Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "yanceyiv" 
<bvaughn4@k...> wrote:
> 
> Happy New Year to all
> 
> I have enjoyed reading the great information posted in this group 
> for about 2 weeks now. It seems that there are quite a few of you 
> that are very satisfied with your success using inkjet printers for 
> B&W. I wish I had stumbled across this source sooner. I am still 
> absorbing this information and trying to establish my own workflow. 
> I get B&W that my non-photographer friends think are nice, but they 
> aren't meeting my desires yet.  Almost every day, I see something 
> new and give it a try. HOwever, I am still all over the map when it 
> prints. 
> 
> I have noticed that there are 3 predominant printers discussed in 
> this group, Epson C82/84/86, 1270/1280/1290 and 2100/2200. There 
> also seem to be two primary sources of software utilized, QTR and 
> Roark's Curves with Epson drivers. 
> 
> Using any one of those setups, there are still a huge number of 
> variables that can cost a fortune in paper and ink to get to a 
> beautiful print. Given that there are many "newbie's" like myself 
> reading this group; I believe it would be worthy to have those of 
> you who are comfortable with your setup and workflow to post a 
> description of it for us to compare to or perhaps switch to. A 
> checklist of sorts for getting to excellent prints with a little 
> less pain. Do you "old timers" of the group agree? 
> 
> If so, I would love to see and compare such information as: 
> Platform: Win, Mac, Linux
> Software used: Photoshop, etc.
> Printing software: RIP, native application driver, etc
> Printer: model and whether dedicated to B&W exclusively or not
> Ink sets: MIS, Epson, etc
> Workflow or link to a great starting point for creating one. Also, 
> source of information to understand just what is going on when you 
> tweak all those sliders in QTR or the Epson advanced drivers.
> 
> Here's what I have to work with currently: Windows XP Pro, 
Photoshop 
> CS, Epson 2200 and C86(new, planning to try out the MIS EZ system 
> after they open back up from the holidays), assorted papers, mostly 
> Epson and Ilford. Your recommendations welcome. Please be as 
> detailed as possible.
> 
> If you don't want to post to group, offline emails are welcome. 
> 
> Thanks to all the in this group for your contributions and may you 
> have a wonderful New Year.
> 
> Bill

Hi Bill

I use an Epson 2100 with OEM inks and a RIP. This gives me the 
advantage of being able to print B&W and colour from the same 
printer. Before going down the RIP route I would strongly advise you 
to have a look at Clayton's BO web site. With MIS Eboni ink in the 
black position on your 2200, you can print neutral B&W and colour. It 
is the least expensive option and a great starting point because it 
is straight forward. If you decide that you do not like the dots of 
BO printing, then try Roy's QTR. You can try it for free and if it 
works for you its a bargain at $50. If you have problems with QTR or 
would like an easier GUI, then have a look at Bowhaus IJC/OPM. I am 
currently using the Bowhaus RIP and on a Mac it is simplicity its 
self. It consists of two standalone programs. IJC is for profile 
making and adjusting. OPM is the print software. It comes with 
profiles for your 2200 with OEM inks and MIS UT inks. Unfortunately 
there is no demo program to try and their web site gives you only a 
taste of the program. I'm sure if Bowhaus promoted their product more 
they would get more of the market share. Maybe they should have a 
look at Imageprint's web site. Imageprint is the most expensive 
option but its a RIP for B&W and colour and does alot more than the 
B&W only RIPs. Have a look at their web site. There is an online 
tutorial, lots of info and a demo to try.

Have fun.

Peter