Digital BW, The Print

> I plan to purchase the piezography system and a CIS for the 1290 unless I=

> have read there is a lot of other workflows available that could do a goo=
d
> work too ( Quadtonerip, imageprint ,??? ). And I don´t know if it works w=
ith
> OSX.

Aitor,

for OSX your main choices - as you say - are ImagePrint and QTRIP. If I wer=
e 
you, I would contact Roy here, or Colorbyte directly and find out if that's=
 for 
you. The nice thing about ImagePrint is that it will do both color and bw a=
nd 
they will profile your papers for you. In fact, you may not need a dedicate=
d bw 
sytem if you have a 2200 and like the look of Ultrachromes.

If you can run OS 9 on an older Mac, you can give IJC / OPM a try: it suppo=
rts 
the 2200 and lets you make accurate bw profiles if you have a densitometer



> 
> As far as the new 2200 I want to set up a versatile system. to use it to
> make my portfolio prints and to make pre-press proofs too.

Ask Colorbyte if they feel they can accompish that on the 2200. You may nee=
d 
Postscript, too, so see what the price is. Otherwise, most prepress-type RI=
PS 
run on Windows and you may have to look into that.



> I have been considering another 1290 with Generation4 or 5 as other 
option.

Not if you have a 2200!


> In resume if you could tell me any advice about the "best"
> printer/inks/paper/ combo that could enlighten me would be appreciate.

One answer is to simplify mattters: Get a 2200 and see if that will do 
everything you need. Start with Epson papers like EAM for matte, Lustre or =
Pr. 
Glossy, try the Hahnemuhle papers for nicer look and feel in matte or the I=
lford  
Smooth Pearl / Glossy for glossy .

if you feel so lost at this point, I say don't  use a 1290/CIS. Among other=
 things, 
CIS systems are meant for daily use and high volume. If you let them sit fo=
r a 
while, things happen that require more advanced intervention. Of course, if=
 
you run a very high volume of bw prints - at least on a weekly basis - the =
CIS 
will save you money.  But there are CIS options and bulk inks also appearin=
g 
now for the 2200. So, I'd say, spend your money and initial time on that 
machine and see how it goes.

Hope this  helps a bit...

Antonis