Digital BW, The Print

Just curious if anyone is using this combination yet and how it 
compares to some other Epson printers, such as the 1280 or 960, in 
terms of smoothness of tone and lack of microbanding?   The C84 is a 
four color lower end printer, I had an older 4 color epson that even 
with Lyson Quad Blacks did not give the same results in terms of 
tonal smoothness as an older 6 color epson, an 870.

I'm more interested in the neutral tone EZ inks, not the warm.  And I 
would be curious if the Epson black ink cart can be left and used as 
high-capacity carts from Epson are available for that position.

thanks to all, Rick

I've been toying with the EZ / C84 combo.  I'll be submitting images
made with it in the May print exchange.  This combination is not only
effective, but it rivals my 2200 with QTR.  C84 has better shadow detail
than the 2200 prints, but the 2200 were sharper.

I biggest plus however was the output on semigloss paper.  Looked
great.  C84 is also dead simple to use.  No curves, no RIP.

On Tue, 2004-04-27 at 00:51, rschllr wrote:
> Just curious if anyone is using this combination yet and how it 
> compares to some other Epson printers, such as the 1280 or 960, in 
> terms of smoothness of tone and lack of microbanding?   The C84 is a 
> four color lower end printer, I had an older 4 color epson that even 
> with Lyson Quad Blacks did not give the same results in terms of 
> tonal smoothness as an older 6 color epson, an 870.
> 
> I'm more interested in the neutral tone EZ inks, not the warm.  And I 
> would be curious if the Epson black ink cart can be left and used as 
> high-capacity carts from Epson are available for that position.
> 
> thanks to all, Rick
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other resources as they are often being updated.
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>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
>  
>

Hi Justin,

I just picked up the C84 and ordered the MIS EZ inks - could you 
share with me your experiences thus far on which paper(s) and 
settings (RGB or greyscale image, paper settings, colour settings in 
the Epson properties, etc) things work best?  I'm working on a very 
limited budget and can't experiment a whole lot, so any feedback 
would be really great.  I've read Paul's comments on setting contrast 
to -15 and brightness to -5 and that EEM seems to work, but that's 
about it... have you experienced the same as him?

Thanks,

Scott


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Justin 
Florentine <justin@b...> wrote:
> I've been toying with the EZ / C84 combo.  I'll be submitting images
> made with it in the May print exchange.  This combination is not 
only
> effective, but it rivals my 2200 with QTR.  C84 has better shadow 
detail
> than the 2200 prints, but the 2200 were sharper.
> 
> I biggest plus however was the output on semigloss paper.  Looked
> great.  C84 is also dead simple to use.  No curves, no RIP.
> 
> On Tue, 2004-04-27 at 00:51, rschllr wrote:
> > Just curious if anyone is using this combination yet and how it 
> > compares to some other Epson printers, such as the 1280 or 960, 
in 
> > terms of smoothness of tone and lack of microbanding?   The C84 
is a 
> > four color lower end printer, I had an older 4 color epson that 
even 
> > with Lyson Quad Blacks did not give the same results in terms of 
> > tonal smoothness as an older 6 color epson, an 870.
> > 
> > I'm more interested in the neutral tone EZ inks, not the warm.  
And I 
> > would be curious if the Epson black ink cart can be left and used 
as 
> > high-capacity carts from Epson are available for that position.
> > 
> > thanks to all, Rick
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other 
resources as they are often being updated.
> > 
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> > 
> > If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you 
wish to unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by 
visiting this same page.
> > 
> > Please follow these basic guidelines:
> > - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier 
messages to keep them short.
> > - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or 
flames. Hostile, aggressive or argumentative users may be removed 
from the membership without notice.
> > - Keep your posts and threads related to the group topic of 
digital B&W printing. Users who persistently make off-topic posts may 
be removed from the membership.
> > - By posting on this forum you agree to abide by the group rules 
and guidelines, and to abide by the actions and decisions of the 
group Owner and Moderators. See Â"Group Topic, Rules and GuidelinesÂ" 
in the Files section:
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/
> > 
> > BY PARTICIPATING IN AND/OR POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DIGITAL BW, 
THE PRINT YAHOO! GROUP YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE 
Â"OWNERÂ" AND Â"MODERATORSÂ" OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP 
SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, 
SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT 
LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER 
INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  Â"OWNERÂ" AND Â"MODERATORSÂ" OF 
DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE 
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE 
INABILITY TO USE THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; (ii) 
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; 
(iii) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE DIGITAL BW, THE 
PRINT YAHOO GROUP; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE DIGITAL 
BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP.

