Digital BW, The Print

Hello Lawrence,

The 2200 is a fine printer but can't do good BW as is.  At the very
least you'll be using a RIP with the Epson inks.  That's not too bad a
route but has a learning curve with the RIP, a certain look/feel to
the prints which you may or may not like, and an inkset that is two
generations behind Epson's latest(doesn't do nearly as well on glossy
papers).  The Epson inks will be more expensive than 3rd party inks. 
If you go for 3P inks then you'll be additionally dealing with
refilling carts or a CIS and all that that entails.  Right now getting
refillable carts is iffy because of thorny legal issues.  The only
thing it can do the 2400 can't do is good Black Only printing.

>Realistically, I would rather be out shooting than tweaking my
>printers. After spending 26 years doing nuclear power (and computer
>networking etc as a collateral duty) I am sure I can handled the 
>tech side of things but would just rather be out shooting than 
>slaving over a hot printer all day. 

If that's the case then I'd seriously consider the 2400.  It will
print on all currently available papers, will produce beautiful
results with unprecedented ease of use, will hardly ever clog, etc. 
The inks will cost more than 3P inks.  It can be used with a RIP for
finer control, and with other inks, if you ever get motivated to go
that route. Basically it will do everything the 2200 can do (except
BO) and much more.

There is a simple workflow outlined in article #9 at the link below
that will give a good idea of what using a 2400 is like.

Regards,
Clayton


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