Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
<cj@c...> wrote:
> Hello Nathan,
> 
> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> >I should add that ultimately my interest lies in 
> >the potential of the digital negative for contact 
> >printing processes -
> 
> >I need to be able to shift back and fourth from black and white 
> >to color on the same machine...should I invest in the existing 
> >lines (another 7600 or a 4000) or wait to invest in the new lines 
> >pending? 
> 
> My observations over time have been twofold:
> 1) reality often fails to live up to pre-product hype 
> 2) one man's glory is another man's disappointment
> 
> Since mistakes in this realm can be expensive, as you have learned, 
I
> suggest waiting a few months until reports come in from actual B&W
> fine art practitioners - all we've had so far is Epson hype and
> reports from folks who don't specialize in what we do.
> 
> More specifically to your question, doing color and BW eliminates 
use
> of a dedicated BW ink set.  That means using either a RIP (none
> available yet for the new printers) or using straight printer 
output.
>  Reports re BW from the new K3 printers seem promising, but until I
> see actual prints or hear reports from respected folks in this forum
> I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
> 
> Re making digital negs, the reports from people doing it seem to
> indicate that the biggest challenge is avoiding the microbanding,
> which seems to vary from one printer to another and is devilishly 
hard
> to eliminate completely.
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton 
> 
> 
> Info on black and white digital printing at    
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Thank you kindly Clayton for the suggestion.  I think I'll start 
searching for another Epson 7600 ---this time with a warranty.  It is 
a machine that seems tried and true.  After just one week of waiting, 
I can hardly stand the thought of waiting months.  I want to get back 
to work.  Any suggestions in how to avoid a machine with micro 
banding? Any particular models that seem less inclined to this malady 
than others?

Incidentally, I have been doing alot of reading and research on the 
digital process for fine art photography.  Your writings have been 
among the most helpful and important to my getting started.  I thank 
you for your generosity in sharing your expertise so openly. 

-Nathan