Digital BW, The Print

>...been struggling to make good b&w pictures for 6 months with my 
>Epson 2200, ...
>I had been thinking of ... upgrading to Photoshop 7  or ... CS8 ...

That is not the problem.  Even with the 2200, you can't get good B&W prints
with color ink.  The RIPs like ImagePrint do it by running the light black
all the way up into the highlights and then adding just enough cyan and
magenta to neutralize the inherently warm carbon-based black pigment.

The choice is a B&W inkset (aka "quad" inkset) or a RIP for the 2200.

>... But new PS+new printer=$$$$ 
>Then I read of your forthcoming Easy B&W system!

It's MIS (www.inksupply.com) that sells the inks -- not me.  I just come up
with formulas for inksets that I or my friends want and give them to MIS (in
exchange for free ink supplies).

>1) will I be able to continue to print pictures through Elements?

Yes.  Any image editor will do.  I've even printed images from Word.

However, with the "UT-2" inkset I've recently designed, while it is "Easy"
and even variable-tone via the Driver sliders, even more can be had from it
if Photoshop curves are used.  The affordable way to be able to use these
curves is Picture Window -- $50 for the cheap version, $100 for the Pro,
16-bit version.  But there is no need to buy anything now.

>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)

It is probably mostly unrelated. 

> 3) I am unclear whether these new ink sets 
>will be available for both the C82 and the 1280 printers.

There will be version for both.  The "Easy B&W" for the 1280 will probably
by my "UT-2," which is both easy and extremely versatile.  I don't know when
MIS will be mixing and selling it, though.

Good luck.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com