Digital BW, The Print

Hi, I'm pretty new to the group, and I'm hoping that some of you can 
help bring me up to speed on b&w printing.

I'm currently using the Epson 3800.  One of the complaints I've heard 
and red about on other forums with practically all inkjet printers is 
the quest to have true blacks in the darkest areas.

Reading through some of the messages in this group, I see a lot of 
abbreviations such as ABW (Advanced Black & White, I'm assuming), and 
many others that I have no idea what they stand for.

What resources are there out there in my quest to make the best 
possible b&w print?  I'm assuming some of the abbreviations used are 
alternatives to ABW, but I don't have a clue what they are.

I see a lot of different papers being talked about, so that is a bit 
confusing.  I'm on a relatively limited budget, so I can't keep bying 
tons of different paper to test out and make custom profiles for.

It would be great to learn how some of you are printing with your 
Epson printers (any model, but K3 would be more relavent) step by 
step (shortened if necessary).

Is anyone willing to help me out?

Hello Ryan,

>Hi, I'm pretty new to the group, and I'm hoping that some of you can 
>help bring me up to speed on b&w printing.

Welcome to the forum.  Lot's of good brains to pick here.

 
>I'm currently using the Epson 3800...
>
>I see a lot of different papers being talked about, so that is a bit 
>confusing.  I'm on a relatively limited budget, so I can't keep bying 
>tons of different paper to test out and make custom profiles for.

Please see article #5 at the link below ("The Great Paper Chase"). It
has a review on 25 or so matte papers and will give you a good idea of
what the various papers are like.  There are lots of good ones to
choose from.

You'll need some Epson Enhanced Matte (EEM) for proofing paper - it's
inexpensive, has good dmax and otherwise looks good (so it's good for
judging your images as you work them up), but isn't acid free.  So
you'll need something else for final prints.

 
>It would be great to learn how some of you are printing with your 
>Epson printers (any model, but K3 would be more relevent) step by 
>step (shortened if necessary).

Please also see article #9.  It contains a step by step outline for
using the 2400 (K3 inks).  It's a simple and straightforward approach
which will get you going right away making excellent prints with the
ABW system "out-of-the-box".  I haven't seen a 3800 yet, so some of
the controls may be a bit different, but they are both K3 systems so
it should be very similar.  Good luck, have fun!


Regards,
Clayton


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

Clayton,

Thank you so much for you input.  The articles look like they will be 
very informative.  The initial black and white print I've made, 
just "winging it" look very nice.  I'm looking forward to more 
experiementation.

Any other comments or imput from others in the forum would be welcome 
as well.

Ryan

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
<cj@...> wrote:
>
> Hello Ryan,
> 
> >Hi, I'm pretty new to the group, and I'm hoping that some of you 
can 
> >help bring me up to speed on b&w printing.
> 
> Welcome to the forum.  Lot's of good brains to pick here.
> 
>  
> >I'm currently using the Epson 3800...
> >
> >I see a lot of different papers being talked about, so that is a 
bit 
> >confusing.  I'm on a relatively limited budget, so I can't keep 
bying 
> >tons of different paper to test out and make custom profiles for.
> 
> Please see article #5 at the link below ("The Great Paper Chase"). 
It
> has a review on 25 or so matte papers and will give you a good idea 
of
> what the various papers are like.  There are lots of good ones to
> choose from.
> 
> You'll need some Epson Enhanced Matte (EEM) for proofing paper - 
it's
> inexpensive, has good dmax and otherwise looks good (so it's good 
for
> judging your images as you work them up), but isn't acid free.  So
> you'll need something else for final prints.
> 
>  
> >It would be great to learn how some of you are printing with your 
> >Epson printers (any model, but K3 would be more relevent) step by 
> >step (shortened if necessary).
> 
> Please also see article #9.  It contains a step by step outline for
> using the 2400 (K3 inks).  It's a simple and straightforward 
approach

> which will get you going right away making excellent prints with the
> ABW system "out-of-the-box".  I haven't seen a 3800 yet, so some of
> the controls may be a bit different, but they are both K3 systems so
> it should be very similar.  Good luck, have fun!
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton
> 
> 
> Info on black and white digital printing at    
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
>