Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "sonrisenc"
<sonrisenc@y...> wrote:
>
> The upshot of all this is that I want to be able to print (and sell) 
> gallery-quality monochrome portraits....

I'm afraid you won't be able to achieve this with your Deskjet 9800 as
I do not know of a RIP which supports it.
 
> ... Is the RIP software you're using generic, or does it require 
> printer-specific profiles? I've looked at QuadtoneRIP, but it's only
> compatible with select Epson printers.

I use QuadtoneRIP on my R1800 for b/w but unfortunately I had to
resort to Wasatch SoftRIP for b/w on the HP.

> I think the 9800 is capable of matching the Epson 1280 in print 
> quality, but there's no aftermarket supplies for HP products!...

This is strange. I thought Weink would have 3rd party ink for your
printer but no such luck. They have the pigmented black for the 99
cart but none for the 98. I'm not that familiar with HP printer as the
Designjet 30 is my first.

> I've been warned by Bob Headrick that the pigmented inks may produce 
> a sticky residue on the printheads and printer wipers....

Sounds like I should not even try to use my Epson inks on the HP  :( 
The Designjet 30 has 4 picoliter droplets. You may want to try the new
HP pigmented inkset made for the new HP Designjet 5500 instead of
Epson ink. As a matter of fact I was looking into this possibility.
I'm also looking at the HP Vivera monochrome inks. The HP 5500 is
still new so I'll wait and see if it will be prone to clogging as well.

> I'll be glad to let you know what happens with the MIS experiment. 
> Then there's the issue of which paper to print on.

If you succeed in using the MIS Epson inks in your HP you should be
able to print on almost anything providing your printer driver has
certain ability to perform some sort of ink limitting. But I still
think Epson printers tend to be able to print on more media than HPs.

> Who knows, maybe I'll publish a web page on my "HP experiments" and 
> become famous! LOL.

I have benefitted from pioneers like you especially in this area of
digital inkjet b/w. I've always wanted an inkjet printer that is like
a Beseler enlarger and dark room equipments which do not care whether
you are dealing with Kodak or Ilford or whatever films or papers. You
should be able to use any ink, dial up or down the amount of ink
deposited on a paper, etc. But it's looking more and more like a
printer is nothing but an ink cartridge holder. Thankfully most Epson
owners still enjoy the ability to customize their printers to a
certain extent thanks to 3rd party inks and supplies, and for me the
arrival of HP Vivera/swellable is a very welcomed alternative, and
very good timing. 

--nick