Digital BW, The Print

Paul, thanks ...

...you've supported my own 2200 seat-of-pants, rock & roll findings :-)

John Kelly
 
> >I don't have that grainy issue with my 2200 @ 1440 but 
> >I do find 2880 frequently over-inking ...
> >does that suggest something about my settings/curves?
> 
> With the Epson driver, I always found 1440 with high speed off was
good enough.  

Yes.... 

>With QTR, however, I generally use 2880 to get a better black and
> often better smoothness.  

For me 2880 never seems contributes importantly Vs 1440 but the
difference can be seen with a loupe on highest resolution paper (so
far that seems to be Moab's alpha cellulose) and certain files. Maybe
this has to do with digicam files Vs film & grain scans.

I'm happy with QTR/Epson OEM and Epson/UT7 but have given up on QTR/UT7,

> Note that with dedicated B&W inksets when I'm using the Epson driver
I find the LK and LLK spots a detriment to the inkset.   
> 

Yes, that answered my biggest question.
_____________

> Frankly, I'm not sure I'd use either the UT7 or 3D LKs if I were
using a rip.  

YES... UT7/QTR seems less effective than OEM/QTR. Teats on a bull at
best. QTR with the Epson pigments can be so wonderful that UT7 is for
me only a flavor, not "the answer." With scans of B&W film that show
the real grain, both are FAR better than Black Only, however Black
Only with Eboni makes a lot of sense with digicam files, especially
for prints large enough that the dots aren't noticed. 

Thanks Paul...John Kelly