Digital BW, The Print

Help!

I'm ready to take the plunge into high quality black&white printing 
but need some guidance.  Here's what I'm considering and would really 
appreciate some feedback into the pros and cons of printers and inks.

Since large format isn't terribly important to me at this point I am 
considering using either my current Epson Stylus 870 or purchasing a 
new Stylus 980 (they're $100 with rebate!).  In either case I would 
dedicate the printer for B&W printing only.  Am I going to see 
substantially better output from the 890?  Do both MIS and 
Piezography support the 890?

Where inks are concerned, I think I'm as confused as any newbie.  MIS 
or Piezography??  I've researched both and it appears MIS is a bit 
cheaper to get started with and can utilize the stock Epson driver 
(no additional expense for the Cone driver) - however, it appears 
that the new Piezography system will no longer require a custom 
driver either.  Is one easier to use than the other?  What are the 
pros/cons of both systems?  What's going to give me the most bang for 
the buck?

I did a search on this group and wasn't able to find any kind 
of 'getting started' doc, but if someone knows of one I'd really 
appreciate the link.  And any thoughts, suggestions and/or 
recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Regards,
Bob Biess

I'm a six months newbie, so I'll respond. Your 870 or a new 890 should
do you well. Save the money on buying the 890 and spend it on ink and
paper. MIS and the free workflows and curves got my vote over
Piezography. Lower cost, better support and just as good prints
(IMHO). The key to everything is a reasonable understanding of
Photoshop as it relates to working with images for printing. This is
assumed on this discussion group but takes time to learn. So
important, I will repeat UNDERSTANDING PHOTOSHOP IS IMPORTANT!

I strongly suggest you try Black Only printing to start. Shorter
learning curve and good prints to keep you from being disolutioned.
Check out Clayton Jones' excellent write up at
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm  It's the best summary and
tutorial I have seen. 

Don't worry about just trying Black Only printing with your current
Epson ink and paper. You can get respectable prints. And, tonight!

Bob Michaels

-- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "bbiess"
<bbiess@y...> wrote:

> Help!
> 
> I'm ready to take the plunge into high quality black&white printing 
> but need some guidance.  Here's what I'm considering and would really 
> appreciate some feedback into the pros and cons of printers and inks.
> 
> Since large format isn't terribly important to me at this point I am 
> considering using either my current Epson Stylus 870 or purchasing a 
> new Stylus 980 (they're $100 with rebate!).  In either case I would 
> dedicate the printer for B&W printing only.  Am I going to see 
> substantially better output from the 890?  Do both MIS and 
> Piezography support the 890?
> 
> Where inks are concerned, I think I'm as confused as any newbie.  MIS 
> or Piezography??  I've researched both and it appears MIS is a bit 
> cheaper to get started with and can utilize the stock Epson driver 
> (no additional expense for the Cone driver) - however, it appears 
> that the new Piezography system will no longer require a custom 
> driver either.  Is one easier to use than the other?  What are the 
> pros/cons of both systems?  What's going to give me the most bang for 
> the buck?
> 
> I did a search on this group and wasn't able to find any kind 
> of 'getting started' doc, but if someone knows of one I'd really 
> appreciate the link.  And any thoughts, suggestions and/or 
> recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated!!
> 
> Regards,
> Bob Biess

i am a three week newbie, though i have experience in
both the computer worlds and the trditional darkroom. 

i went with an 890 because i couldn't afford the 1280
and didn't want to buy a printer that was probably on
the verge of being replaced. (and an 890 for $100 is
nearly free.) so far, the print quality is good. at
time better than with silver prints, at times it needs
work (that can be read that i need practice). i think
the print head is the same as in your 870, so you
wouldn't really gain anything in the 890 over your
current printer. 

after reading this list, the photo.net digital
darkroom forum and the mis and piezo sites, i got the
mis quadtone (hex version with six inks) inkset and
didn't even put the epson carts in at all. my initial
experiences with reloading carts has been fine. it is
easy and not too time consuming. 

my first prints out of the printer were mediocre.
grayscale images weren't stepless. after tweaking the
transfer curve, the printer prints a stepless
grayscale (though it could be better, i would like to
be able to match the absolute seemlessness of the
example print from the piezo folks, does anyone know
what kind of printer was used to print that?!). 

after three weeks i am making prints that are close to
what i was making after years in a wet darkroom. in
another couple weeks i am sure i will be pretty caught
up to my previous printing prowess in the darkroom. 

like bob said, it is more about learning photoshop.
the more i learn about photoshop the better my prints
are starting to look. 

good luck bob. and thanks to everyone else whose
comments help those of us moving into the digital
black and white. 

michael meyer

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop!
http://platinum.yahoo.com