Digital BW, The Print

Steve,

>I'm thinking of dedicating an older Epson 1520 to B&W printing. As it uses
>rather large ink droplets ands prints somewhat coarsely compared to my
>1290s, will any particular B&W inkset minimise this? 

For the 1520 and 3000 I recommend a monotone as opposed to one of the
variable-tone inksets if you want the best smoothness.  I used the MIS VMS
inkset with the 3000 for some time for 16x20 and was quite satisfied,
however.  

I have made curves and versions of the UT1 and UT-FS Neutral and Warm
inksets (MIS sells) that run on the 3000, which I think is essentially the
same as the 1520 in terms of the driver and print head.  The UT-FS is Piezo
(R9) compatible, but this driver must be bought, has a weak dmax, and may
band more than Epson driver unless you get the latest version and run it at
its slowest (very slow) setting.  The latest 3000 UT-FS curves make prints
that are reasonably smooth.  I used the curves approach with my 3000 even
though I have the Piezo driver.

>Or should I throw it out and invest in another 1290s or the 1160?

It depends how close you get to the print and whether you want variable-tone
printing.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com