Digital BW, The Print

K2 wrote:

>I have the quad set for the 1160.  I'm wondering if there is anything
>to be gained by going to a 6 colour printer.  Has anyone compared the
>output side by side?

Some can see the blue toner dots in the highlights of the cool and nc curve
prints.  I don't notice them in normal photo viewing, but can see them in
test strips under bright lights.  The hextone machines take care of this
"problem."

If you have never been bothered by these dots, then you won't see much
difference.

To be honest, when I wrote the curves for the 870 and 1290, I thought there
was also an improvement in some of the dark shadow smoothness.  The newest
hextones may have better black ink printing that also shows up in smoother
dark tones.

I would, however, avoid the 1280.  The 1280, at least with the PC, has a
driver glitch that puts an unavoidable bump in the warm curve ramp.  It is
the only printer that has done this.  To me the 1290 is the best, with the
1270 second best.

Of course, I've stuck with my 1160, even though I probably could have kept
the hextone printers MIS sent to me, and the 1160 cost me about $150 to fix
a bad head.  I think the advantages of ease of use, flexibility of drivers
for FS/Piezo inksets, and lack of chips make the 1160 a very good overall
printer.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com

Paul

Thanks for the detailed explanation.  It sounds like the 1160/VM 
combo has a lot of life in it.  

K2

Quick answer, 1280 prints are smoother, 1160 are sharper. Just barely 
noticeable in both cases. 1160 can show dots,
the 1280 won't.

Jerry



K2 Chittin wrote:

> I have the quad set for the 1160.  I'm wondering if there is anything 
> to be gained by going to a 6 colour printer.  Has anyone compared the 
> output side by side?
> 
> K2
> 
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I have a 1280, and I've seen this "bump."  Its a place between the 
dark tones and midtones where a small change of tonality on the 
screen causes an abrupt change in the print.  Usually you can get 
around it by a small change in the brightness curve.  It's a pain, 
however.  Per your advice, Paul, I'm using Tyler's curves.  Which 
curves did you say were the least problematical?

I'm wondering if we might be able to use the 1270 driver on the 
1280?  I've done this for years with HP laser printers--if theres a 
problem with the Laserjet n, use the driver for an earlier printer.  
If the 1280 is just the 1270 with some smaller-scale movements to do 
2880 dpi, then it might work.  Has anyone tried this? 

Also, has anyone used Piezography on the 1280, and does it have the 
tonal "bump" that the Epson driver has?

--Peter


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> I would, however, avoid the 1280.  The 1280, at least with the PC, 
has a
> driver glitch that puts an unavoidable bump in the warm curve 
ramp.  It is
> the only printer that has done this.  To me the 1290 is the best, 
with the
> 1270 second best.
> 
> Of course, I've stuck with my 1160, even though I probably could 
have kept
> the hextone printers MIS sent to me, and the 1160 cost me about 
$150 to fix
> a bad head.  I think the advantages of ease of use, flexibility of 
drivers
> for FS/Piezo inksets, and lack of chips make the 1160 a very good 
overall

> printer.
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com