Digital BW, The Print

I puchased a r220 from staples a few days back. I have 14 days to take
it back for a full refund. Im not very happy with its output on heavy
weight matte paper. The prints look nothing like they do on screen and
can not touch a lot of prints that I order online from labs. I didnt
think this little thing would be able to satisfy me but I thought I
would give it a whirl.
I am using the stock ink set, printing with the black option under
print settings, and running os x.
I would like to give the 2400 a whirl but I can not take it back if I
am not happy since I will have to order it online. I want to print
color and bw so I dont want to change the ink set just yet if I do get
it. Is the output the same quality but able to go larger? Or is the
output actually better, finner, more dynamic range?
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

The R220 with Epson stock inks is not a particul;arly good option for 
b/w. You will do much better with the R2400. If you want the same 
dynamic range as what you order online, you will want to stick with the 
Photo Black (PK) option in the R2400. Many papers from Epson and others 
are avialable for the printer. Heavy Weight Matte with Matte Black (MK)
will not match your online prints in dynamic range, no matter what the 
printer.

If you want to play around with different inksets on your R220, by all 
means look around here (espicially posts by Paul Roark). But it will 
not be quite as simple as the R2400.

Good luck.

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ciscomanvann" 
<espressogeek@...> wrote:

>
> I puchased a r220 from staples a few days back. I have 14 days to take
> it back for a full refund. Im not very happy with its output on heavy
> weight matte paper. The prints look nothing like they do on screen and
> can not touch a lot of prints that I order online from labs. I didnt
> think this little thing would be able to satisfy me but I thought I
> would give it a whirl.
> I am using the stock ink set, printing with the black option under
> print settings, and running os x.
> I would like to give the 2400 a whirl but I can not take it back if I
> am not happy since I will have to order it online. I want to print
> color and bw so I dont want to change the ink set just yet if I do get
> it. Is the output the same quality but able to go larger? Or is the
> output actually better, finner, more dynamic range?
> Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
>

I have both printers. The 220 gives amazing BO prints with most
papers. (Especially Epson Matte papers) Get Eboni Black from MIS and
try BO printing. The results will be stunning.
 Best
Howard

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ciscomanvann"
<espressogeek@...> wrote:

>
> I puchased a r220 from staples a few days back. I have 14 days to take
> it back for a full refund. Im not very happy with its output on heavy
> weight matte paper. The prints look nothing like they do on screen and
> can not touch a lot of prints that I order online from labs. I didnt
> think this little thing would be able to satisfy me but I thought I
> would give it a whirl.
> I am using the stock ink set, printing with the black option under
> print settings, and running os x.
> I would like to give the 2400 a whirl but I can not take it back if I
> am not happy since I will have to order it online. I want to print
> color and bw so I dont want to change the ink set just yet if I do get
> it. Is the output the same quality but able to go larger? Or is the
> output actually better, finner, more dynamic range?
> Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
>

Let me ask two questions if you dont mind.
1. The eboni black will make that much of a difference? Do I need to 
do anything  to use it?
2. How does the 2400 with the stock ink set stack up against the 
eboni black in the r220? 

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "how786" 
<how786@...> wrote:
>
>   I have both printers. The 220 gives amazing BO prints with most
> papers. (Especially Epson Matte papers) Get Eboni Black from MIS 
and
> try BO printing. The results will be stunning.
>  Best
> Howard
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ciscomanvann"
> <espressogeek@> wrote:
> >
> > I puchased a r220 from staples a few days back. I have 14 days 
to take
> > it back for a full refund. Im not very happy with its output on 
heavy
> > weight matte paper. The prints look nothing like they do on 
screen and
> > can not touch a lot of prints that I order online from labs. I 
didnt
> > think this little thing would be able to satisfy me but I 
thought I
> > would give it a whirl.
> > I am using the stock ink set, printing with the black option 
under
> > print settings, and running os x.
> > I would like to give the 2400 a whirl but I can not take it back 
if I
> > am not happy since I will have to order it online. I want to 
print
> > color and bw so I dont want to change the ink set just yet if I 
do get
> > it. Is the output the same quality but able to go larger? Or is 
the

> > output actually better, finner, more dynamic range?
> > Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
> >
>

Well, bear in mind thiese are my own personal opinions. Others may
feel differently.

