Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "christoph fischer" <tarqeq@...> wrote:
>
> i just got a (rather used?) r1800. banding is not only at the borders, but anywhere. (although perfect nozzle test). moreover there are slight blotches in the middle/light greys or gradients,  using jettec inks (because i got it like this) and qtr. 
> 
> i'd like to go for mis- or cone-inks and a CIS. but i fear, the print head will not last long any more.
> 
> who knows about? 
> would you dare buying a CIS for this printer, or rather for my epson 2100 which i bought as new 6 years ago?
> 
> 
> christoph
>

It is probably the inks rather than the printer. The 1800 does tend to band with non-OEM inks. It is worse on some papers (glossy RC) than others. IF you try Epson inks in it you may find the issue disappears. I am not familiar with Jettec inks. Are they pigments and if so are they in fact Image Specialist Inks? BLotching, I don't know. COuld the heads, the inks or the ink delivery.

I have not used Cone inks in an 1800 but do use MIS (Image Specialists) inks in one. Banding is just visible in very strong sunlight when first printed but funnily enough it seems to disappear after a while. HP Glossy paper showed the worst banding but even this disappeared after a few weeks. (!)

The Image Specialist inks in an R1800 with a second pass of around 20% GO make beautiful color prints on Hahn Photo Rag Pearl and Harman Glossy FB AL (warm and cool tone). No bronzing or GD at all. You do need to wait a few days for the banding to go away  though! This is the setup I use for color and am very happy with it. The banding is not detectable in artificial light of a strength usually found indoors. 

I use refillable carts from this guy ( http://www.inkjetcarts.us/ ) and after trying many others find these are the only ones that work really well. 

For BW, there are a number of workflows for the 1800 on Paul Roark's site, all which are tried and tested. I note though that Paul is no longer recommending the 1800, opting instead for the 1400 which appparently does not show the same tendency to band.