Digital BW, The Print

>Steve K wrote:
>Of course, you could have no-swap gloss & matt printing now with your
>R2400-if you were willing to give up ABW.

Steve (or anyone),

Indeed, I would be willing to give up ABW for no-swap gloss & matt
printing with the R2400, as I prefer a color-managed workflow with ICC
profiles to ABW printing in most cases anyhow.  I know I sacrifice
something in quality with certain prints, but for the most part I like
the flexibility and WSIWYG results of doing my toning in Photoshop
rather than in the Epson print driver.

How do I get the no-swap gloss & matt printing with the R2400?

Thanks,
Chris

Chris;

Frankly, I was being a wise-ass; To do a no-swap with the R2400 you 
would have to dedicate the printer to B&W printing, because it 
involves putting your PK ink in the Cyan or Magenta cartridge ( a 
clean refillable one of course) and then learning how to make your 
own curves in QTR. If you aren't already doing something like this 
with another printer, the learning curve is steep. Really its only 
worth the trouble if you do enough printing of both types to install 
a CIS. Otherwise, swapping inks and keeping ABW and color is the 
lesser evil by far. If cost is an issue, consider refillable carts; 
You could either use 3rd party inks, or buy some 220ml Epson K3 carts 
from an online discount house, and simply drain them into bottles.

The R1800/1900 OTOH has both full-time, so you could do a very viable 
2k arrangement by putting an LK (or Eboni as Paul is doing) in the 
gloss position ( I printed like this for several months before adding 
a 3rd K), giving up only the occassional high-gloss print that needs 
gloss on the highlights.

Regards;

Steve Karafyllakis 


>
> >Steve K wrote:
> >Of course, you could have no-swap gloss & matt printing now with 
your
> >R2400-if you were willing to give up ABW.
> 
> Steve (or anyone),
> 
> Indeed, I would be willing to give up ABW for no-swap gloss & matt
> printing with the R2400, as I prefer a color-managed workflow with 
ICC
> profiles to ABW printing in most cases anyhow.  I know I sacrifice
> something in quality with certain prints, but for the most part I 
like

> the flexibility and WSIWYG results of doing my toning in Photoshop
> rather than in the Epson print driver.
> 
> How do I get the no-swap gloss & matt printing with the R2400?
> 
> Thanks,
> Chris
>

Steve,

Thanks for your clarification.

Another question if you'll permit.  I assume I would use QTR for the  
2k setup you describe with the 1900/1800?  Are their curves available  
for this with popular papers, or would I have to build my own?

You're right that the learning curve is steep!  I'm probably better  
off sticking with the R2400 for ease of use/simplicity (which is why  
I chose it in the first place), but I hate the waste of ink that  
happens swapping back and forth from MK to PK.

I only printed on matte papers for the first several weeks, but I  
just picked up a box of Harman Gloss and I have to say I'm hooked.  I  
won't be giving up matte, since I prefer it for certain subjects, but  
I'll definitely be using the PK cartridge too now.  I was thinking I  
could get by without swapping by using Platinum Rag, since it's  
possible to use the MK cartridge with that paper, but the Harman  
Gloss is so much better.

Thanks again,
Chris

Chris-

Yes, you would use QTR, and no, there are no 'canned' profiles for 
this configuration. I might still have a couple around so if you 
decide to try it later, drop me an e-mail.

Perhaps since the R1800 has grown steadily in popularity when the 
R1900 is released it will get a more complete set of profiles with it?

Steve Karafyllakis


  I assume I would use QTR for the  
> 2k setup you describe with the 1900/1800?  Are their curves 
available  
> for this with popular papers, or would I have to build my own?
> 
> You're right that the learning curve is steep!  I'm probably 
better  
> off sticking with the R2400 for ease of use/simplicity (which is 
why  
> I chose it in the first place), but I hate the waste of ink that  
> happens swapping back and forth from MK to PK.
> 
> I only printed on matte papers for the first several weeks, but I  
> just picked up a box of Harman Gloss and I have to say I'm hooked.  
I  
> won't be giving up matte, since I prefer it for certain subjects, 
but  
> I'll definitely be using the PK cartridge too now.  I was thinking 
I  

> could get by without swapping by using Platinum Rag, since it's  
> possible to use the MK cartridge with that paper, but the Harman  
> Gloss is so much better.
> 
> Thanks again,
> Chris
>