Digital BW, The Print

My experiences with the C86 have been sometimes the same,
in other ways different.

I've had no print quality issues with the C86 + MIS EZ ink set.
Once I calibrated the monitor and found slider adjustments
to match screen with printer/ink/papers (Roark's suggestions are
quite good if one's monitor is calibrated), cranking out prints
on the C86 has been a real pleasure. The EZ system supports
a pretty wide variety of papers without needing to resort to
RIPs and expensive calibration devices.

Clogging is another issue. I have an illness which comes and
goes. When it comes, I stop printing, twice now, for a few months.
Returning to the left-idle printer, I too have experienced clogs
difficult to clear twith a simple head cleaning or two. I sold my first
C84 (clogs cleared and works fine with the standrad Epson inks)
after buying a replacement C86. Now more recently, coming back
to health a little, I'm loathe to examine the state of my beloved C86.

But with regular weekly use, I've had no problems with the printer
and MIS EZ inks. I've heard of a utility that will automatically perform
a nozzle check periodically, but I haven't tried it or know specifically
what printers the utility supports.

As for spraying, matte prints don't require it, although I do use
Lascaux Fixative to guard against surface abrasions. For glossy, I
don't find it too onerous to lay down two or three thin coats of
PrintShield, and the results look good to my eye. When it's too
cold to spray outside, I find I can open a window in a bathroom
and spray there, holding my breath while I spray and quickly
leaving and shutting the door again quickly behind me :-)

I also have a 2200 with the stock UC inks that I use with QTR.
While I like the ability to print larger with the 2200, IMHO, I like
the tones I get from the C86 + EZ inks better.

The new 2400 is supposed to be fairly nice, but I only got my
2200 last spring, so I don't feel justified in "upgrading" yet.

Best of luck.

Scott





Peter De Smidt wrote:

> For me the biggest drawback to digital photography has been
> unreliability. My C86 just died. I've had it, what, a couple of
> months? During that time I made maybe two or three prints that I'm
> happy with. I was using the MIS EZ system, and I had problems with
> nozzle clogs and ink blobs on the prints, as well as leaky cartridges.
> Given the time and money I spent, this experience wasn't a good one.
> Even when it did work properly, the C86 did a poor job on scan from
> medium format and large format negatives, because of the texture in the
> highlights. Moreover, spraying prints is unacceptable. I don't have an
> indoor spray booth, nor am I likely to get one soon, and it's too cold
> to spray outside at the moment. In any case I found that spraying left
> a nasty texture on the prints.
>
> On the plus side, I did scan and print a large number of my parents's
> slides from the 50's and 60's on a different C86 with MIS PRO inks.
> These turned out very well. Since many of the slides had faded
> considerably, or had other problems, printing them optically would have
> been much harder, and I probably wouldn't have gotten results as good as
> from digital printing.
>
> So now that my monochrome inkjet is down, I'm stuck with a fair amount
> of ink that I can't use, and apparently I need a new printer. Given my
> problems with the c86, I'm very hesitent to try the R220. It's not the
> cost of the printer so much, but the cost of my time that bothers me,
> and the cost of the consumables is not inconsequential. I like the idea
> of the r2400, but I'm concerned about the cost of consumables. Using MIS
> inks is a possibility, but I have serious concerns about their quality
> control. Maybe I should go back to the darkroom and check in on digital
> in another couple of years.
>
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