Digital BW, The Print

I just heard back from Epson UK's Technical Escalation Team re the lack of
support for BO printing to RC paper with the Epson 2100 driver.  Here is
their response - a bit amusing:

"Dear Sir,

Thank you for you communication concerning the above issue.

Please find attached a PDF document that hopefully explains the nature of
monochrome printing and greyscale.

 <<Greyscale.pdf>> 

With the samples you have sent in I can confirm that with the standard
printer driver these are well within specification. As detailed in the
attachment it is not possible to create a printer with a standard generic
profile that will print exact greyscale on all units across the entire range
of EPSON media.

Exact greyscale printing is a special case that requires accuracy in the
profile that is unrealistic to expect 'out of the box'.

I can confirm that the 'Black only' option is not intended for greyscale
printing. As discussed in the attached document that is not how EPSON
achieve greyscale with their range of inks and media. 'Black only' is meant
for text documents on plain inkjet paper.

Below is the link for ICC profile provided free on the EPSON USA web site:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/EditorialAnnouncement.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=
yes&oid=42114986 
<http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/EditorialAnnouncement.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie
=yes%26oid=42114986>

As mentioned in the document, although you should find these profiles that
are matched to specific media and driver settings more accurate than the
generic EPSON drivers, there will be variations due to manufacturing
tolerances and environment."

They confused my request for the ability to centre images using the Standard
driver with the Black Only issue.  The link is session expired but no doubt
points to Bruce Atkins' profiles.  In any case they are way out of touch
with the B&W community.  I invited them to look in on this forum and I can
only suggest that those with 2100s, R800s and, soon, R1800s that wish to use
a Black Only workflow start banging on their door.  Here are some numbers:

UK

 From within the UK  please contact us on:
 Support & Warranty line: 0870 44 3 77 66
 Open 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday,
 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
 Calls are charged at BT national rate.
 Republic of Ireland

 In the Republic of Ireland  please contact us on:
 Stylus support & warranty calls: 01 679 9016
 Non-Stylus support & warranty calls: 01 679 9015
 Denmark 

 In Denmark  please contact us on: 70 279 273 for all support issues.
 Open 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday
 Finland 

 In Finland  please contact us on: 0201 552090 for all support issues.
 Open 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday
Norway 

 In Norway please contact us on: 815 35 180 for all support issues
 Open 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday
Sweden 

 In Sweden  please contact us on: 077-140 01 34 for all support issues.
 Open 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday