Digital BW, The Print

I have a 980 with old Piezo inks and Photoshop Cone driver. 
I also have a 1270 with regular Epson inks.
I just got a 2200 (to be delivered by end of the week).

Piezo Inks are running out and I need a plan.

The goal is to maximize the setup for both BW and color printing.
I was planning to get the new PiezoTone inks and keep using the 
Photoshop Cone driver on the 980 (since I paid for it).
I would dedicate the 2200 for color and some BW. I was thinking to 
start with the Epson inks and see how it goes. Maybe get ImagePrint 
along the way.
I'm trying to figure out what to do with the 1270.
One option is to go for the MIS VM inks (cartriges or CIS) and use 
Paul Roark workflow.
Current OS is Windows (Linux is an option).

I'm open to *any* suggestions from this fine group (including not 
sticking to my current plan).

Thank you in advance,
Luca

My feeling is that you buy a 2200 to use the Ultra Chrome inks and 
you should use them in that printer (even if they are expensive).

The 1270 should do great with VM and Roark curves, but I don't know 
how your are going use all the printers enough to keep the two 
hex/quadtone printers from clogging... I try to use my 1160 all the 
time and I have a heck of a time keeping enough ink going through 
that to avoid clogs... maybe 3 printers is too much... just a thought.

mark

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "shrektd" 
<luca@l...> wrote:

> I have a 980 with old Piezo inks and Photoshop Cone driver. 
> I also have a 1270 with regular Epson inks.
> I just got a 2200 (to be delivered by end of the week).
> 
> Piezo Inks are running out and I need a plan.
> 
> The goal is to maximize the setup for both BW and color printing.
> I was planning to get the new PiezoTone inks and keep using the 
> Photoshop Cone driver on the 980 (since I paid for it).
> I would dedicate the 2200 for color and some BW. I was thinking to 
> start with the Epson inks and see how it goes. Maybe get ImagePrint 
> along the way.
> I'm trying to figure out what to do with the 1270.
> One option is to go for the MIS VM inks (cartriges or CIS) and use 
> Paul Roark workflow.
> Current OS is Windows (Linux is an option).
> 
> I'm open to *any* suggestions from this fine group (including not 
> sticking to my current plan).
> 
> Thank you in advance,
> Luca

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn" 
<markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> The 1270 should do great with VM and Roark curves, but I don't know 
> how your are going use all the printers enough to keep the two 
> hex/quadtone printers from clogging... I try to use my 1160 all the 
> time and I have a heck of a time keeping enough ink going through 
> that to avoid clogs... maybe 3 printers is too much... just a 
thought.
> 

Mark, I don't use the use the 980 (and old Piezo inks) as often as I 
should but (I may just be lucky) I never had a clog that lasted more 
than 2 cleaning cycles.
Good to know anyway... and thanks for the prompt answer.

Luca

Paul

Thanks for your reply on the d-max post. It prompted some more questions:

- In QTR I can choose for the 1400 between several printer resolutions 
among 720, 1440 and 2880 dpi. I noticed that I get much smoother results 
with 2880. In your post I see that you print at 720 dpi image 
resolution. Am I right to assume that the two have nothing to do with 
each other? Is the former for the fineness of the droplet pattern and 
the latter for the image resolution proper (which at 720 is maxed out 
for what the eye can discern)? As you see I still have very basic 
concepts to sort out...

- Should I always bring my pictures to 720 dpi in PS/LR or with a good 
resizing plug-in and have QTR print at 100% rather than let it do the 
resizing?

- I love papers like the Harman Gloss FB Al (now Hahnemuhle I believe) 
which completely feels and even smells like Baryta photographic paper, 
and I wish I could do both matte and glossy on the 1400 (my second 
printer is for color). Is your 4+2 setup a way to do this, or maybe even 
a 3+3, or will the quality not be satisfactory?

Louis