I have been driving myself crazy trying to determine the what printer I want to get next. One factor is the B&W. I started to wonder if it might not just be easier to have a printer to just do B&W and another for color. ( really not that much more than a lens ) Especially if I could find one relatively low cost. What would you consider a great printer for just BW. Thanks in advance for your responses.
But the 3800 automatically switches between the matte and photo black cartridges. The 2400 doesn't. I had an 1800 and it doesn't compare to the 3800 one bit.
The 3800 will be cheaper in the long run because the ink savings without having to manually switch out like the 2400 and the fact they are larger means you save a bit in upfront cartridge costs.
I really like the BW prints from my new 3800, using just the canned Epson profile and followed Eric Chan's excellent instructions. I used the ABW mode to print on matte paper and I can get more neutral tone than from my 2400.
If the 13x19 size is all you need, and exquisite B&W is what you want, then find an Epson R1800, a CIS system (from MediaStreet) and a set of Piezography Neutral K7 inks, and QTR (Quad tone rip) software. You will be amazed at the result.
I've run the Piezography K7 inks through Epson 4000/4800 printers and through the R1800, and the R1800 produces a better result (it can print finer). You will not be sorry.
I agree. A dedicated black inkset like Lotus recommends will net amazing B&W results. If you are only going to print B&W, this is the route I would investigate.
Otherwise, its the 3800. I think the 3800 has the best balance of upfront cost and operating expense over its life cycle. The K3 inset does an good job with B&W output.
I've had nothing but success with MediaStreet products. Good customer service as well. CIS systems can be finicky, but they have certainly improved over the last year or so. The current generation Media Street unit is not only well-priced, but is quite reliable and easy to install. I am using one on the R1800 with color inks. I can offer one bit of guidance. Follow the installation instructions carefully and explicitly. If you run into a problem, contact Media Street and they can set you right. With the B&W inksets, like the K7, a CIS is advised as the cartridges really get expensive. As you see the results you'll want to do a lot of printing.
You can, however, choose another CIS unit, but beware of some of the items on ebaY and some of the fly-by-night sellers on the internet. There is some real crap out there.
andylaiphoto wrote:
I've had two strike outs with media street products.
Educate yourself about the legal fiasco involving Epson & Cone Systems' Neutral K7 Piezography ink carts for the R1800 before you proceed with that route. I set up a K7 Epson 2200 very recently, and I'm disappointed to learn that I can no longer buy the K7 carts for any Epson printer, so my investment is already obsolete. I'm a bit ticked that I paid Cone Systems $150 for custom K7 profiles only days before Cone notified their customers that the ink carts were going away. There will be, though, the ability to use bulk-delivery systems for the K7 inks. The bulk systems are much more practical for high volume B&W printing anyway for a 2200 or 1800, but you need cover the startup cost...
John Caldwell wrote:
Educate yourself about the legal fiasco involving Epson & Cone Systems' Neutral K7 Piezography ink carts for the R1800 before you proceed with that route.
The legal fiasco was not specifically against Cone, but against 24 different third-party makers/sellers of Epson compatible cartridges. MIS, Cone, Staples, etc. are all affected. From what I understand it the ruling doesn't apply to the larger format printers (4800/7800/9800).
Lotusm50 wrote:
The legal fiasco was not specifically against Cone, but against 24 different third-party makers/sellers of Epson compatible cartridges. MIS, Cone, Staples, etc. are all affected.
Yes, that's how I understand it as well and I did not mean to imply that Cone Systems had been found uniquely at fault in the court's eyes.
William Wilson wrote:
Depends on your budget I would recommend either the Epson 1800 or the 2400 running through QTR (Quad tone rip) possibly with all black inksets.
paparazzinick wrote:
Where can I get all black inks that are good?
thanks
Given the court's decision to award Epson damages over 3rd party carts that fit inside Epson desktop printers, I don't know that you can find 3rd party grayscale inks much longer. You'll need a bulk-delivery system to dispense those 3rd party black inks to those printers (or fill small carts yourself}, as I understand it.
John Caldwell wrote:
Given the court's decision to award Epson damages over 3rd party carts that fit inside Epson desktop printers, I don't know that you can find 3rd party grayscale inks much longer. You'll need a bulk-delivery system to dispense those 3rd party black inks to those printers (or fill small carts yourself}, as I understand it.
damn.... well do you know where I can get those? haha
