Lyson Daylight Darkroom

The Problem in Creating Monochrome Prints

Printing high quality monochrome images using a normal color ink set on an ink jet printer has always been a difficult task. The standard CMYK color process that most models employ is very difficult to balance throughout the levels of black in a monochrome image and color defects are normally present within the gray scale. Basically, if a neutral black is achieved for shadow detail then magenta or cyan creeps into the mid tones etc. Around five years ago, Lyson addressed this problem with the introduction of the first ink jet inks specifically designed for black and white printing, the Quad Black ink range. This consists of ink sets that contain four or six dilutions of the same black ink and, by using ICC profiles and Photoshop settings, true monochrome images can be produced using the standard OEM print driver software. Initially, the Quad Black range included three separate ink sets – warm, neutral and cool, and changing between each tone required swapping out the inks in a printer. Quad Black was quickly followed up by Small Gamut; an ink set that provides a degree of tonal control without changing inks. Both Quad Black and Small Gamut have set the standards for monochrome ink jet printing and are used by many thousands of photographers Worldwide. The recent introduction of seven and now eight color ink jet models has expanded the possibilities for black and white printing even further. The extra channels available on these new machines make it possible to achieve even more levels of gray and toning effects. However, it became quite apparent to Lyson that the limiting factor in fully utilizing these additional channels is the OEM supplied printer driving software bundles as they are designed ostensibly for color imaging. Yes, good results can be achieved with Quad Black or Small Gamut inks on these machines with the OEM software, but with a true monochrome print driver, the output is simply stunning. Lyson began work on developing a special black and white print driver along with a new proprietary media coating technology to provide photographers with what they have always wanted from monochrome ink jet printing – the ability to accurately mirror traditional darkroom techniques including silver printing. The result of this development program is the Lyson Daylight Darkroom system, a combination of inks, media and print driver software that enables a standard photo quality inkjet printer to produce black and white imges second to none.

Introducing the Lyson Daylight Darkroom System

Lyson Daylight Darkroom Software