Digital BW, The Print

Whether niche or wider markets most printer manufacturers try to secure 
the ink market for their models. That happens in the sign industry too. 
Third party ink suppliers and consorts will try to break that system. As 
soon as print head manufacturing is no longer a high tech industry and 
patents expire you will see that marketing system change. A decade to go 
I guess. The same decade needed to make active digital displays a common 
thing on your walls and plenty of pirated images circling on the web to 
fill them. OLEDs, electrowetting displays, whatever grows faster. Take 
your pick.

In the meantime an affordable RIP like QTR that works on many different 
printers, or better different print heads, is probably the best strategy 
to counter the existing ink marketing model. That was the solution 5 
years ago for Epson models and it can be the solution for the next 5 
years with more brands. The source is the open source community like in 
more cases to break big manufacturer\ufffds policies. An extended GutenPrint 
developed into a RIP that includes QTR but with a color management 
system added, even QTR features could benefit by that addition. Say 
ArgyllCMS as the CM engine. If that all should mean we have to put a 
Linux system under the desktop as a print server it is a small price to 
pay for independence.

When print heads can be made on the kitchen table everything changes. 
Till then you better look for solutions on software developer\ufffds 
desktops. And time is limited. Art and photography printing will stay 
but become more niche than it is today. Which actually limits the 
printer models to hack.

-- 
Met vriendelijke groeten,   Ernst

Try: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

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