images on screen and on paper

I've had a few large prints from my classics made by a custom printer,

but they are expensive and I never am quite satisfied with the

outcome. So, am about to get a new printer, probably some kind of

Epson, and a new PC, possibly a Dell OptiPlex GX620 with a gig of RAM.

I dread the process, but it seems necessary at this point. Will

appreciate any suggestions.

My suggestion is to shop carefully for the monitor. Most LCD monitors are not really up to the task of good photo editing because they lack shadow detail and have contrast that varies upon viewing angle.

 

I use a high-end CRT, which nobody understands until they look at it!

I'm happy with my Epson 1280 which can print 13x19 max. The newer Epson 2200 seems to be a better printer, but it's also more expensive. If you want to print with size larger than 13x19, then the latter may be a good choice.

Mike, I've recently read some interesting news in the specialized press regarding that subject. There is a French workshop that has specialized in high-end ink prints (both color and B&W) and particularly using the piezography technique for B&W ink prints (a kind of ink made with coal pigments). Some domestic ink kits already exist for the Epson 9000 printers series. I know you won't be to deal with my fellow citizen because of the distance but on his website he tells what the piezography process is.<p><a href=http://www.fine-art-prod.com/>Atelier Fine Art, Yvon Haze</a>

Hi M. Kovaks

 

Have you a Barco monitor?

Mike, a pity you can't just come by my father's house and look at his Sony black LCD 17" LCD screen, you would change your mind in less time I need to write this !!!

 

He gave me his former Sony 15" LCD screen which is far better than any CRT I've ever seen, too - even if it's copper while his new one is gold...

Mike C. (for whom my first post was) and Mike K. : it's this screen :

 

Sony black LCD 17" SDM-HS74P<div></div>

You need a good monitor, a monitor calibrator, an ICM calibrated workflow. But you don't really need a printer, you can use online services that will print to RA-4 paper, like www.mpix.com. Or any of the Fuji Frontier machines that have ICM profiles courtesy of Dry Creek Photo.

 

Also, if you have a 1.5 GHz or faster PC, you don't need a new one, just more RAM. Current speeds are what is needed for video editing, but they aren't needed for still picture editing.

 

Have a good long browse through the Digital Darkroom forum here.

 

Consider Digital Light & Color's Picture Window Pro before you plunk down a large fortune on Photoshop.

Mike:

 

Seriously consider an Apple product. I have a Dell and while happy with it, I have used Apples and think their color management (which will become your ball and/or chain when you get into printing your own) is far superior to anything PC. If you already have Photoshop, call their customer service re: a platform "upgrade" which will allow you to use your license on an Apple version. This is supposed to be still available but not advertised at all.

 

I recommend the Apple 20" IMac having used one and really liking it a lot. In the next year, I will buy this computer for home and a 12" IBook for travel, and toss all my PC stuff. All peripherals should switch over unless you have some really old stuff. Many of the internal hard drives used in PC's can be put into external housings and connected to an Apple by USB or Firewire, giving you extra storage and easy file transfer to the new computer.

 

PC programs all have Apple doppelgangers now too, so you should be able to switch over accounting stuff etc. pretty easily.

 

As you can see, I have been selling myself here.

 

Get a Colorsync spyder monitor calibrator. Your monitor is only as good as the last time you calibrated it. Like I said, ball and/or chain.

 

Look seriously at the Epson R2400 printer, which is the new version of the 2200. Better inks, much better monochrome printing, new cart (where you put the inks) set up that eliminates the need to switch inks in and out of the cart whenever you change from glossy to matte paper, and even finer detail & transitions. I have a 2200, which is terrific, but this 2400 is getting very close to what the super-size studio printers do.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I thought about just adding some RAM, but my PC is about 5 years old and was not state of the art at the time I acquired it. I'd like to continue using my Photoshop 7.0, but don't know if that version will run under Windows XP?

PhotoShop 7.0 run in windows xp.

