Digital BW, The Print

Lev,

There is a reason why Epson is the market leader.  If (a) you want to
produce good prints reliably and quickly and (b) you are OK with matte
papers, you will want to get the Epson UC printers (2200, 4000, 7600, soon
to be 2400) and a RIP such as ImagePrint.  Then, with a calibrated monitor
and careful soft-proofing, you can get excellent color or b&w prints with a
minimum of production time.  If you are OK with 13" wide prints, the 2200 is
about $500, the IP6 RIP is $500, and for $1K plus $250 for the Pantone
Spyder and Optical Pro software you are set (assuming you have a recent
version of Photoshop).  If you are OK with dye inks, the 1280 is about $300
plus $500 for the RIP, or less for other RIP solutions discussed on this
list.  You might want to revisit issues of supporting competition vs.
facilitating your art.  I will also be interested in any responses as to the
8750, since I have an occasional need for a gloss or semi-gloss print.

Regards,

  --Ken Carney
    www.kencarney.com 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
> [mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On 
> Behalf Of lev_baran
> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 5:05 PM
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Digital BW] Any feedback about HP 8750?
> 
> Drifting towards the digital darkroom, I joined this forum 
> trying to find answers for basic questions: what to buy and 
> how to start. The first I noticed was that the forum is quite 
> Epson-centered. So, initially I had no doubt about purchasing 
> some good ole Epson piece, specifically 1280 as it is dirt 
> cheap right now.
> 
> Later I found that the printer has been on market for more 
> than four years, which is outrageous IMO.
>  If we had the same pace of innovations in digital cameras, 
> we would still pay 2K for 3 megapixels. I personally 
> attribute this situation to the lack of competition as Epson 
> enjoyed a monopoly in that niche.
> 
> As a responsible photographer I have to support competition 
> and, therefore, my next printer will be non-Epson. I think 
> about buying HP 8750 even though I clearly see the following 
> possible drawbacks:
> -less variety of paper;
> -difficulties to build ICC profiles as PrintFIX doesn't 
> support the printer yet; -less variety of inks; -no cheap RIP 
> software available.
> 
> Being the free market adept sometimes means taking some 
> sacrifice, but ... did anybody get some decent  print out of 
> this printer?
> 
> Any feedback will be appreciated.
> Thank you,
> Lev
>