Digital BW, The Print

Hello,
    I am a graduate student and am interested in photography. Although I am pretty much an 
amateur (www.flickr.com/photos/copyright-to-a-moment/).  I dream of having my solo 
black and white exhibition someday.  For that I need to get started on printing stuff out and 
although I see a lot of advice on this site they are a little expensive for me right now [sigh].  I 
was wondering if any of you could guide me with a list of technique/printer/ink/paper which 
is low cost and yet presentable. Please do not ignore this as someone looking for a quick fix 
because I have been wondering about this for a long time now but the epson printers and ink 
are too expensive for me.  Any suggestion is welcome.  Thanks a lot.

Ritayan

Hi Ritayan,


> I am a graduate student ... dream of having my solo
> black and white exhibition someday...

>I  was wondering if any of you could guide me with a list of
>technique/printer/ink/paper which
> is low cost and yet presentable.

The list of inksets and workflows I've been involved with are at
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/ <http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/>

How large you want to print is a major variable.  Letter size (8 x 10
inches or A4) is cheaper.  The C88+, for example, appears to still be
made.   (The 280 carts do not appear to be as easily obtained.)

At 13" a used printer makes sense.  The R1800 is top of my list now for
B&W.

Above 13" gets expensive, but a used 7000 or 7500 would be the top of my
list.  (I use a 7500.)

My write-ups include paper and workflow recommendations, and usually
profiles.

Good luck with your B&W.



Paul

www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.PaulRoark.com>





Please do not ignore this as someone looking for a quick fix
> because I have been wondering about this for a long time now but the
epson printers and ink
> are too expensive for me. Any suggestion is welcome. Thanks a lot.
>
> Ritayan
>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At 07:23 PM 1/12/2008, ritayan_mitra wrote:

>I was wondering if any of you could guide me with a list of 
>technique/printer/ink/paper which
>is low cost and yet presentable.

One of my early photo teachers told me, "First buy you paper and 
chemicals, and then see if you've enough money for food!"  I'm sure 
that's not what you want to hear, but there really is some truth in 
it.  With all the costs of ink and paper, as well as matting and 
framing supplies, I'm sure that for many on this list there is a 
negative cash flow.

More practical -- Think small.  Stay with an 8-1/2 x 11 printer 
(Epson C86/88 comes to mind, but I'm way out of date), and the MIS eZ 
inks.  Do you're earliest proofing (contact sheets etc) on a laser 
printer, which is very cheap to use.  Buy pre-cut but archival mats 
from a company like Frame Destination.

Once you've sold one or a few prints, you'll feel less tight on 
budget ... more comfortable moving forward.

Good luck!


	A r t h u r  .  F i n k  .  P h o t o g r a p h y
	-------------------------------------------------
	Ten New Island Avenue         . land 207.766.5722
	Peaks Island, Maine 04108     . cell 207.615.5722
	www.arthurfinkphoto.com  . af@...

	More dance images  www.f64gallery.com/arthur.html
                    www.arthurfinkphoto.com/BatesShow2007

I do photography as a hobby...with no real aspirations to make money.

So, I need to cheap things low cost.

Over the years I've managed to spend very little on my printers. My 
first was a 4 ink printer (Epson 875) that I pickup up for $75 with 
an internet coupon/rebate.

Next was an Epson 1280 6-ink unit...from the local retailer BestBuy. 
It was in the discount/refurbished/display model section and was 
$180, 50% the normal price.

My latest printer is the Epson R1800...which I got at significant 
discount from the Epson On-line store as a refurbished unit. There 
was also a rebate coupon in effect plus I had $45 to spend at Epson 
from the settlement of the Class Action lawsuit on ink cartridges.

I used to run a Continous Ink System in my old 875 before retiring it 
and now have another CIS in the 180, both had the MIS UT-2 inkset (1 
set of 4oz bottles after 3 years and still more than 1/4 left). 

Overall, this has been a very economical process for me. There are 
ways to save lots of money and still get good equipement. Don't be 
afraid of used/refurbished stuff...most problems can be put right 
with some good cleaning out.

Mike. 


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ritayan_mitra" 
<ritayan_mitra@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>     I am a graduate student and am interested in photography. 
Although I am pretty much an 
> amateur (www.flickr.com/photos/copyright-to-a-moment/).  I dream of 
having my solo 
> black and white exhibition someday.  For that I need to get started 
on printing stuff out and 
> although I see a lot of advice on this site they are a little 
expensive for me right now [sigh].  I 
> was wondering if any of you could guide me with a list of 
technique/printer/ink/paper which 
> is low cost and yet presentable. Please do not ignore this as 
someone looking for a quick fix 
> because I have been wondering about this for a long time now but 
the epson printers and ink 

> are too expensive for me.  Any suggestion is welcome.  Thanks a lot.
> 
> Ritayan
>

Paul,

I've been following closely your recent writings here, on your
website, and in the current issue of Shutterbug. I know you didn't
write the Shutterbug article but it was basically about your process
with the R1800 and I am keenly interested in this approach.

Would it be possible to order a print from you to see the actual
outcome? Doesn't have to be 'high art', just a print that would show
the range of tones, on a paper that you feel gives a fair shake to
your process. I'd truly appreciate that!

The Shutterbug article also suggests MIS inks and the refillable Epson
carts, but that's rather iffy right now, as you well know, given the
recent ruling in Epson's favor.

Regards!

Paul

> http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/ <http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/>
> 
> How large you want to print is a major variable.  Letter size (8 x 10
> inches or A4) is cheaper.  The C88+, for example, appears to still be
> made.   (The 280 carts do not appear to be as easily obtained.)
> 
> At 13" a used printer makes sense.  The R1800 is top of my list now for
> B&W.
> 
> Above 13" gets expensive, but a used 7000 or 7500 would be the top of my
> list.  (I use a 7500.)
> 
> My write-ups include paper and workflow recommendations, and usually
> profiles.
> 
> Good luck with your B&W.
> 
> 
> 
> Paul
> 
> www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.PaulRoark.com>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please do not ignore this as someone looking for a quick fix
> > because I have been wondering about this for a long time now but the
> epson printers and ink
> > are too expensive for me. Any suggestion is welcome. Thanks a lot.
> >
> > Ritayan
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>