Digital BW, The Print

Hello Arlene,

>...I struggled for years with UT7, a collection of printers, bad 
>chips, syringes, bottles, a studio that looked like a weird 
>intravenous hospital ward, windex bottles all over, flashlights, 
>syringes, leaks, paper towels by the Big Packs - beside rivers of  
>tears, tantrums, hysterics, melt-downs and wasted time. 

What a hilarious description! - got a great laugh out of that, thanks. 
But you know the old saying: the best humor is a reflection of truth.
This is funny because it hits home.  I'm going to print it out and
tack it to the wall.



Paul,

>I have no doubt that most will opt for the OEM solutions, and 
>they're not bad at all. Our involvement with these 3rd party inks 
>and approaches was mostly due to the impossiblility of getting good 
>B&W prints with the OEM color inksets to begin with.

>On the other hand, there still seem to be major gaps in the OEM
>coverage at both the entry level and purist ends of the spectrum.

>I suppose those of us who choose to pursue the non-OEM approaches 
>will end up being in the "alterntaive processes" category of B&W 
>printing.  Maybe that will actually be an advantage for those who 
>choose the road less traveled.
>---------------------------------------------

Very good description of where we are today.  I hope my comments are
not interpreted by readers to mean I think everyone should use OEM
ink.  Not at all.  Nor am I a shill for Epson.  I'm just calling
attention to a point of view that's seldom mentioned here, and which
may benefit some.

There are economies of scale at work here, and my example is surely
not applicable in other scenarios.  As Steve Karafyllakis said on the
phone today, for someone who is making a profession of selling prints
and relies on it, like any business they probably work on small profit
margins and ink costs could make a huge difference.  And if they are
making a business of it they accept any extra work that using 3P inks
may require.

My remarks are aimed at people who are selling prints on a smaller
scale, as a hobby or personal artistic endeavor, who need it to at
least pay for itself, and for whom time and hassle factor are
important.  My guess is there are a lot of us like that.  Anyone who
is depending on it for livelihood is in another ball game.

There are countless ways to be involved in this.  I hope my remarks
will stimulate some good thinking and cost/benefit evaluation, that's all.

Regards,
Clayton


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