Digital BW, The Print

Hello Arlene,

>I've never used any inks other than MIS, and I'm about to give up  
>with them and the Continuous Flow Systems, and give in to Epson. 
>I've  wasted days, weeks, trying to  clear clogs...the wasted time 
>and the frustration are no longer acceptable. Lately, I've spent 
>more time  messing with clogs and chips and tech help than I do 
>making  prints.  
>Is it me - or is anyone out there as frustrated as I am?

It's not just you, there are a few others around <g>.  Unfortunately
it's a familiar story.  Some people don't mind that side of it, or at
least are willing to put up with it to get the results they want.  But
I'm like you, I was growing more and more frustrated with all of it by
the time I got a 2400.  

When the K3 printers first came out I was skeptical of them because of
using color inks but initial user reports were positive and later that
summer when my 2200 began dying and I had 30 days left on my CompUSA
full replacement warranty I swapped it for a 2400.  My life as a BW
printer quickly became more enjoyable and less frustrating by several
orders of magnitude.  I kept an R200 going for BO and other
experimental things for a couple of years, but a few months ago it
clogged itself to death in stages and I got rid of it and have not
replaced it.  It was a good printer while it was healthy, but I'd had
it with syringes, chips and clogs, etc.  At this point I just want to
focus on my photography.


>I'm afraid that the cost of Epson ink will drive 
>me to  make smaller prints - and make me fearful of "wasting ink" 
>in trying new ways to  make my pictures.  I hate the idea 
>of being held captive by  Epson. 

Ink cost is definitely an issue but I tend to make mostly small prints
(8x10-ish or less) so it's manageable for me.  My K3 ink has averaged
$19.65/month over 28 months (and it's paid it's way with occasional
print sales).  With larger prints it's a much bigger issue of course,
but with a 3800 or larger the costs will be relatively less than the
2400, so that's a plus.  And there are things you can do to cut costs.

One thing I do is make small proofs until the last stage.  I have real
decent WYSIWYG with my workflow so I can do most of my photoshop work
without making any proofs.  Then I make small initial proofs on EEM
(3"x4" image on 1/4 letter size sheet) to check the major tonal areas.
Only at the final stages do I make a larger proof on the final paper
for fine tuning.  This approach reduces both ink and paper costs
significantly.  Of course, selling prints helps cover costs - that's
always nice <g>.


Regards,
Clayton


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