Digital BW, The Print

Jim: I forgot to mention that you can buy an Epson 890 for $159 now
from Epson. Same as 1280 but prints no bigger than 8.5x11". Actually
that's big enough if price is a factor. Just go buy one. 

Inks from MIS in carts are just like the Epson carts but have varying
tones of black instead of color. Two variations (not exclusive) You
can buy inks that require the $150 Peizo (aka Cone) driver but the
inks are about 2X as much. Some love them. You can do without them. 
You can also use ink in bottles that feed into special carts via
tubes. (CFS or Continous Flow System) This allows you to buy ink in
4oz bottles. But that setup costs about $200. This is for later maybe.
See www.inksupply.com 

I swear by film scanners but some are happy with a high end flatbed.
see www.scantips.com for a load of scanning info. 

Epson Ehanced Matte or Epson Heavyweight Matte is available at CompUSA
and most good photo shops. cheapest on line at www.atlex.com

Photoshop Elements will do for a start. But it's good to plan on
buying Photoshop eventually. 

Consider Black Only printing (using just one Black ink, the regular
Epson black works) see http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Bottom line (again): buy something and start printing. Don't spend too
much time analyzing. An Epson 1280 or 890 will take you a long ways.
You can buy inks later. You can use Photoshop Elements for a while.
Consider a used film scanner if money is tight. Just do it. 

Bob Michaels

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Jim Mooney
<jmooney776@c...> wrote:
> Hi Bob and All,
> 
> >In no way minimizing the great pointers so far about where to do
> >research, I sense you're looking for ideas on specifically what to
> >buy. I'm a year into this, very happy and not seeing a need for an
> >equipment upgrade. My thoughts:
> >
> >Epson 1280 printer - a rock solid simple functional workhorse. Get a
> >refurb directly from Epson (about $350) as they are essentially new
> >and have warranty. Remember 99% of digital printers use Epsons.
> >
> >Inks from MIS - either Ultra Tone or Full Spectrum Neutral for the
> >Epson Driver. widely used, great support both from MIS and on this
> >site. They use free curves & workflows available on the MIS site or
> >here. Buy them in carts.
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions.  By buying cartridges for the Epson
driver do 
> you mean that they are designed to work with the print driver
written by 
> Epson for that model vs. a third party driver?  As far as buy the
ink is 
> cartridges are there may options other than the standard cartridges?
 Are 
> they more difficult to manage?
> 
> 
> 
> >Paper - Epson Enhanced Matte or Epson Heavy Weight Matte. Reasonably
> >low cost and works very well. You'll go through a lot.
> 
> Is this paper available in the major chain office supply stores or am I 
> better off searching at my photo dealer?
> 
> 
> 
> >Film Scanner - for 35mm, The Minolta Scan Dual III should do
> >everything you need for a long time. Great cost / performance ratio. I
> >think they're about $300 now. (B&H has always been a reliable supplier
> >for me)
> 
> I was already eyeing this one, I had reas several reviews of it and
they 
> all spoke pretty highly of it's performance.
> 
> 
> 
> >Software: Photoshop is used by probably 98+% of digital printers.
> >Although Adobe Elements will get you going. Just don't spend time
> >learning a version of Photoshop earlier than 7. The earlier versions
> >work well but your major investment will be in time learning how to
> >use it, not money to buy it. Learning how to use Photoshop is the
> >biggest part of the learning curve in making digital prints. Count
> >your blessings that you're an IT pro.
> 
> I have elements now but I'll plan to upgrade to PS 7, I assumed that
was 
> what most used, it pretty much seems to be the standard for digital
photo work.
> 
> 
> 
> >bottom line: just buy the stuff and start making prints. Learning how
> >to improve is a lot more motivating than doing research.
> 
> Thanks for all the info.
> Take care,
> 
> Jim Mooney
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >Bob Michaels
> >
> >--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Jim Mooney
> ><jmooney776@c...> wrote:
> > > Hi All,
> > >          I recently found this groups and am intrigued by the
idea of
> > > making B&W prints on my own.  I haven't yet switched to digital
> >capture but
> > > I also don't have the space for a darkroom so this seems like a
great
> > > solution.  My questions to the group are:
> > >
> > > What would you all recommend as an affordable basic setup consisting
> >of a
> > > printer, inks, papers, software, and perhaps a scanner?
> > >
> > > Are there any resources such as a FAQ that go through to get the
basic
> > > concepts down?
> > >
> > > I guess I consider myself an impassioned amateur photographer and my
> > > shooting consists of travel, outdoors, and some people.  I'm a IT
> >person
> > > who works with MAC's and PC's so I hope that I can contribute to the
> >group
> > > if anyone has any computer issues.  I'm a total novice to
digital photo
> > > work, so I won't have much to offer in that area yet.
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.
> > >
> > >
> > > Take care,
> > >
> > > Jim
> >
> >
> >
> >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/