Digital BW, The Print

>  So Group,
>      Let me get this straight. Are you saying I can get round this problem
>by using different paper with just black? Please bear in my I am at present
>using a printer of a much lower spec than the 2000P using the T008 5 colour
>and T007 black cartridges found in the 890 printer (So presumably the same
>performance as those printers). My experiments so far with black only have
>been with matte finished cards from Epson.

If that's what Epson calls here in the States "Matte 
Paper-Heavyweight" (S041257, at least for a box of 50 8.5" x 11" 
sheets), then that's what I'd suggest for starters with dye-based 
inks, at least when Epson's glossy Photo Paper wasn't preferred. But 
my experience is limited to Epson's older printers, the 900 and the 
1160, and Epson's dye-based inks for them.


>Would you recommend getting to grips with photoshop for getting 
>better control of output.?

Yes, but often in the context of the relatively inexpensive (<U$100) 
Photoshop Elements software.


>What sort of quality could I expect from just printing straight from 
>Picture It with MIS variable inks?

I've done it, at first by mistake and then out of curiosity, with the 
MIS VM Sepia-Neutral inkset, from Photoshop but without curving the 
file. I got a very nice step-test print which was intermediate as far 
as warmth goes and too light for most purposes.


>The inksupply website seem to hint that you really needed Paul 
>Roark's curves. Are these only useable from with in photoshop or am 
>I missing something out.

As far as I know they are, and, what's worse, only from the more 
expensive (U$600?) Photoshop, not from Elements, which I've h.


>Failing any decent answers to the above could anyone recommend a good
>entry point piece of documentation or book which could lead me into this
>technology with a human understanding?

I think the best single book is Blatner and Fraser's "Real World 
Photoshop" despite and because of its wider context, but there is 
also Jim Rich's "The Photoshop Grayscale Book".

Sam McCandless           samcc@...