Sang Lee , Mar 27, 2010; 11:03 p.m.
I currently have Epson Stylus Photo 2200 and mostly use Epson Enhanced Matte and Premium Luster on the printer.
Most of time, I dont have too much of problem with accuracy and saturation of colors, however I miss those deep black and better contrast prints from semi gloss fiber-based prints from darkrooms. Also, I hate to see the marks of inks on home printed pictures both color and B&W. (you know those that you can see when you look at the prints from angled view? something that looks like reflection of light but they differ from dark to light areas?)
What is the best way to get the "old school darkroom fiber-based B&W" prints from home?
Thanks for your help!
Sang
Brian Ellis , Mar 28, 2010; 12:44 a.m.
Go to www.harrington.com, go to the bottom of the page, click on "QTR," and download it for free. If you like it and decide to keep it you pay $50. If you have any questions or problems in learning how to use it, which is actually pretty simple, post them here or at the QTR users group, which is http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/QuadtoneRIP/
I used QTR with a 2200 (and still use it with my 3800). I believe it will eliminate what from your description sounds like a bronzing or metamerism problem you're having. I don't know to what extent it will give you deeper blacks but it certainly can't hurt and may help. I printed darkroom black and white prints for many years on fiber base paper and I was happy with the results I got using QTR with my 2200 and several different papers, my favorite of which was Crane's Museo Silver Rag.
Sang Lee , Mar 28, 2010; 01:17 a.m.
Thanks Brian, I'll try that.
For the different kind of papers, how do I change the setting for the different types of papers besides Epson products? Is there any file that I can download and install to show on the printer's option?
Thanks,
Sang
Sang Lee , Mar 28, 2010; 01:37 a.m.
BTW, how does my 2200 compare to R2880 in terms of print quality? It seems like Epson has $200 rebate going on on that printer which brings the cost down to $499.
Thanks,
Sang
Roger Smith , Mar 28, 2010; 12:07 p.m.
The R2880 should do a substantially better job with black and white than the 2200. I believe the 2200 only has one gray ink and has issues with metamerism (shifting hues under different light sources) and bronzing (metallic shimmer when you view off-angle) on glossy papers.
If you are only interested in B&W you can convert it to a B&W only printer using a third party inkset, like the ones created by Paul Roark- paulroark.com. If you use QTR with the original inks it should come with some paper types built in- try a few to see which setting works with your paper.
Andrew Rodney 
, Mar 28, 2010; 01:13 p.m.
The 2880 is indeed much better for B&W.
Putting non Epson inks in an Epson is asking for trouble.
Roger Smith , Mar 28, 2010; 01:25 p.m.
Putting non Epson inks in an Epson is asking for trouble.
No disagreement but it depends on the inks. I have had a bad experience with MIS color inks clogging and banding with my R1800. I've also happily used the Paul Roark UTR2 inkset with my R220 for almost five years now and use MIS Eboni instead of Epson MK in my R1800 to save money (no problems there either).
There is a community of people using these approaches at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/
Sang Lee , Mar 28, 2010; 01:29 p.m.
Roger,
I actually did some reading through photo.net and some other sites as well, and it would cost me much less to try using
the QTR and MIS Eboni to print B&W. Although I will only be printing B&W, I could probably get decent color prints from
cheap mass printing outlets.
Do you know the bronzing and metamerism is caused by inks, print head or printer drivers?
Do you know the QTR + MIS Ebony would produce good quality prints on glossy or semi-glossy papers?
Andew,
Did you have bad experience using the third party inks on epson printers?
Thanks
Andrew Rodney , Mar 28, 2010; 01:42 p.m.
Andew, Did you have bad experience using the third party inks on epson printers?
I’ve had a number of clients that did yes. One fellow was able to purge the inks and replace them with the standard Epson inks without further damage to the printer. And the printer model/type is a factor too. The heads are getting smaller and smaller, making it more a possibility of head clogs and damage.
Roger Smith , Mar 28, 2010; 02:03 p.m.
Do you know the bronzing and metamerism is caused by inks,
I believe it is a property of the inks but can be reduced with smart software. Eboni is not intended for matte papers and would need to be sprayed down. I think UT7 would work fine with your 2200 on glossy papers- there's a full list of inksets here: http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/ You can also check out Jon Cone's inksets, too. The inkset used on the 1400 may also work with the 2200- I'd ask on the forum for recommendations.
The R220 has a 2.5pl head I believe (think R2400 is 3.5 and 2200 is 4pl ) and I have had no issues with MIS B&W inks with it. I did have issues with MIS color pigment inks (made by Image Specialists) with the 1.5pl R1800. There is a large community of sophisticated users of these specialty black and white inks and I wouldn't lump these products in with bargain basement color inks. They're not all created equal.
