Digital BW, The Print

Brian, 

I have been printing with various printers and inks since about 2000.  I've used them 
all and have had prints in a number of shows including black only, mpix, piezography 
(original), and UT2, etc.  I've never had a preference for any process, as each print was 
nicely matched to its printing style. But the differences are minimal when framed 
under glass or plexiglass.

Before the R2400 was released I had thrown out or sold all of my Epson gear.  It was a 
continual struggle with the various 3rd party inks.  Some days I'd print without issue, 
other days my heads would be so severely clogged I'd have to wait for a day or two to 
print.  The final straw was MIS releasing the EZ fill carts for the 1280 that I could never 
get to work right.  I installed OEM epson inks and forgot about quadtone for a while.

For black and white work, I began using either MPIX or a Fuji Frontier.  The true black 
and white from MPIX is not as sharp as the color prints, but when using the color 
paper and no color adjustment setting results in stunning neutral  b&w images.

When the R2400 was released I eventually picked one up, as I was not interested in 
using 3rd party inks.  As I generally make 4x6 or smaller prints, the ink lasts quite a 
long time.  Referencing my prints from the past 5 years, the R2400 is capable of 
quality equalling or exceeding that of any quadtone process, and the color is 
exceptional as well.  However, I still use the frontier for color and some black and 
white printing (.19/print).  What is nice about the Frontier or MPIX is that you have a 
100K+ printer at your disposal that is calibrated daily, and you pay no upkeep or ink 
costs.  You have only one or two surfaces to print with, but the quality is excellent.

To make a long story longer, the differences are minimal between a good desktop 
system and the Fuji Frontier / MPIX prints.  Both are capable of excellent prints, but 
the price per print is much easier on the wallet by using the Frontier; and if you are 
printing a large number of prints, you can have them in an hour instead of a day or 
two of printing.

One thing you may notice is that list members are quick to spend others money to 
purchase the best stystems for no other reason than "it is the best".  However their 
advice is just that, as "best" is relative.  My frontier prints hang next to my R2400 
prints and both look stunning (and viewers are none the wiser).  That being said, as 
the frontier is a continuous tone printer, the output will look much better than an 
R200 setup.  If you want to explore quadtone printing a r200 is a great place to start 
with MIS inks.  I just grew tired of fiddling with 3rd party inks, CIS, and refilling with 
no quality advantage over the Frontier.  My 2 cents, your money.

Best of luck,
Don

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "brianechapman" 
<brianechapman@y...> wrote:
>
> I'm trying to describe to someone (in an effort to justify the
> purchase of something) the quality difference between a print made on
> say an R200 printer (black only or not) and a print I could buy online
> at a standard online printing service - like ofoto or mpix or
> something.  Since I've never seen a direct comparison (and I don't
> have one to use for show and tell) my efforts so far have been less
> than successful.  
> 
> Can anyone quantify the differences in words?  (I realize this may be
> hard to do)
> 
> Thanks, Brian
>