> >  
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >  
> >

We'll, I've been a little distracted by my shiny new D70 :), but I'll
give it a whirl.

I've only used Epson papers so far, because I have a ton of it lying
around.  EEM and Semigloss in letter size.  I usually just print an RGB
image (using PS Elements) through the Epson driver.  Haven't tried the
brightness/contrast settings you speak of.  I'm pretty sure I used the
Matte media settings for both types of paper though.  I don't think it
liked semigloss, but I'll have to try again.

I really think the EZ stuff is the way to go for those just starting and
on a limited budget.  There isn't much to say, it 'just works'.  I'll
putting some C84/EZ prints in the May exchange, so others will be able
to comment on them comparatively. 

I posted my earlier impressions on C84/EZ vs. QTR with the Ultrachrome
inks on a 2200.

> 
> Message: 11
>    Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 16:47:45 -0000
>    From: "Scott Harris" <scott.harris@...>
> Subject: Epson C84 with MIS EZ inks?
> 
> Hi Justin,
> 
> I just picked up the C84 and ordered the MIS EZ inks - could you 
> share with me your experiences thus far on which paper(s) and 
> settings (RGB or greyscale image, paper settings, colour settings in 
> the Epson properties, etc) things work best?  I'm working on a very 
> limited budget and can't experiment a whole lot, so any feedback 
> would be really great.  I've read Paul's comments on setting contrast 
> to -15 and brightness to -5 and that EEM seems to work, but that's 
> about it... have you experienced the same as him?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Scott
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Justin 
> Florentine <justin@b...> wrote:
> > I've been toying with the EZ / C84 combo.  I'll be submitting images
> > made with it in the May print exchange.  This combination is not 
> only
> > effective, but it rivals my 2200 with QTR.  C84 has better shadow 
> detail
> > than the 2200 prints, but the 2200 were sharper.
> > 
> > I biggest plus however was the output on semigloss paper.  Looked
> > great.  C84 is also dead simple to use.  No curves, no RIP.
> > 
> > On Tue, 2004-04-27 at 00:51, rschllr wrote:
> > > Just curious if anyone is using this combination yet and how it 
> > > compares to some other Epson printers, such as the 1280 or 960, 
> in 
> > > terms of smoothness of tone and lack of microbanding?   The C84 
> is a 
> > > four color lower end printer, I had an older 4 color epson that 
> even 
> > > with Lyson Quad Blacks did not give the same results in terms of 
> > > tonal smoothness as an older 6 color epson, an 870.
> > > 
> > > I'm more interested in the neutral tone EZ inks, not the warm.  
> And I 
> > > would be curious if the Epson black ink cart can be left and used 
> as 
> > > high-capacity carts from Epson are available for that position.
> > > 
> > > thanks to all, Rick

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Justin Florentine
<justin@b...> wrote:
> We'll, I've been a little distracted by my shiny new D70 :), but I'll
> give it a whirl.
> 
> I've only used Epson papers so far, because I have a ton of it lying
> around.  EEM and Semigloss in letter size.  I usually just print an RGB
> image (using PS Elements) through the Epson driver.  Haven't tried the
> brightness/contrast settings you speak of.  I'm pretty sure I used the
> Matte media settings for both types of paper though.  I don't think it
> liked semigloss, but I'll have to try again.
> 
> I really think the EZ stuff is the way to go for those just starting and
> on a limited budget.  There isn't much to say, it 'just works'.  

Justin I'm glad you are having good luck with the C-84.  My C-84 is
about four weeks old.  I have gotten about 6 good prints out of it
with the EZ inks and the Epson original black.  I was very encouraged
at first but now it is always clogged on plain paper settings, will
sometimes print OK on Heavy weight matte setting (but that ruins the
advantage of the C-84 for higher D-Max.) and seems to work fairly well
on epson Glossy Paper, which as you know, is non archival. Of course
everyday I waste several sheets of paper trying to unclog the beast,
but to little avail. The worst offending nozzle is using the original
Epson cartridge!  Heck it won't even print text today. 

My 2200 has had one minor clog in 18 months of use.  So, after I take
the C-84 out to the driveway and smash it with a ballpeen hammer, I
will be returning to BO printing with Eboni on my 2200.  But the idea
of smooth, neutral grayscale was so appealing at one time ;-(

Ol' Don in Broken Arrow