Digital BW, The Print

William,

Both the 3000 and the 1160 have the longest track record with quad 
inks and have the most options available. If you need to do 17" wide 
prints then the 3000 is the first choice. The 1520 is still available 
from Epson new. I never hear anthing about this printer fro quads but 
I gather it has transport problems.

I would proceed with caution in buying a new 3000. Stocks seem to be 
dwindling and some of the retailers out there are less then honest. 
People looking for new 1160's have ordered on the assurance that the 
printer was in stock only to find that there money was being held 
while the retailer waited for some to come in.

I would recommend the 1160 but my confidence level in your finding 
one is not high.

Both printers are available new from Europe but you will have to deal 
with shipping costs, duty and possibly a lack of warrentee support 
from Epson.

Of the new, in production printers the 1280 looks to be the way to 
go. Piezo for the 1280 has been promised this week and the MIS VM 
inks can also be used. I suspect this may become the next quad 
standard if Epson doesn't replace it too quickly. The quad ink 
manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with Epson's ever 
changing product line-up.

Martin

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "William M. Gatesman" 
<wgates@a...> wrote:
> I want to set up a digital darkroom to do black and white work with 
quadtone
> inks.  I am considering a Nikon 8000E scanner.  I am unsure about 
which
> printer to purchase.  Some ink sellers recommend Epson 3000 
(apparently
> still available new) and Epson 1160 (discontinued and very hard if 
not
> impossible to find from my review of web vendors).  I note also 
that MIS now
> has software to "recharge" the chip on Epson ink cartridges -- does 
this
> allow one to use quadtone inks with the newer printers that use 
cartridges
> with microchips.
> 
> To cut to the chase, if you were starting fresh, what printer would 
you buy
> (excluding the Epson 7000 which is beyond my budget) for inhome 
use?  And,
> notwithstanding your answer to that question, is there another 
printer you
> might also recommend?  Why?
> 
> I would appreciate any comments or advice you might share 
concerning this
> issue.
> William M. Gatesman
> P.O. Box 3809
> Silver Spring, MD 20918
> Phone(301)681-3377
> Fax (301) 681-9849
> wgates@a...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]