Digital BW, The Print

Hello James,

>Actually I've already read...

Thanks for your kind words.  I'm glad you have found the website helpful.

>if you find the R200 a better solution for BO, I'm wondering
>whether I should try QTR on the 2400 or just find an R200 once I'm
>abroad and keep it onhand with some Eboni ink, since these units are
>so cheap now.  Of course I wouldn't be able to print as large as with
>a RIP on the 2400, though.

Since you can try QTR for free for 30 days there is not much to lose
in giving it a try.  But you're right, if you have room for a 200 or
220 they are inexpensive, and keeping Eboni in it would allow keeping
the Epson inks in the 2400.  That's what I'm doing at present (you'll
definitely want to use Eboni for BO).  Plus having the small printer
with Eboni allows using it in BO mode for all proof prints when
working up a new image.  It works great and saves loads on ink costs
(plus wear and tear) not to use K3/2400 for that.

I'm getting such good results, and with not a single clog in over nine
months now, I've been hesitant to to put anything else in the 2400. 
The R200 is my experimenting printer, it has R2-N in it right now. 
The 2400 is more than I could have dreamed of just a few years ago:
beautiful smooth prints, rich tonality and luminance, easy as BO with
no RIP/curve fiddling, icc profiles, densitometers and such, and
absolutely no clogs.  It is a bit tricky to find the right ABW setting
for a given image/paper, but it's a small price to pay for the
benefits, and thank goodness we have such a high degree of control.

As for fading of the color inks, I've had a test print on my
windowsill torture test for over eight months now with no sign of
fading, so it has already outlasted all the other inks I've tested
that did fade.  It surely won't last as long as a pure carbon BO, or
even the MIS toned inks, as Paul's tests have shown, but neither is it
a quick-fade weak ink.  Between the Wilhelm reports, Paul's results
and my own tests I'm satisfied with it's fade resistance.  

All together the combination of 2400/200 adds up to BW printing heaven
for me, especially after several years of frustrating struggle.  The
biggest drawback is the expensive inks.  But I'm selling prints and so
far am operating in the black, so I'm a happy camper.


>but want to explore BO as well.  I like street photography and 
>would like to see how such images print with the punchiness and 
>rawness I've heard attributed to the BO method.

Then you'll definitely want to try Eboni BO, it's really great for
that kind of work.  Be sure to try some Kayenta.


Regards,
Clayton


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