I recently upgraded everything, and have been extremely pleased. For the best bang for the buck, consider an Athlon64 processor. Gateway sells a nice system through Circuit City that uses a 3500+ (model 827GM). You want the upper level Athlon64 series that lives in the 939 socket, giving you a nice upgrade path in the future. Memory should be a dual channel system- only buy identical pairs to keep it working that way. I.e., add two 512M DDRs, not a single 1G. Many graphic systems steal system memory, so add 1G for a total of 1.5G. When everything is loaded, that'll leave you with a full 1G to play with. This system manipulates large files with ease. If you don't want to spend the bucks for Photoshop, consider the latest Paint Shop Pro version 9.0- does everything I'll ever need. Finally, don't rule out the newer HP printers. The Vivera inks are archival and the print quality is second to none. Cost is fairly high if you're doing a large number of prints, but each cartridge has a new print head, so there's no degradation during the life of the printer. They also have an excellent photo grey cartridge. This has proved to be an excellent amateur system, though I'd go a different and much more expensive route if I were printing professionally and in volume.

Try a Macmini -- you can get whatever size and price LCD screen you want, the cpu is tiny

and very quiet, fast, and I'm running mine with 512MB RAM on OS X, without a hitch.

Software isn't the issue anymore, as so many packages are the ame, and with Apple's

iPhoto -- you may find that it fits most of your needs. I love mine -- it replaced my aged

366 MHz Beige G3 tower, and takes up as much space on my desk as a stack of CD jewel

cases. Color and priunt management of Macs is far superior to the Windows system,

which is why so many graphics people use them, not because they want cool-looking

computers.

I purchased my first Mac iMac G5 in March and have not looked back. The monitor is great and the bundled software very good.

80286 with DOS 3.5. Green text monitor and a 40MEG HD.

There's a long study on Lyson inks, and Epson printers, here: http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/Lyson.htm<p>

I'd be interested to hear what you eventually choose - in six months I'll probably be doing the same research.

Hey, Gene, I think you may be on the right track. I actually have a 286 that serves as my Internet gateway/firewall; runs a floppy disk Linux. Not sure where I mind find the green monitor, though.

Gene is high tech.

A 8086 680k floppy 5 1/4 with CP/M aka XT.

Mike

 

If you want to do B+W and colour without messing around too much, and without worrying about heads clogging, consider one of the HP printers - 7960 8750 (?). I've got the 7660, and it "just works". Nice colour prints, and the best B+W I've seen off an inkjet (without spending mega bucks).

 

The ink cartridges aren't the cheapest, but you never waste any. Great if you don't print every day - sometimes mine has sat for a couple of months and it still prints perfectly.

 

As for the computer, make sure you get plenty of RAM - I'd go for 2GB.

 

Paul

I wonder if John Shriver's suggestion might be the best -- go for a good computer/monitor and make sure everything is calibrated. Then send to some place like Mpix for printing. As long as the monitor is calibrated and use the right printer profiles and all that jazz, it should come out looking like it did on your monitor.

 

It just seems like dealing with all of the ink and paper would be 1) a much bigger expense than sending out for the actual printing and more importantly 2) a big-ass hassle of keeping your printer maintained (print heads cleaned etc.). There are just so many different options and opinions when it comes to the various inkjet printers and ink sets and paper types, it all makes my head spin!

 

The one thing you didn't mention is...how are you scanning? I think you have one of the newer Epson flatbeds right? I bet that would be fine for average prints, and could always pay a few bucks for the occasional higher-end scan for prints when you wanna go BIG.

MIKE - I've got a green text monitor in my cellar. I'd give it to you at no cost, my brother.

I thought yours might be AMBUH. (in my finest MA accent)

I use an old 175mhz Pentium with only 48 meg of Ram. I'm able to edit and print grainless 11x14 using Corel Photo Paint 6.0. Its a bit slow with 11x14 scans which run about 25 meg, 10x8's are a lot faster. I use a 14in monitor. I must upgrade one of these days... My printer is an Epson Stylus Photo EX - also an oldie.

I have two scanners. For MF I use an Epson 2450 flatbed with Silverfast. My 35mm is scanned with a Dimage Scan Dual IV. My current printer is an Epson 960. It all works pretty well unless I try to scan at maximum resolution, and then things get really slow. I'd like to be able to make some 13x19 prints, and I'm not patient enough to deal with someone else in that process. A whole 'nother thing is getting the results into a mat and frame; haven't really figured that out yet.

Mike, I don't know all the particulars of your situation, but I suggest completely filling all the memory banks on your present PC before doing anything rash. I have witnessed some true life horror stories in terms of efficiency on new computers running XP: too many processes and too little control at the UI over resources.