Digital BW, The Print

Your answer is really quite clear to me. You've stated black and white is 
your preferance, So black and white it should be. The 2200 is primarily a 
color printer so thats out. The 1280 produces smooth dotless prints with a 
variety of methods. The piezo driver at 150.00 is a must have tool and will 
soon support 4-5 ink sets including a couple from MIS that really come cheap. 
He who waits for a faster train or newer printer goes nowhere my man ;0) Make 
prints now, the technology is there and the 1280/ Piezo driver is a great 
start and you still have all the other options a 1280 brings to the table. 
Consider the 100.00 rebate Epson's gift to finance the Piezo driver. See what 
your images look like in ink first, I would suggest Piezo MIS/FS or Peizotone 
ink and start printing. You might ask yourself, What am I going to do with 
the prints? Commercial portfolio? Fine Art? Studio Portrait sales? weddings? 
Your shooting 6x7 and 4x5 so we know your serious. Make some fine black and 
white prints first,then play with color tints if you want, or get some 
samples. Establish a standard look to your prints, a black and white 
portfolio thats all over the tint range will irritate some viewers. If your 
going to sell your work, sell the image not the tint. the 1280 is said also 
to produce nice digital negs, so the 1280 is a tool that will get several 
years of use. The quality of current systems is not likely to get blown away 
soon if ever. Even the 7+ year old 3000 produces exhibit quality prints so 
don't worry about your purchase becoming obsolete. This quadtone stuff Has 
been going on close to 5 years with nice jumps in quality to where we are at 
now. Dive in, the waters fine right now, and 100% better than it was just 2 
years ago. New inks and papers will be the driving force for a while, and 
since Piezo is a major player in the Black and  White printing market, inks 
developers will have an effort behind them to be compatible with the driver. 
A second printer my be in your future but you need the first one now :)
Steve Meyers

In a message dated 08/07/2002 3:04:31 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
tprevatt@... writes:


>  am ready to get a printer. I was waiting to see what happened with the 
> 2200, to make the decision. It seems that the 2200 is not a good printer 
> for someone who is primarly interested in B&W.  




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