1-a-The Eboni Black and printing BO makes a huge difference, imo.
b-You need nothing else. Just set the driver to print BO.
2-This is harder to answer. The BO prints have a special 'look' about
them that some people absolutely love and others seem not so impressed
with. There is a certain luminosity to the BO prints. The 2400 cannot
make BO prints out of the box. The 2400 does make extremely high
quality B&W prints, to be sure. But, the look is different from the BO
prints.
 For the money, the 220 is, by far, the best little machine out the
for making 8X10 BO prints.
 Before you invest $700 in a 2400, wouldn't it make sense to invest
just a few bucks in a cartridge of Eboni Black and give it a whirl?
Let your eyes decide what you think. Frankly, I was totally blown away
when I saw how impressive the prints were from a $69 printer!
Best
Howard

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ciscomanvann"
<espressogeek@...> wrote:

>
> Let me ask two questions if you dont mind.
> 1. The eboni black will make that much of a difference? Do I need to 
> do anything  to use it?
> 2. How does the 2400 with the stock ink set stack up against the 
> eboni black in the r220? 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "how786" 
> <how786@> wrote:
> >
> >   I have both printers. The 220 gives amazing BO prints with most
> > papers. (Especially Epson Matte papers) Get Eboni Black from MIS 
> and
> > try BO printing. The results will be stunning.
> >  Best
> > Howard
> > 
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ciscomanvann"
> > <espressogeek@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I puchased a r220 from staples a few days back. I have 14 days 
> to take
> > > it back for a full refund. Im not very happy with its output on 
> heavy
> > > weight matte paper. The prints look nothing like they do on 
> screen and
> > > can not touch a lot of prints that I order online from labs. I 
> didnt
> > > think this little thing would be able to satisfy me but I 
> thought I
> > > would give it a whirl.
> > > I am using the stock ink set, printing with the black option 
> under
> > > print settings, and running os x.
> > > I would like to give the 2400 a whirl but I can not take it back 
> if I
> > > am not happy since I will have to order it online. I want to 
> print
> > > color and bw so I dont want to change the ink set just yet if I 
> do get
> > > it. Is the output the same quality but able to go larger? Or is 
> the
> > > output actually better, finner, more dynamic range?
> > > Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
> > >
> >
>

>The eboni black will make that much of a difference? 

Yes, a huge difference compared to the R200 stock ink.  


>Do I need to do anything  to use it?

Just put it in the printer and do a nozzle test.


>How does the 2400 with the stock ink set stack up against the 
>eboni black in the r220? 

Both are excellent, with a slight dmax advantage shifting back and
forth depending on paper.  For example, Eboni has better dmax on
Dourian and Photorag, 2400-K is better on VFA.

Another option (I think someone mentioned it) is using an R2 ink set
in the R220 (if you don't mind staying with letter size prints).  This
will allow full ink printing as well as BO.  It comes in Warm and
Neutral flavors, but is also possible to make a variable tone set with
them.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

I appreciate all the help. I really am frustrated with this printer 
because the color on matt stinks IMHO too. Its not that its bad it 
just seems to ignore certain details. I think some of the details are 
out of gaumet and when i call epson they are no help. That is really 
neither here nor there since this is the BW print group but I wanted 
you to see my frustration in context.
I want to order a complete UT2 inkset. I want to do this vs the single 
black because the lighter areas look off to me with the black I have. 
Its like it doesnt put down a fine enough array of drops to create the 
light areas. The reason i dont just order the inkset is that HP has 
printers with carts that have black and two greys and driver support 
for this all ready to go for around 100 dollars on ebay, ie 7940 and 
8450. I know you cant tweak like you can with the epsons but if it 
gets me a result Im happy with and i dont waste 20 dollars in paper 
getting there along with hours of frustration then I would be happy.
For color printing I plan to stick to ordering prints online but for 
BW, since I have never been able to get a result online I am happy 
with, I want to do this at home.
Thanks again for all of your help.