Digital BW, The Print

Hi Richard,

>I know it's been a while for you to remember but how do you think 
>the R200 BO compares to what you got from your old 870 using BO? 
>(which I still have BTW). Or compared to the 2200 for that matter? 
>(you may have covered this but I forgot exactly what you said if 
>you did).

Well, first the 2200.  To the eye at normal viewing distance the R200
prints look as good as the 2200.  Looking really close, the R200 print
looks silghtly more coarse, but you have to look for it.  With the
loupe I see more of the fine dither banding in the R200 print.  An
aside, I haven't tried head alignment yet, so is possible it can be
improved.  It made a big improvement with the 2200.

As for the 870, I just examined an old print.  I see less dither
banding than the R200, but more than the 2200, and what is there is
more easily visible to the eye than the R200 print, as if its dither
pattern disguises it better.  Also, all three have different
patterns. 

The 2200 has the squiggly shaped groups of very fine dots that mesh
closely for a very smooth look.  The R200 has smaller groups that look
more like clumps.  The 870 print has a more random looking pattern
with smaller and less noticeable groups, but each dot is actually a
pair of very tiny dots.  

For general coarseness I'd say 2200 1st, 870 2nd, R200 3rd.  For
banding visible to the eye I'd swap the R200 and 870 positions.  From
normal viewing distance they all look excellent.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm