QTR-Quadtone RIP

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, Art Romano <aromanocpa@...> wrote:
>I am a new member that is just getting
> into black and white printing with my Epson R220, I am getting ready to buy
> some inks from inksupply.com and no sooner do I get there and now I need a
> rip program.
> 
>  
>  why wouldn't my
> photoshop elements do the job, and what is wrong with good old fashion
> tweeking and learning as you go along by making adjustments with the Epson
> printer and photoshop? 
> 

that route is doable especially if you are using an inkset designed to take advantage of the Epson print driver.  See Paul Roark's website and look for the inksets for the 220 especially the EZ black and white.  That said, many of the people who are willing to put more time into their prints than the average consumer opt for the most control over those prints they can get.  QTR is just another tool in their arsenal and for the nominal cost it is one of the most powerful available.  The ability to create soft proofing profiles for full size photoshop alone with QTR (I don't know if Elements has the ability to soft proof now as I haven't seen it since version 2.0) will pretty much pay for QTR  quite rapidly in paper savings alone.  

I knew a fellow many years ago who made absolutely beautiful prints on home sensitized albumen paper, home prepared albumen/glass negatives and an ancient 8x10 view camera.  His answer as to why he preferred that process was: I found the camera at a garage sale for ten bucks and eggs are cheap.

It's all about choices.