Digital BW, The Print

Bjorn,

>I know the results from the Imageprint/Epson 2200 combination.
>But it has only the black and the photo black to mix.

IP reportedly uses all the inks, except for Yellow. From what I've read, the
Yellow position is not used to avoid any hint of metamerism.

>Will I get a better result if I use a dedicated b&w printer with f.ex. a
MIS quad inkset (4
>or 6 shades of gray) in combination with a workflow or a RIP?

Better? That's a really tough call and you would probably get about as many
answers as the number of people you ask. My former B&W setup was an Epson
1160 running MIS UT inks and using Paul's latest curves. IMO, this
combination provided the best B&W on EEM or PR of any process that I,
personally, had used. I went with IP because I wanted better color output,
and because I grew tired of the "tinkering" required to keep a dedicated B&W
printer running properly. I don't print often enough to avoid issues like
clogs. However, after pulling out a John Custodio (spelling?) print on PR
that I forgot I had--printed on an Epson 7000 with, I believe, the original
Piezo inks--I may set back up my Epson 1160 with Jon Cone's new ICC profiles
and Piezo Warm Tone inkset. For certain images I simply love that more
chocalate (sepia) tonality! Really it comes down to what you want to see in
your prints.

>Imageprint (Colorbyte) has profiles for a lot of ink/paper combinations.

Another reason I went with IP. However, after having a custom profile made
by Andrew Rodney of imagingrevue.com I'm here to tell ya a better profile
than ColorByte's can be had. Makes sense...CB provides generic 2200 profiles
and mine was made specifically for my particular printer. I know this is a
B&W print forum, but if you want to see the absolute best color that a 2200
can deliver go with IP and a custom paper profile!

Alan Huntley