Digital BW, The Print

After installing and using the 3mk's for a bit the ink levels for the 
three carts still shows max full.  I don't mind not knowing the exact 
level, but will the printer know when it's time to stop printing when 
one gets too low?  What methods are you using to track ink levels to 
know whether to replace a cart or not before making a large print?

Sorry if this info is "out there" somewhere already, I've done all 
kinds of searchiing for it and haven't found anything.  I remember 
reading something relating to this, but can't remember where.

Apart from that one small question, installing and using this set has 
been a breeze.  This is my first time trying the R1800 3mk and I am 
blown away by the prints I'm getting from it.  I've tried all kinds 
of angles (NK7, QTR with oem inks, profiles for paper/ink combos, 
etc) to get black and white prints that I'm happy with and I'm 
finally getting them.  

I've always liked the vibrant look of glossy/luster papers and 
haven't been satisfied with matte results so I wasn't expecting much 
from trying another matte-only approach.  After my first two prints, 
one on EEM and one on Premier Art Matte BW, I was sold.  I held them 
up to a few glossy/luster prints and I easily preferred the 3mk's.  
The Dmax popped unlike other matte approaches I've tried and combined 
with the non-glare surface of the paper they had an almost 3d quality 
compared to the reflective paper.  The mid to slightly dark midtones 
show the grain pattern that everyone talks about, but, in my opinion, 
it doesn't distract from the print at all ( not to mention you have 
to be much closer than "normal" viewing distance to really see it).  
The light midtones up through the highlights and the dark midtones 
down through black are just as smooth as every other approach I've 
tried.  I've noticed that images in Lenswork have a graininess to 
them (more apparent than the 3mks in my opinion) and they are some of 
my favorite in terms of print quality and appearance.


I've been lucky and have not seen any banding yet (knock on wood!)  
I've printed mostly with two inch borders.  The best two things about 
this system are that I have a dedicated bw and color printer at the 
same time and my favorite results, in color and bw, are on the most 
affordable paper I have ever used!  Premier Art Matte BW.  About 
$1/13x19 sheet!  I like the tones of the EEM (another affordable 
paper) as they are similar to Lenswork as Paul points out, but the 
higher Dmax of the PremierArt wins out for me on most images.

Just happy with the results and wanted to share.