down but doesn’t lose the SE effect. I’m hoping for a mix that I can use on both IGFS and CRP, which would bring CRP back to roughly the same as SE on HPR, and would also tone down IGFS a little.
My natural thinking was to try a 50/50 mix of SE and neutral. I could do this for all four SE shades, although most of the warmth is coming from shades 2 & 3, so perhaps it’s enough to mix those two. Since shade 4 is a 50/50 mix of carbon and selenium it’s not clear whether or not I need to mix it as well. As shade 5 is selenium, I would have doubted that I need to mix it, although as it’s the ink that seems to get used up fastest clearly it’s having some impact on print toning, so I’m not sure about it either.
I have enough ink at hand to try this, but getting inks to the other side of the planet ain’t cheap, and so I don’t want to burn through too much in the process. I.e. If I can hit in a mix in one iteration that would be ideal, since I don’t regard this kind of mix to be an exact science. In the ball park would be enough for my purposes.
Any one tried this? What is your view Jon?
If you have a cartridge printer (R1800, R1900, R2400, R2880, 1400/1430) rather than a tank printer (R3000, any PRO model), it is very easy to get extra sets of cartridges and experiment with mixtures.
SE (Special Edition) is neutral in shades 6 & 7.
SE (Special Edition) is selenium in shade 5.
SE (Special Edition) is a mixture of selenium with some carbon in shade 4.
SE (Special Edition) is a mixture of carbon with some selenium in shade 3.
SE (Special Edition) is carbon in shade 2.
SE (Special Edition) uses WN1 in shade 1 - but you will never see its warmth in a K7 curve.
If warm means to you the warmth of carbon in the shadows then then you need to replace shade 2 - but cutting it down with neutral shade 2 is like using a neutral density filter and it will take a lot (maybe 75% neutral to 25% carbon). Then shade 3 needs reducing by the same margin most likely… Selenium would be the more useful mixer than neutral.
The selenium warmth in the upper end is a different type of warmth that is associated more with soft purply gray…
The whole idea of SE ink is to be a split tone that is blended…
So you could make your own SE ink so to speak.
Do you want warm shadows or not? This is your shade 2 and into shade 3… what do you want there?? Warm Neutral is not as brown as Carbon… or do you need to custom mix some shade 2’s together to get exactly what you want and so on…
You can do this easily in a desktop printer with cartridges that sit directly on the print head. Remote tank printers will need to waste a lot of ink in order to see the changes…
I have an R1900, so yes, it’s easy to do, relatively. I know what the standard SE mix is and I understand the theory. But I’m on the other side of the planet and with the fall in the $AUD I was hoping to avoid buying further ink just to try this out, esp selenium, which I wouldn’t otherwise have much use for.
My question was really seeking suggestions for what might be the best starting mix, and also which shades out of the four non-neutral SE shades should I mix. Your point about carbon being so warm is well taken. I don’t want to lose the SE effect, just reduce the volume on warmer papers, so yes, I guess that means mostly in the shadows. As you say, 2 and 3 would need to be mixed, but 4 and 5 are less obvious. I guess I start with 2 and 3 and see how I go.
I also wondered whether anyone else has tried this type of mix, such as the OP.
So what mix of SE and N would you start with, if you were me trying to achieve what I described above? 25% SE /75% N? Doesn’t seem like enough SE to me.
You said you would start with the carbon inks in 2 and 3. So, why not mix those in a ratio to 75% Neutral? leave the selenium alone.
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