QTR-Quadtone RIP

A BW newbie's $.02:

I got the bug to work with QTR and try and learn to do some decent BW.
The "1-point type" demo on the Cone site grabbed my attention. I've
known of their great reputation, and when I saw the rave reviews on
the Epson 1400 and the Piezography inks, I jumped in, and have started
off with the InkjetMall CIS, the Special Edition Ink set, and a 1400.

I had some initial issues getting the hoses to lay correctly - mostly
my fault, but the docs that came with it where not super clear on how
to dress them. Dana at IJM was MOST helpful in getting me
"straightened out" (as it were), and that issue is done. While, for my
low volume, a CIS was prob not necessary, it is working fine and I can
print away and not fret over the cost of ink. Overall the CIS is
working just fine.

However, there is one modest fly in the ointment: Paper. Or the cost
therein. It seems most of the 'plug-n-play' QTR profiles supplied with
Piezography inks are for the pricier fine art papers. I do believe a
profile for Epson Enhanced Matte is provided, which does give a
slightly lower cost starting point. But to get to the Real Deal, it
appears you have to use the Real Papers!   :-)

So the point of all this rambling is: That while the IJM CIS works
pretty good, and WILL save $$ on ink, be prepared for a big paper
bill. You're gonna burn a lot of it on the way to those prints that
you may be dreaming about.

=Alan R.



--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "djon43" <djon43@...> wrote:
>
> We've just seen lots of chatter about CIS but I don't think anybody
> said they'd used or even heard of a genuinely good one.
> 
> Is any CIS worth the effort? Which one? Ink and my time are both
> expensive: it  seems a mistake to try to save $100 by buying a
> mediocre CIS.
> 
> Any direct experience with Cone's CIS? Looks well done and Cone writes
> surprisingly intelligently for a technical person.
> 
> What about the MIS CIS? MIS proved incapable of cartridge quality
> control, so I'm hesitant to buy that CIS...but I do want to use Eboni.
> Any hands-on experience with that CIS?
>