Digital BW, The Print

Ukko Heikkinen wrote:

> Do you mean that MIS changes the cartridge supplier every so often?


From what I can tell they are constantly looking for better cart suppliers.
And they do testing of carts and send samples to beta testers like me when
they think they've found better ones.  The clear, easy-refill carts are the
best I've used so far, including the spongeless ones for the 1280/1290.  

Frankly, I was going to abandon the 1280 before MIS found the clear carts.
I think those carts give it a bit of a longer lease on life, although I have
now abandoned it anyway, in part because have too many printers and, in
part, because I think printers made for pigments are more reliable.  Even if
it is just the built-in cleaning routines, the bottom line is that I think
there is less trouble with pigment printers than those made for dyes.
However, the 1280/1290 has given many users many years of good service.  So,
I don't want this read as my saying that printer is not a good one ... but
pigment printers are better.  

I push the C86 for entry level in part due to this.  I think it is the most
likely by far to give new users a positive experience -- it's made for
pigments and doesn't need any curves or extra software.  Once B&W
photographers see what can be done, they'll be more patient with the curves
and rips that we most often use with the higher end (pigment) printers.
It's terribly frustrating when these systems don't work, whether from the
occasionally foam problem or curves that aren't right for the particular
printer.

Also, there is a range of printer quality out there.  Some are enough off
the mark, for example, that the curves don't work.  Either an "EZ" slider
approach or rip with semi-automatic linearization is the cure for that.  

I'm also suspicious, however, that the printers with the individual carts
might eliminate any slight input/output spacing variation that could cause a
less than perfect seal around the pegs of printers that use multi-chamber
carts.  As such, for a variety of reasons, I'm not sure I want to deal any
more with printers that don't use individual carts, although they also can
sometimes have a fit problem with some cart batches.

At any rate, my 2200 has been extremely reliable, and the C86 is the printer
I use the most.  My limited experience with large format printers -- 7500
and 7600 -- is that they are better made than the desktop units and more
reliable.  At the other end, if one gets a C86 that is not well made or
breaks, it's cheap enough to just though away and start over.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 



______________________________
> 
> Paul Roark wrote:
> 
> "But, most of us seem to get good results from the carts MIS finds.
> Searching for the
> best carts is clearly a significant job that MIS does, indirectly for us."
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
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