Digital BW, The Print

I own and use a 3800 and recently attended a workshop with a 1400 with 
the K6 set up.
I second the suggestion that you get samples from Inkjet Mall for the 
K6 system.
There are real differences between the 2.  The K6 system for the 1400 
is a special system that Jon Cone designed, so you have to decide if 
you like the image tone (hue).  It varies widely based on paper 
choice.  That is also true with Epson OEMs, but you can change the 
toning.  
Are you interested in using glossy papers, or only matte?.  The K6 
system as it currently exists is for matte only. 

I have spent a lot of time looking at the same file printed on the same 
paper (velvet fine art) using these 2 printers.  Using a loupe, I can 
see real differences in the details between the 2.  I think that the K6 
is tighter and shows detail better.  It matches up with the resloution 
comparrison on Inkjet Mall website.  Looking at the prints, the 
diffferences are subtle. There are areas where the OEM print had fine 
detail that looks like ink blobs were the k6 system looks like a photo. 
Again, this is only with the loupe. The print is small, (5x7) and I'm 
not sure I see real differences in the quality without the loupe, but I 
would think it would become more apparent as the prints get larger.

I asked on the Piezo group if the difference was the printer or the ink 
set and Jon responded that it is the ink set that make the difference.

My experience is that you should be able to make good prints on either 
system, but it appears that for the last bit of quality, a dedicated 
ink set still has an advantage.

Hope this helps,

Peter