Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Kevin" <kfj_98@y...> wrote:
> Paul,
> 
> > The 1280 and UT2 have a number of such pre-made curves; I do not 
> support the
> 
> Is it possible to softproof with the UT2 inkset?  I've read the MIS 
> site workflows using curves or epson print driver and wasn't sure 
> how to get an accurate preview before printing.  
> 
> I'm assuming the piezo system's use of icc profiles allows for this 
> previewing, which seems advantageous.
> 
> I have a 1280 and am contemplating on which quadtone system to buy 
> into.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> -Kev

As far as which printer to pick, I'd almost certainly pick a 1280 over a 2000p.
Not that the 2000p is a bad printer but it's somewhat of an orphan now.
The 1280 is by far the more popular printer for using custom quadtone inks.  
For both piezo and mis the 1280 is in the forefront of support.

The piezo inks are very good quality but you are limited in color tone to
whichever ink you select.  I.e an inkset is either warm, cool, selenium, ...
The MIS variable tone UT2 inks are very versatile in that one inkset can produce
many color tones from cool to neutral to warm to sepia.  That's a very nice
feature for different subjects and different papers. 

Whether one is running Windows or Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X might influence
some of your decisions too.  The Piezo ICC system should run on all systems
and give you soft proofing but there seem to be some people on Mac OS X
who aren't able to get the best results yet.  You can use Paul Roark's curves
with MIS UT2 inks on any system but there isn't a builtin soft proofing.
I've developed the QuadToneRIP system which will only run on OS X.  There
are builtin profiles for UT2 inks on the 1270 that I'm pretty sure work on
the 1280 as well.  There is also builtin soft proofing with these profiles.

-- Actually you can download and see these soft proofing profiles from my
website and see the capability of the UT2 inks and QuadToneRIP before
making any purchases.

Roy

Roy Harrington
QuadToneRIP
www.harrington.com