Digital BW, The Print

I'm addressing the frustrated person who wrote to say that he or 
she found quadtone printing too complex.

1.  In the Feb-Mar issue of Camera Arts, George De Wolfe said 
that the Epson RIP software for the 2200 produces results very 
close to quadtone.  This is a cheap alternative to more advanced 
RIP systems. I tried it & found that it produces interesting prints 
that are not neutral, but look as if they were richly selenium 
toned.  

2.  A more neutral result can be obtained by using the 
Photo-Enhanced setting for the regular 2200 driver.  When I first 
read about this, I dismissed it as it as a crackpot idea - use a 
distorted color setting to make neutral BW prints?  But it does 
indeed work, & produces prints that look as if they were printed 
on cold-tone paper & toned in a dilute selenium solution for 
archival preservation (i.e., a very slight warming of the upper 
zones).  

These are two options for those who don't choose a quadtone 
system.  While quadtone prints might achieve another increment 
of excellence, these options look better than all but the best 
printers can produce in a darkroom.