Digital BW, The Print

>...
> I yearn to give a nice 2200 and a RIP a try, but frankly, the discussions
> here on the forum intimidate me a bit and make me wonder if I have the
> time available necessary for dialing in the results that the hardware/
> software is capable of.
>...

I fear, in general, that the technical talk here may be scaring people away
from B&W printing.  However, if you can use a C86 with the EZ inkset, you
can use the 2200.  

The UT7 inkset for the 2200 (and 7600, 9600, 4000) is designed to be an "EZ"
inkset like the C86 EZ inkset.  It prints excellent B&W with no curves, no
rip, ... virtually no thinking.  The same is true for the UT2 and 1280.

The idea was to have different levels of control available.  You could do
"EZ" B&W printing with just sliders in the Epson driver, you can convert to
RGB and use pre-made Photoshop curves to get a broader range of tones, or
you can use one of the rips (like QTR or IJC).  Because there are all these
different levels available, you can tip-toe into the more complex methods
while still being able to do the EZ printing with the same setup.

A 2200 with UT7 is as easy to use as the C86 with the EZ inkset, but it has
the potential to grow as you learn any number of the other options. 

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com