Digital BW, The Print

Thx Paul,

So, for the 2000P, which inks/papers do you recommend??  I'm ready for testing!!!

John




From: Paul 
Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2010 7:36 PM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Converting an Epson 2000P to B&W??


  
Hi Richard,

>...
> Paul, care to comment on your opinion on 7-picoliter printer 
> vs a 1.5 one with eboni inks these days?

Well, those big old 7 pl non-variable drops, lack of 2880 resolution, and slower printing speeds have their downside. No doubt about that. 

On the other hand, the 2000P I had for a while also produced the best dmax on some papers (1400 beats it on Arches uncoated HP), did not have the clogging issues of the 1280 (1400 is probably the best in this regard, however), and, most importantly, may be able to print *dilute* carbon inks more neutrally than any modern printer. 

The main reason I got rid of my 7500 was that it could not print as smoothly as I wanted on Arches uncoated watercolor paper. On coated papers like the Premier Art Smooth BW, the 7500 was able to print an incredibly neutral image. See page 7 of http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-6.pdf

I got rid of the 7500 before I was able to test the differences in tone v. drop size on the new Epson Hot Press paper, but, in general, with dilute carbon inks the larger the drops, the less warm the image. 

Then again, with the 1400 and the 1.5 pl drops a black only is almost totally neutral on several papers, including the Epson HP. BO, however, requires a perfect printer to be smooth, and even then with only one dense ink firing the smooth areas may show some grain and un-evenness. A 2% Eboni dilution at 7 pl might make smoother prints.

So, bottom line, for some uses, particularly if the costs can be held down (read Carbon-6), the 2000P might well be worth testing.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 





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