Digital BW, The Print

If it helps at all I having been printing BO with Eboni ink using a Epson
2200 and was quite happy for a long time.

I have a 1400 now with a full set of Eboni-6 inks and it blows the Epson
2200 BO results out of the water just using the Epson driver.  Those 5
dilutions do make a difference, how much vs. 3-dilutions or whatever other
3-black ink solution you were mentioning I do not know, I just know it
works.  Trying to stay BO with only one ink just because you are not sure or
do not see how 5-dilute inks will help any could be making it more
troublesome than it's worth.  Perhaps you'd save money but the 5 dilute inks
can only help when subtle shading and gradations are so key to and can make
all the difference between an ok B&W print and one that really pops and
makes people go "Wow!"

-- 
Richard S.
Albany, CA (San Francisco bay area)

My Photography Website
http://www.lightshadowandtone.com

My Flickr River
http://flickriver.com/photos/rich8155/popular-interesting/



On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 8:47 AM, Paul <roark.paul@...> wrote:

>
>
> "peter843" <yahoogroups@...> wrote:
>
> >
>
> > I'm thinking of getting a 1400 for just B&W printing.
> > I thought I would start off with BO printing using one ink.
> >
> > The MIS BO kit --
> >
> http://www.inksupply.com/refill_cart.cfm?oem_cart=EPS-T0791&printerID=512--
> > contains one bottle of ink and six empty cartridges.
> > Does each cartridge have to be filled with ink?
>
> > I've been reading about different options for several days
> > and I find it confusing.
>
> There are a number of options, and it can be confusing. I have the MIS
> optioins I've been involved with listed at
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Inkset-list.html
>
>
> > I was thinking of starting with Eb6 but I don't understand the need
> for 5 dilutions unless it is simply to fill each cartridge.
>
> Printing with only a single ink can look very good for many images,
> assuming the printer is a good one. With a single ink, however, smooth areas
> of the print may be a little rougher -- more grainy -- than you'd like. The
> dilute inks allow very smooth printing, with no visible dots at all.
>
> One thing to consider is whether you want to print on matte paper or
> glossy. The Eboni inks are matte only. With an inkset like MIS UT14, you can
> print on either type without changing inks. You also have control of image
> tones -- cool to warm. Eboni-6, like all monotone inksets, can print a
> narrower range of tones based on what paper you choose.
>
> The Eb1400 that Sylvain mentions and I use now is written up at
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eb1400.pdf
>
> MIS does not directly support this inkset because I use a Hewlett Packard
> Z3100/3200 Vivera photo black ink in it. This gives me the smooth matte
> printing of Eboni-6 but also the ability to control matte print tones as
> well as print neutral glossy prints with a simple black only type of curve,
> using QuadToneRip. While it's a relatively easy inkset to put together, MIS
> does not sell it as a kit.
>
>
> > I thought it would be simpler to start off with just one ink
> > but if that means filling 6 cartridges with the same ink then
> > that doesn't make sense to me either.
>
> One ink is easier in some respects, but not others. The Epson driver does
> not support black only printing. So, while QuadToneRip --
> http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRoverview.html --
> is an outstanding product, it's one more thing to learn before you'll
> actually get good results.
>
> So, what I recommend is that people start with an inkset that allows them
> to simply use the Epson driver. Then you can work your way down the learning
> curve one step at a time. Eboni-6 as well as UT14 use this approach. The
> general, one step at a time approach is written up in
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eb1400.pdf starting at page 3.
>
> Note that if you start with Eboni-6 you can easily add the HP PK neutral
> glossy ink later.
>
> Note also with all black only approaches that some printers do well with it
> while others may show some microbanding. Multiple inks hide the defects of
> printers. At the prices we pay for these printers, don't expect perfection
> in every one and every ink position. For example, my 1400 can print an
> essentially perfect black only with the HP PK in the Cyan position (at home,
> but not at 10,000 feet in the Sierras, I discovered this year), but when I
> tried the HP PK in the yellow position, the printer showed microbanding. I
> think the 1400 is the best value and an excellent printer, but these
> machines are not perfect.
>
> Good luck with the B&W.
>
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/>
> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/
>
>


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