Digital BW, The Print

> From: Dan Koons [mailto:hackberry@...]
>
> That is a good question, I started looking for a printer once I
> purchased a
> digital camera and started thinking about color printing. ALMOST as soon I
> was all fired up to print black and white since that is what I
> have done in
> the darkroom, and is my first choice. The 1280 has recently been
> reduced in
> price, which did catch my eye. I am unfamiliar  with RIP.   thanks

A RIP (raster image processor) is a standalone program (formerly a
standalone box) that directly controls the printer, so doesn't rely upon the
standard Epson printer driver for generating the dot patterns. If you use
the Epson driver, it's almost impossible to get perfectly neutral B&W prints
on the 2200, with no color casts at certain gray levels (unless you print
with black ink only, which is grainy). With a RIP like ImagePrint, you can
get excellent neutral B&W prints using the color inks, because it does a
better job of balancing the colors than the Epson driver, but at a cost of
$500. There are other alternatives, much discussed in the archives, like
QuadTone RIP (QTR).

--

Ciao,               Paul D. DeRocco
Paul                mailto:pderocco@...