Digital BW, The Print

--- "Roy Harrington" <roy@h...> wrote:

> Have you used or seen prints from a 1160 to compare your
> 7000 output to?

Well, actually I had an 1160 with quads and CFS but 
unfortunately its paper feed failed while I was initially calibrating 
it on thick stocks.  Got worried about its feed system with thick 
papers for which it wasn't really designed, and eventually went 
for the 7000 which can handle up to posterboard. Never got to 
see final prints from the 1160.  The downside of the 7000 is the 
lack of a stacked sheet feeder.  Must feed every sheet individually 
or use rolls.

Also, the heads in the pro models are claimed to be driven by a 
more sophisticated stabilized electronics package than the 
consumer units have.   While almost any Epson is capable of 
excellent prints, the pro models are in fact a bit more consistent 
print to print.   I have measured step wedges on literally 
hundreds of Epson prints from several of my printers, and the 
ones from the pro models were measurably more consistent in 
density (and with color inks, color balance).

Finally, the consumer models really need a CFS if you want to 
avoid recalibrating constantly every time one of the small carts 
runs out.  The pro models have very large (but expensive) carts.  I 
use 9000 size MIS carts in my 7000 and they last months for me. 

Incidentally, the MIS inks, both archival color and VM hex, have 
been generally very clog-free in my 5000 and 7000 even with 
weeks of downtime. I did have a leaky cart once but MIS replaced 
it immediately at no charge.

Charles Rozier