Digital BW, The Print

I have a very similar setup to you. I'm afraid that upgrading to PS 
7 or CS is not the answer to you B/W printing problems. It will make 
converting your RAW files much easier though. It's pretty simple to 
obtain a decent B/W rgb with PS CS though. All you need to do is 
reduce the saturation to zero and play with the other controls until 
you get a decent image on your screen. But please remember that you 
need to have a decent monitor with hardware calibration.

I solved the B/W propblem on the 2200, after trying the Epson Grey 
Balancer, by buying a MAC system and intstalling Roy Harrington's 
QTR. QTR is FREE. I doubt if any other software could improve on 
QTR. You can of course spend money, at least $500 on a RiP for you 
PC. Something that I might do if I could get the ImagePrint demo to 
work!
Stick with the 2200, you will be amazed at the B/W that it can 
print, let alone the color. The only problem that I have with the 
2200 is the costs of inks. I'm about to try refilling myself with 
the MIS compatible product.


Please search through this forum, because much of this has been 
discussed at length many times before.

Sierra Gold
> Paul Roark, you sound like a saint! I shoot with a Canon 10D and 
> have been struggling to make good b&w pictures for 6 months with 
my 
> Epson 2200, somewhat hampered by using Photoshop Elements rather 
> than the real thing, but more severely limited (so it seems) by 
the 
> inherent funkiness of the Epson inks. I had been thinking of 
biting 
> the bullet and upgrading to Photoshop 7  or the new PS CS8 so I 
> could try BO printing via the Clayton Jones method, or also buying 
a 
> 1280 so I could try your workflows. But new PS+new printer=$$$$ 
Then 
> I read of your forthcoming Easy B&W system! A few questions: 1) 
will 
> I be able to continue to print pictures through Elements? I also 
> have (but don't use) Microsoft Picture It 2) I currently do b&w 
> conversions through an Elements plug-in by Silver Oxide. Can I 
> continue to work this way, or is that an entirely unrelated issue 
> (sorry I'm so remedial) 3) I am unclear whether these new ink sets 
> will be available for both the C82 and the 1280 printers. Most of 
my 
> prints are 8x10 and smaller, but I am not against buying either 
> printer... 4) when can I sell my 2200? (just kidding...maybe...) 
> Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!