Digital BW, The Print

Hi all,
   I've learned so much here, I'm a movie producer and I'm taking 
over my casting end of my company. First of all I would like any 
suggestions for over the counter printers I should consider to print 
my 8 x 10's . Also I would like to know where to get the stock I see 
all the headshots printed on and for someone to explain to me how 
some dupe companies can advertise 200 copies at only $40. I've been 
reading all about the archival issues you all been talking about but 
I'm a little new to the photo aspect of my business. I'm just looking 
for the best non fading solution to print and copy my 8 x 10's. I'm 
using a HP 930c now with Jet Print Pro Photo paper and my images turn 
green in hours.Thanks to all of you in advance.
   Also, my website will be finished on Sept. 24th. I will have three 
major areas including, casting, sitcom and film production and a 
Photo studio. I would like to talk to anyone wanting to display their 
work and sell it on my site. My developers are experts in developing 
the best sites and at drawing 
traffic and the opportunity to have thousands see and buy your work 
is very encouraging. I've seen some of your work and would love to 
have you be a part of this great endevour called the "E Gallery". You 
can email me at 

                    wnebel@...


                                Wilhelm Nebel
                            Willi's World Productions

Wilhelm,

some general comments to help you out:
You will find that most people here use Epsons. And most are after "fine-art" 
prints, meaning museum-level longevity and a print that will be good under a 
frame.
I suspect that what you are looking for is a glossy, not-too-heavy 
black-and-white print that you can hand out and that can be handled without 
too much scoffing, scratching etc. just like traditional "glossy" photos are.
This leads me to believe that you will do better with a dye based ink (all 
Epsons except the 2000P, and the Lincoln inks) instead of pigment (such as 
PiezoBW and MIT VT). Dye inks work well on glossy papers and do not 
scratch as easily as PiezoBW.
Once you settle on a printer and ink, it's important to stick to a paper that 
works for that combo. It's very important to pay attention to what ink goes on 
what paper because that is not a simple "laying down" of ink (as a printing 
press might do) but a chemical reaction between the coating and the ink that 
affects color and stability.

Recent color printers from Epson may claim print stability but will not produce 
a neutral monochrome image very easily. If coloration of bw is an issue, you 
need to do some further research. If not, (and you should first look at a bw 
sample print  made with standard Epson inks), then the latest Epsons (of the 
1280 series) should be adequate, using their inks and papers. Their stability 
will be good enough for 8x10 "glossies", which get updated  pretty often.

The higher-end alternative with a lower cost is to buy an Epson that can be 
outfitted with a CIS (nomorecarts.com) and use Lincoln inks to make 
quad-tone prints on glossy paper. But if you are new to all this, it may be a 
while before you do all the research involved. That's why I suggested the 
quick short cut above.


Antonis

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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>I'm just looking 
> for the best non fading solution to print and copy my 8 x 10's. I'm 
> using a HP 930c now with Jet Print Pro Photo paper and my images turn 
> green in hours.Thanks to all of you in advance.

Those mass/bulk headshot prints that you speak of are a 
completely different process. I don't know what, but they're made 
with more of a traditional darkroom approach, but with a 
activator/stabilizer machine that cranks them through VERY fast. 
The developer is incorporated into the paper. They also fade very 
fast, even though they're "silver" prints. 

Epson/Inkjet will never rival that speed; I'd keep using the other 
approach, for speed AND cost. You're barking up the wrong tree 
to try to compete with that process.

-Mark Tucker

on 9/1/2001 4:04 PM, DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com at
DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com wrote:

> Date: Sat, 01 Sep 2001 17:05:24 -0000
> From: wnebel@...
> Subject: Bulk Paper For 8 X 10's, And Hosting Pics On My Site
> 
> Hi all,
> I've learned so much here, I'm a movie producer and I'm taking
> over my casting end of my company. First of all I would like any
> suggestions for over the counter printers I should consider to print
> my 8 x 10's . Also I would like to know where to get the stock I see
> all the headshots printed on and for someone to explain to me how
> some dupe companies can advertise 200 copies at only $40
Wilhelm,

Have you thought of using a laser printer?  Inkjet printers are not really
designed for making large runs of prints, and printing B&W on an inkjet
takes a bit of practice, some learning, and is not generally, cheap.

Headshot duplicating companies probably can produce real B&W photo prints at
200 copies for $40. They probably print on Resin Coated photographic paper
that is processed in photo chemicals.  That may be the way to go for this
sort of thing.
 
-Bruce

Visit my website at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~smthopr