Digital BW, The Print

>  At the moment I feel like dumping all this MIS stuff and going to the
>  7 ink Cone system.  A big reason not to is his system is for matt
>  paper only and I've really come to like these "air dried fiber" look
>  prints.

Been there ... won't really solve many of your problems. There are
issues with the airvents not getting revealed with the Cone system,
resulting in no ink at all, unnecessary cleaning cycles and a rapid
emptying of that expensive fluid.

The results are ok. Not more impressive than the C86 with Ultratone
EZ, but that is not meant as a criticism. The C86 delivers. It is
meant as positive feedback.

But the Cone system is very expensive, no matter how you look at it.

I am coming to the conclusion that budget systems for b/w are moving
targets. You get a set-up, and before you know it, your printer is off
the market. The one you have breaks down (I am on my third C86 with no
more in reserve) and you can't replace it. You have to find another
(keep abreast with the combinations). The R220? Ok. Friend of mine
just bought the last one in a private sale here in Sweden, so it is no
longer available. So you try and figure out which of the current epson
models take the same inks as the R220. I haven't figured that one out
yet.

This has actually driven me back into the darkroom. That is not a bad
thing with nice papers coming out of Foma and Forte, to name just a
couple.

The only alternative for digital b/w, in my conclusion, is to buy into
a professional system that is not just a marketing ploy to get you to
buy cartridges. The big epson machines. They seem to deliver on a long
term basis.

Daniel Ridings
http://www.dlridings.com/paw2006