Digital BW, The Print

We've switched over to Cone ink at UVM as well. The reason why we've  
never switched until now is because we don't have to redo the over 120  
different paper profiles we have installed on the machines. The Cone  
ink just works. Of course, I do build new profiles for the major  
papers. Crane Portfolio, HPR 308, Silver Rag, Enh Matte, etc. But it's  
pulled our ink costs down by 60% or so.

Walker


On Apr 16, 2009, at 9:40 AM, BKPhoto@... wrote:

>
>
> As well reasoned as this post may be, and I do agree that the money  
> is in the ink, I cannot agree with the assessment. The money, from  
> the ink, comes primarily from those little cartridges that Epson  
> sells by the tens of thousands every day. Like film, ink sales are  
> driven not by professionals but by the vast number of� amateurs and  
> home users.
>
> If Epson actively supported the professional fine art printing  
> market, rather than trying to regulate it, I propose that their ink  
> sales would increase.
>
> Epson either has not thought this through properly or they are  
> taking a calculated risk that, in the end, I do not think will work.  
> I am the chair of a photography program at a university in Austin,  
> Texas. We have extensive digital imaging labs to support our  
> curriculum (incidentally, we also continue to support a complete wet  
> darkroom operation). We currently have eight 4800/4880's, two  
> 7800's, and one 9880 in operation. Our ink costs exceed $15k per  
> semester.
>
> We enjoy no special discounts on ink or paper despite the volume.  
> There is no local service provider; if we have a problem with a  
> printer, that our lab manager cannot resolve, we are forced to  
> either replace the printer or pay for a service call out of Houston  
> or Dallas. We enjoy no enhanced services whatsoever, despite our  
> investment.
>
> I hope someone at Epson is reading these posts because we are  
> actively looking for alternatives. We tested Canon printers but they  
> were something of a disaster (paper trays so flim
> sy and poorly designed as to laughable, bad software, and insanely  
> poor documentation) and we could not use our RIP's to drive them  
> because Canon has a serious black box mentality. We're currently  
> looking at HP (we've been using a Z3100 in my studio, K2 Press, for  
> about a year now; excellent machine but finicky; Walker, I'd give  
> almost anything for a well build printer devoid of unnecessary  
> features that don't work properly). For the time being, we will stay  
> with Epson hardware but we are purchasing refillable clear carts and  
> bulk ink from Cone.
>
> Epson has lost $30k in ink sales and may lose their hardware sales  
> to us.� More importantly, Epson will lose their position as the  
> printer of choice when students make their own purchases. Compare  
> that to MacOnCampus, a really well thought out program where  
> companies like Mamiya, Sekonic, Toyo, ProPhoto and Eizo sell  
> discounted products to students and begin a relationship that may  
> continue throughout their careers.
>
> My point is simple: Epson's draconian attitude is working against  
> them. I see the effects every day. If I were a stock holder in Epson  
> I'd be screaming. There is no sense of partnership, no communication  
> (I have never, not once, been asked by any employee of Epson what I  
> thought about their stuff, or if I had feedback or ideas,or--wonder  
> of wonders, if there was anything they could do for us...).
>
> Long story short, you can talk about business strategy all day long  
> but if the focus is only on the bottom line you will
> ultimately lose. As Yvon Chouinard has said, you start the climb as  
> an asshole and you end the climb as an asshole. If Epson followed  
> Patagonia's business model we'd all benefit and, I believe, Epson  
> would make more money.
>
> Bill Kennedy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Kale <stevekale@...>
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 4:06 am
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Re: Is this a "conspiracy theory" ?
>
> The money is in the ink. They have every right (and, in fact,
>
> obligation) to defend their investment. You have two basic choices.
>
> Develop, produce and sell a printer for which you will not require
>
> people to be bound to your ink. That will be an expensive printer if
>
> you want a sensible commercial return. Or convince Epson there is a
>
> big enough, profitable enough, market for them to produce (or brand
>
> and distribute) an Epson range of B&W dedicated inks and so open up
>
> their printer architecture to higher order Epson K printing (they've
>
> already gone 3K). They're never going to intentionally open up to x-
>
> brand ink - they'd be stupid to do so. (I'm surprised they haven't
>
> bothered to shut down QTR in some manner - be thankful for that
>
> little gem.) The bottom line is likely that they have explored higher
>
> o
> rder Epson K inks and decided it's not commercially viable because
>
> you/we won't pay enough for the ink. 3K was a well thought out  
> balance.
>
> On 16 Apr 2009, at 01:01, Tyler Boley wrote:
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > I'm glad Walker mentioned Epson recently making Ergosft support
>
> > contingent upon locking out multiple Ks, beyond what is needed for
>
> > Epsons. I forgot to mention this before. Basically, if Ergosoft can
>
> > not offer Epson support, their market is probably halved at least,
>
> > so of course they had to comply. If the available tools to make
>
> > prints with these inksets diminish, then use will diminish as well.
>
> > It's not just patent, license, copyright, all that stuff. There are
>
> > a number of ways the larger companies are able to apply pressure to
>
> > assert their domination that have nothing whatsoever to do with
>
> > protecting intellectual property or hard won innovation. These are
>
> > not nice clean idealogical issues, or "may the best man win"
>
> > scenarios. As Paul mentioned, it has a lot to do with political
>
> > climate.
>
> > Why Epson would not be proud of the amazing quality we are able to
>
> > get from their hardware with these alternative systems never ceases
>
> > to amaze me, and makes clear their priorities- NOT state of the art
>
> > photographic printing.
>
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
> 

Walker Blackwell
802.735.0621
www.walkerblackwell.com
aim: greendirtblues





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