2014-09-02 by hchapman@...
I have an Epson R1800 set up for 3MK printing that I'd like to give away. Includes MIS inks, refillable cartridges, chips, chip resetters.
Non-used heads have always had cleaning cartridges installed so should be in good shape. One head is clogged so the printer probably isn't good for color printing unless you can get the head opened up.
Pick-up only on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Let me know if you are interested.
-Harlan
2014-09-03 by paulmwhiting@...
Harlan,
I found your post very interesting... I was in the same predicament a few months ago, finally put my R1800 on the local Craigs List, free. I felt bad about letting it go, and I hope I found a good home for mine also. Our situation was so similar it's uncanny. My three black carts were clog free, but one of my cleaning carts developed a clog that just wouldn't let go. That, plus overall clogging from time to time was getting a bit tiresome.
Got seven years of excellent prints out of it, though. Now I have a 1400 with Paul's Eboni-6 inkset and so far no clogs! What a relief. That only reservation I have is that these prints are a bit warm for my taste. I believe Paul said that was due to using dilute Eboni in five of the six carts. But I always liked Agfa paper in the darkroom, which was a bit warm,so I guess I'll get used to it.
I also included spare carts, ink resetter etc.
What do you expect to print with next? Just curious. Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling, and I hope your printer ends up in good hands!
Regards,
Paul
2014-09-04 by Paul Roark
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2014-09-04 by Harlan Chapman
Hello Paulm,
BO prints from the R1800 running 3MK are my favorite inkjet BW prints. They don't look good through a magnifier, but up on the wall they have pop and luminosity that is wonderful.
Ditto your experience on keeping the printer running - it likes to print frequently, otherwise you are stuck putting time into it getting it unclogged and printing cleanly.
The last couple of years I've been mainly wet printing and found I wasn't using the R1800 enough to make it worthwhile. I'd keep it if, like my 3800, you could leave it sit for a few weeks and then use it without needing to clean it up.
So I'll be using the 3800 for digital BW from here out. I haven't done homework on finding another printer that could be set up like the R1800 for BO printing.
Glad your 1400 behaves well, I'll keep that in mind.
-Harlan
2014-09-04 by paulmwhiting@...
Paul,
After a lot of research, and some helpful message exchanges in this group and elsewhere, I finally came to some understanding on what was causing those cleaning station clogs. These carts contained the MIS Cleaning Fluid, tinted with Eboni to make the nozzle checks visible. I believe you were the one who suggested I used your C6b base instead because it has higher viscosity and the Eboni would be less likely to settle. A further suggestion was to use a red dye ink for nozzle check visibility instead of the carbon pigment in Eboni.
By this time, however, there was still some clogging due to some remnants of the MIS Cleaning Fluid/Eboni mixture that I just couldn't get rid of. I even tried, despite cautions from Art Entlich, the last-ditch head cleaning method of injecting fluid into the nipple with syringe. The Eboni carts did not clog, it was mainly the cleaning positions - which may not have mattered much because of course they're not contributing to the print. Still, I wanted all positions to remain clear in case I wanted to go color.
I agree with Harlan, that it's hard to beat that "pop" of 3MK print. Do you find that to be the case? Almost makes me miss my R1800! But I am learning how to tweak my linearization and play with the various options in creating a QTR curve. This has given me a deeper understanding of QTR, probably a good thing.
I'll try that "Peal White" sometime, also want to try that Epson paper you've recommended. Still into my well-stocked pile of Premier Art FineArt paper.
Thanks for all your help over the years. Just made a couple of prints yesterday with the 1400 after a few weeks of non-use. I didn't even do a nozzle check first, but got smooth prints right off the bat.
Regards,
Paul
2014-09-04 by paulmwhiting@...
Harlan,
I agree with you about that "pop"! See my reply to Paul Roark. Am getting my 1400 curves fine-tuned however and they're looking very good.
A friend of mine has two 3800's... one set up for b/w and one for color.
Regards,
Paul
2014-09-04 by Paul Roark
2014-09-05 by paulmwhiting@...
As to film grain adding to the perception of sharpness... seems to me I recall some preferred using D-76 straight, undiluted, for that reason. I think they called it "acutance", if I recall correctly.
Oddly, I was hardly ever bothered by the "grain" in sky areas with 3MK. Maybe I was still used to film!
Thanks for the reminder on how matt whiteness can act as a reference for perceived neutrality in the print. In darkroomprints I found that Alphamat Artcare Spanish White was my preferred matt for Ilford Muligrade, and with my 3MK prints I had best luck with Crescent Ragmat #2299.
Haven't settled on a matt color with my current Eb6 prints, thanks for the tip on Alpharag Artcare "Pearl White", I'll have to try that.
Paul
2014-09-05 by Paul Roark
2014-09-05 by paulmwhiting@...
Maybe my memory had that backwards!
Anyway, my standard was D-76 1:3 (not 1:1 which was more common). I heard it referred to as the English dilution, for some reason. And I used Tri-X at 200. Some people thought my prints were medium format, but I was using 35mm.
2014-09-05 by John Castronovo
Yeah, it’s all about Mackie lines Paul. Been there, done that.
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From: mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2014 3:45 PM
To: DigitalB&WPrint
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Re: Epson R1800 to good home
As to film grain adding to the perception of sharpness... seems to me I recall some preferred using D-76 straight, undiluted, for that reason. I think they called it "acutance", if I recall correctly. ...
Real men used Rodinal 1:100!
(Actually, the more dilute the developer was, the greater edge effect and chemical sharpening of the image. My old standard film soup was Microdol-X 1:3 with 3 minute agitation cycles. With Tech Pan I mostly used the Kodak liquid Techidol developer, but initially, before they made the right stuff, I mixed my own POTA. Then again there were to two-solution approaches; it was endless ...)
Paul
www.PaulRoark.com
2014-09-10 by paulmwhiting@...
I think you meant me, Paul W, not Paul R - me, I had to look that word up! Thanks, John, I never understood the edge effect. Now I get it!
Paul W.