Digital BW, The Print

Hello, Richo.

My own experience is in the U.S., but I did set up an 1160 a few 
months ago for printing with one of MIS's VM inksets (Sepia, i.e., 
from sepia to neutral, depending on the curve you use). The inks were 
not available in cartridges, I did not think I would be very good at 
filling cart's myself, I was confident I would like the inks, and I 
knew my 1160 could be aligned successfully with the papers I planned 
to use. So I started with a set of filled bottles from MIS and a 
Continuous Ink System (CIS) from InkJetArt.com (but made by 
NoMoreCarts.com). I did not keep careful track of the costs. But I 
think the CIS + inks total was about 200 U.S. dollars (which I 
believe was roughly the cost of the printer itself). Maybe Richo can 
start with a set of carts instead to see how it likes it at less 
expense.

The paper on which I routinely print is the relatively inexpensive 
Epson Archival Matte (EAM), which is being renamed "Epson Enhanced 
Matte" (EEM), apparently with a slight incidental change in its 
specifications. It is not acid-free, but I think almost everyone 
likes the way prints look on it. I sometimes use it "for keeps" and 
sometimes use it to proof for Crane's relatively expensive Museo.

I'm pretty sure that on average the unit cost of a single 
letter-sized print on EAM/EEM is roughly a single U.S. dollar. On 
Museo, I think that average is a few dollars per print, partly 
because I proof on EAM/EEM - often more than once - before I print on 
Museo, and partly because, despite the proofing, I still might not be 
satisfied with the first print on Museo. But as a test, I would think 
Richo could just experiment with EAM/EEM.

My guess is that small prints on Museo cost anywhere from two to five 
U.S. dollars each. Which is still less, I believe, than the cost of 
mounting and matting the print with archival materials and putting it 
in a plastic sleeve until it can be framed. Say ten to twelve U.S. 
dollars, all told, for a small print ready to sell or present as a 
gift? I think framing and glazing it with equally good materials 
would roughly double the costs in the U.S., to say, $20 - $25?

In bottles, i.e., with a CIS, the cost of the inks alone seems to me 
to be negligible compared to the other costs. But this assumes that 
the printer and the CIS last a long time. I think a little-used one 
probably will. But my 900 did not. So there is an element of chance 
to this. Which is another reason to use cartridges instead of a CIS I 
guess.

Sam McCandless               samcc@...


>Hello,
>
>I must say at the begging few things, I never saw a inkjet B&W print,
>but following this list for some time I got a feeling it could not be
>bad :-) I am using Fuji FDI machine for printing my B&W photos which
>I prepare in Photoshop.
>
>I am curious about price for one print (ink/paper). Usually I am
>doing 20x30cm (~8x12 inch) prints which cost me 3.5euro (~3.6$).
>
>How much is usually startup cost until one setup printing properly
>(The cost of used ink and paper)? I mean how much you spent for try
>out and setuping a workflow correctly.
>
>I was planning to use epson 1160 with MSI VM.
>
>Thank you!
>
>-richo-