Digital BW, The Print

Yes there are a lot of new products on the way, announced and 
rumoured.  But if you want a printer that is currently available and 
has passed the test of time using many insets/worflows/papers, the 
Epson 1280 is it.  The 1160 is also fantastic, but not available 
anymore.

With the 1280 you have the following choices:

MIS VM
MIS VM Sepia
MIS FS (Epson Driver)
MIS FS (Piezography Driver)
PiezoneTone (three diffrent ink tones for use with Piezography)
Sundance inks and driver
Lyson Small Gamut
Numerous RIPs

I personally use 2 different 1280 printers, mixing my own 
modifications of FS inks.  My only complaint about the 1280 is 
speed.  Only Canon printers will beat the 1280 on speed, and so far 
Canon printers are untested for use with pigment gray inks.

Hope this helps.  Remember, you can make better prints today with a 
printer you have now than with a system that is not yet available.

Regards.

Shilesh

--- In 
DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "nedbuntline2002" 
<NedBuntline@H...> wrote:
> I'm finally making the leap from wet to digital.  I do mostly B&W 
4X5 
> work with some 35mm.  I just purchased Photoshop 7.  Until I decide 
> on a scanner, I'm having a local service scan my negatives.  My 
> hardest decision right now is what printer to get.  I know a lot of 
> people use the 1280 with various quadtone inks.  And following that 
> is a smattering of other printers and manufacturers.
> 
> I guess I'm looking for something that isn't on the way out.  I've 
> looked at the 2200, but I've heard about some promising printers 
from 
> Canon for this type of work.  So my question is this:
> 
> If you had $1000 or less to spend on a printer, and wanted to get 
the 
> best you could for B&W, what would you buy right now?  Please also 
> take into account any rumors of future support by inkset providers.
> 
> Thanks!