Digital BW, The Print

Bruce,

here are some thoughts and comments on your post:


 
> Today, however, an affordable used 7000 unexpectedly landed in my 
> lap; I can pick it up tomorrow. It had been used with Indelible pigs, 
> but has been flushed and has new ink pads reset by the Epson rep. No 
> ink presently installed, and presumably in good shape (it is being 
> replaced by a 7600).

No inks, means, I hope, some kind of cleaning fluid is in there. You don't want 
dry heads. As for the inkpads, you can search on the 9000 list. Most people 
replace these with their own solution - anything from diapers to juice bottles!. 
For an out-of-warranty unit, it saves several hundred $ in service calls. You 
also have to reset the inkpad counters, for which you'll need a service 
manual.


 I don't know what (if any) accessories should 
> come with it (I know it has no stand), any particular problems I 
> should look out for, etc. 

Look for permanently clogged heads or mechanical problems that may 
prevent smooth operation across the 24 width. It's wise to print bands of color 
running the length and check with a loupe for  signs of trouble. Do that before 
you move it, if possible. It would be nice if it came with the 3" roll adapter, 
which is too expensive to buy as an accessory.


I just checked, and the Piezo Pro 24 RIP has 
> disappeared from the Inkjet Mall site, presumably a casualty of the 
> Cone/Sundance divorce. It seems to have been reincarnated by 
> R-9/Sundance and is available, for $1495, from Digital Art Supplies.

R-9 makes software to go with Sundance inks. It so happens that their profiles 
may also work with piezotones and MIS FS, but they are not  officially 
supporting these other inksets, so this may be a limiting factor for you.


> 
> The Piezography page is now touting a new "about to grow up" Piezo 
> Pro RIP: "Stay tuned for the release date later this summer!" Well, 
> the Vernal equinox is just a few hours away, and Conetech does have a 
> tendency to promote wishware. Does anyone know if this will be a real 
> product? Heard about any beta testers?

Why wait for wishware. ImagePrint ships now  and supports color and bw. 
They are also open to profiling other inks and papers, since they have no 
interest in "bundling". I would call Colorbyte,  if I were you, and discuss your 
situation.


> 
> IJM is also pushing Imageprint 5. 

IJM is hardly "pushing". They are selling it because they need to have  
software for their inks after the R-9 break up. 

>However, they recommend the Windows 
> version, and I'm on a Mac [...]. I've seen other comments that the Mac 
> version is clunky at best. 

The problems lie with OS 9. Colorbyte is soon to have an OS X version 
shipping. Yes, it is clunky, and I can get into details if you like, but once you 
get the hang of it (with excellent tech support from Colorbyte) it works fine. But 
be prepared at first to do a little head scratching! 

>And it is dongle-tied to a specific 
> printer, so if I use the 7000 for BW, I get to pay extra for a color 
> printer, even a 2200.

Actually the way it works is that you buy a licence for a given format (like large 
format or desktop etc) and for a given number of printers. You can add 
licences later (by getting a new encryption "key").  But you can always 
"deinstall" one printer and "install" another within the same format. So if you 
have a 2200 and a licence for 1 desktop printer, you can change to a 1280 
without extra cost as long as you remove the 2200 from the list of licenced 
printers that IP recognizes. As for the dongle... many RIPs use them, including, 
I think the R-9 (for the 7000).

> I also get the impression that the IP BW dither 
> is not quite as smooth and dotless as the Piezo/R-9. Comments? 


It's the other way around, actually, but the differences may get lost in an actual 
photograph. This is not always a fixed entity - it depends very much on how 
the profiles are written. The new IP5 has already improved on the dither of 
IP4. Keep in mind that a 7000 puts down fairly coarse dots. It works OK for BW 
because the software can mask some of it, but in color it looks very crude 
compared to, say, a 1280 which is a newer engine. 


> Amazingly, it also costs $1495.

For the large formats, yes. You then have to add a licence for desktops 
(around $500) if you want the option to use the same software for both. It may 
be beneficial to have consistent output from large and small printers and use 
the latter for proofs. Of course, if you have a whole farm of printers and you 
need to print to all of them simultneously, this can get very expensive. But I 
think that's a problem for service bureaus.


> 
> Finally, as the original Piezo Pro RIP has been discontinued, my 
> personal reservations about second hand software might be irrelevant. 
> If anyone has a copy of the Mac version they would care to sell, I 
> could be interested.

Keep in mind that the value of any RIP is directly tied to the quality and 
availabilty of profiles for the inks and papers you use. We are in a period of 
rapid change. After the fiasco with the Piezotone black, who knows what other 
inks are coming down, or if people are using the MIS FS K etc. Also, profiling 
for specific papers is an issue. Colorbyte is willing to profile any given paper 
you use provided they already support that particular inkset (i.e. they have a 
recipe for it). If you buy second hand, make sure there is a company behind it 
that is willing to keep up with new inksets and profile your papers. 

InkjetMall / ConeTech currently makes no profiles for their inks and papers. 
Instead you are expected to use trial and error until you find  an existing 
profile that works for your paper and ink. Likewise, R-9 only supports 
Sundance inks. 

Unfortunately, things change fast and you have to make decisions based on 
what's available right this minute - even if a year from now the game may 
change alltogether. And even Colorbyte, willing as they are to support new 
inks, may be delayed in their efforts because of problems with ink availabilty. 
So, for example, they haven't been able to profile the piezotones for the 1280 
because they can't get carts for it. And their profiles for the piezotones are now 
up in the air because the black is in question. And so on...

Antonis