PaulWhiting

Well, thought I was going to close down. One last question: Removing the metallic strip leaves a shallow groove... several comments have mentioned how to soften and remove the left over residue here and there. Turns out it may be become some time before I can clean it out. Which solvent can tolerate some time without hardening? Thanks, again.

Sorry to say I've made my choice of a different approach so won't be able to consider Matthew's excellent suggestion. However I plan to add it to future possibilities.

Well, I did it. I removed the metallic strip, just took one end between my fingers and .... zip. Thanks to all, in spite of my various mistakes. I must say it looks good, better, even. I've got some Goo Gone around here somewhere, just to remove the residue.

By the way, we're talking about my 18-55 lens, not 55-105! Shouldn't change the conversation any. SPSF

Thanks a bunch, Mary. Actually that option was mentioned in my initial post. Now there's common sense for you! I was hoping someone would come along and agree with me.;);) PS: Thanks to you also, photomemory. You were too quick for me!

Yes, I do. Sorry, I was a bit lazy!

Thanks, everyone, but a lot of this is more than I bargained for. Well, I asked for it! I managed to photograph it, however. Does this help? The strip is a bit out of focus but the groove it goes into is sharp enough.

Just ran into something: if you have access to page 233 on David Busch's D90, look at the photos of two lenses. The one on the right, a 18-55 like my lens, shows the metallic ring around the lens but the one on the left, a 18-105, shows no such ring. Guess that helps answer my questions.

Thanks rodeo_joe, but... wouldn't having two sides adhesive make one side be exposed to dust etc? Just wonderin' !

My Nikkor 55-105 has a very narrow metallic strip around the lens that's beginning to come unstuck ... only about an inch for now. Part of me says it's ok to intentionally pull it loose the rest of the way. After all it appears to be primarily decorative. An alternative would be to find the right kind of adhesive and stick on the loose end. Would be very tricky to maneuver. This lens is a Nikon re-con. If the strip is totally removed the groove left behind is narrow enough to look intentional. PS: Can someone help me delete this post from Canon? I don't know what made me put it there!

My Nikkor 55-105 has a very narrow metallic strip around the lens that's beginning to come unstuck ... only about an inch for now. Part of me says it's ok to intentionally pull it loose the rest of the way. After all it appears to be primarily decorative. An alternative would be to find the right kind of adhesive and stick on the loose end. Would be very tricky to maneuver. This lens is a Nikon re-con. If the strip is totally removed the groove left behind is narrow enough to look intentional. PS: Is EOS the right forum? I'm new to Canon!

I take your point, kmac. I've heard good things from Epson R2400 owners, even to this day. As for the configuration of cartridges in my iP8720, you are spot on. Thanks for adding those carts to the conversation. What mystifies me is how the subject matter, ie text or image, weighs in: how does the printer know what it's looking at? My main interest is printing b/w photos... do I have any way of changing the tint of a photo? I'd prefer a pigment for its life expectancy.

I appreciate both messages. 1) I'll need to check the Canon specs again, I may have missed something first time around 2) I've looked with envy at the "Eco Tank" ! I'm reluctant to mix the two myself unless I knew what I was doing but thank you for your suggestion.

(and a related question, which forum should I be in? This one?) I have just acquired a Canon iP8720 and enjoy the very satisfying black and white photos it produces. I know this printer has two black cartridges, one with a dye black and the other pigment. Which black ink does the printer use for text? One or the other or a blend? I hope the printer uses pigment black because of its longevity. My understanding is the printer uses pigment black for text. Just for reference sake I have a history with pigment black used for, to be specific Paul Roark's 6 cartridge setup. Looking forward to some discussion on this one!

Jochen, I've never had to define third party, but let me try... first party would be the manufacturer of the printer, the second party would ink made by the same company, and third party would be a company manufacturer other than the first two. Some third-party companies take great pains to get as close as they can to the manufacturers' specs. Myself I use about four different dilutions of black in my six-cartridge Epson so I do mix my own inks with a base fluid made mainly of Eboni black and glycerine. That's the best I can describe third party! Since my first post I've done some experimenting. By chance I happened to use two grades of paper, one white and one a rather warm white. The latter is all the warmth I need, it's the KISS principle in action. No need to get into the complications of different inks, just change the paper. I wonder how that stray sheet of pure white got into my paper source. Paul

Thanks Jochen, but I think my 3rd party pigment inks are under control.

Thanks Ed, those are new concepts for me!

Hope this is less arrogant! Try: "For years I've used and still use an Eboni based ink in my Paul Roark inkset." Paul

For years I made and still make an Eboni based ink on my Paul Roark inkset. The Eboni is a bit warm to some folks, but using QTR I can vary the influence of a coolant in the Y position. I'm sure there are many of you have done this. Now I have a Canon ink printer and I like it in many ways. But out of the box I'm getting a black I find rather cold and sometimes even bluish. Almost the opposite! Is there some way to "warmify" my output? Generally speaking, is there a way to warm or cool the black dye? Or the black pigment cart? My printer is the Canon iP8720. One of its cartridges is a pigment black whereas the other five are dye. I use my printers as I would in the darkroom, to print so-called art photos in black and white. TIA!

Thanks to you both! Steve - Somehow the spots didn't strike me as grease spots. Haven't used my scanner for years, and my "stars" vary with the darkness of the black background. Nice try! JDM - The spots I'm talking about are quite even, in size and in spacing. Haven't done much traditional photography lately. But the digital spots I'm talking about are easy to conquer with a Photoshop "spotting brush"... it sure would be easy except that they're so numerous! The closest I can think of is a starry sky on a clear black night with a multitude of stars. Whatever ... thanks to the two of you! Paul

I've been copying some old b/w family photos, and some are less than perfect of course. Sometimes I don't get much shadow detail and sometimes none at all. These areas of black print quite solid but often contain numerous tiny white specks - and I don't mean dust. I can control them to some extent by increasing the black. What causes these specks? What should I do to prevent them? TIA! Paul

It's been a couple of weeks but sorry to report no progress. Partly my fault, got involved in some other issues. I took my printer in to a guy with a very good reputation in town. Over a period of several days he ran about 18-20 nozzle checks, as well as inserting some Windex (I know, I know!) in the magenta cart nipples and letting the printer's pad soak overnight. No luck, but what's interesting is that all carts but the magenta position are perfect. See my photo above. As for the magenta cart's position: its pattern is different each test, very different. It acts like air in the lines, but air positions would eventually fill, right? I confess I myself have not yet run what I call the shoe-shine cleaning, where a soaked paper towel is moved back and forth under the head. But first I want to raise another issue: I've heard there's something faulty about the magenta position in an Epson 1430. This position cart is more likely to clog than the other carts. Anyone heard this? Or am I spreading an old wive's tale? Paul

scratch out "Do you think"

It goes without saying that I pulled off that small piece of tape! BTW, how long does it take for the air to get removed? (that's like asking how long is a piece of string) Do you think it's been a couple of weeks this way... would that expose any remaining ink and then harden?