"Piccard" <fireofgodnow@...> wrote:
>
> I currently have an epson stylus photo 1400; ...
> I have decided that all of this is requiring more time
> than I have available.
>
> My requirements at this time are not professional,
> but I would like to be able
> to produce some nice quality b&w prints at home.
>
As Eddie mentioned, the MIS Associates (Inksupply.com) UT14 is one B&W option. I made it as a flexible, variable-tone inkset, more or less as a replacement for the UT2 that ran on the 1280 and was very popular. These types of inksets are very flexible, being able to print neutral or warm on glossy or matte papers, with or without gloss optimizer. To get all of this out of the machine, of course, requires profiles, and some basic ones are provided. (I am not MIS and did this to help keep the market competitive. I do not run the UT14 inkset in my 1400.)
As is clear from my B&W Information page (http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/) my biases are for 100% carbon for the high end (can also be the least expensive as well as best in my view). So, my 1400 has Eboni-6 in it. This is for matte paper only and has a print tone range from near neutral to medium warm. See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Eboni-6.pdf for the usual too much information. The bottom line this this inkset is that it can be fairly plug and play. With Premier Art Smooth BW or Epson Hot Press papers, when it's on display away from an ice-cold monitor or brightened typing paper, the prints simply look like very good B&W -- no gimmicks, no variable tone, no glossy artifacts, no clogging (with a recent exception noted on this forum due probably to a cart issue). Under glass, either on the wall or in a simple acrylic snapshot frame, the difference between gloss and matte paper largely disappears. I recommend, use, and can best support this inkset.
When I set up a printer for my family members, I use the "EZ" approach -- a single midtone ink in the 3 color positions of a 4-color printer. The C88 line is supported by MIS. I've moved to the WorkForce line. The 1100 is an example -- the cheapest 13" printer. See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/1100.pdf With this approach, 2 bottles of reasonably inexpensive ink are all that is needed to keep them running. The daughter who is a senior at college has been running a C88 with Carbon-6 (EZ version -- 13.5% Eboni, generic clear base) for over 3 years now. The CIS has never been cleaned out. Nothing can touch the cost and simplicity of this.
For my other daugher, I've set up a WorkForce 30 with the Noritsu dyes that I now favor for my gloss cards and brochures. See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/WF30-BW-Dye.pdf I'll probably buy another one of these and support this approach. I've also just ported the approach to my 1100.
Despite the arcane issues I like to get into and talk about in my PDFs, I'm a huge believer in "KISS."
Good luck with your B&W.
Paul
www.PaulRoark.com