Digital BW, The Print

After my first week in this group, I'm inching along. Thanks to many of you.

I'm the guy with the new R2400 and wondering what the best setup would be to
maintain both color and B&W.

I'm going to start out with stock Epson profiles in ABW mode and experiment
with other methods further down the line.

When I do pick up QTR, what can I reasonably expect from the printer using
the same stock inks (without replacing Y cart) and is it of any benefit to
do so?

I'm going to follow some of Clayton's "simplified" workflow for now but
would like to try profiling at some point also. Here's a question: If I send
out test charts to be profiled (as opposed to buying a home profiling
device) what has been the consensus as to the quality of outside labs'
profiles? How well do they stand up once inks become depleted and become
replaced?

Of course this is a BW group, but would appreciate any responses that also
keep color also in mind.

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Frank