Ink cost for switching to B&W

<p >Hi All,</p>

<p >There was a post two weeks ago: “Calculating Average Ink Cost”<br /></p>

<p >I was wondering, did anyone calculate how much the total cost in ink to switch between the B&W and the color mode and back on an Epson 3800?<br /></p>

<p >Thanks,</p>

<p >GS</p>

<p>It's my understanding that you are not physically switching inks in this case- Advanced Black and White just uses fewer color inks than normal. The ink switching comes in when switching from matte to photo black.</p>

<p>that is my understanding as well (I have the 2880). cb :-)</p>

<p>$0. There's no switching going on, just processing the image and laying the ink down differently.</p>

<p>Hi Colin-yes (at least that is the way I understand it). cb</p>

<p>I've found the following on the inkjetart website about the 4800 that was actually wasting about $40.00 worth of ink during the switch.<br>

<a href="http://www.inkjetart.com/epson_3800_pro/index.html">http://www.inkjetart.com/epson_3800_pro/index.html</a><br /><em>Through some impressive plumbing this switch only uses up a limited amount of ink (the 4800, </em><a href="http://www.inkjetart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=400"><em>in our own tests</em></a><em>, used up $40.73 of ink, 93.4ml, each time you switch ink). Switching from photo to matte uses ~1.5ml and takes roughly 2 minutes. Going from matte to photo uses ~4.5ml and takes about 3 minutes. The entire process is automatic and you may not even notice it's happening.</em><br>

It seems like that the 3800 only uses up 1.5 ml x 4.5 ml = 6 ml total round trip.<br />What I’d like to now what are your experiences with the 3800? Is this 6 ml estimate correct?</p>

<p>depending on the paper you use, you may not even switch blacks.</p>

<p>http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/abwprofiles.html</p>

<p>As Howard says, it's not a question of switching from B&W to color mode, but a question of switching between the two different "kinds" of black ink, MK or PK because you've changed your paper type.</p>

<ul>

<li>MK - matte black is a "sooty" ink that can produce dense blacks (DMAX from 1.4 to 1.8, depending on paper) on "matte" papers like "enhanced matte", "photo rag", "watercolor radient white", "velvet fine art", "german etching", or "harmon fiber". It cannot be used on a glossy paper, because the "sooty" consistency will make the ink rub off the paper.</li>

<li>PK - photo black is a "lacquer" like ink that produces super dense blacks (DMAX 1.9 to 2.4 depending on the paper) on "glossy" papers like "premium glossy", "luster", "smooth pearl", "high gloss white film", etc. It can be used on matte papers, but will reduce DMAX by about 0.4 from whatever PK would produce on that paper, so you only get densities of about 1.0-1.4. The prints will have a very "pastel" look to them, shadows are more gray than black.</li>

</ul>

<p>So, you could run a bunch of color prints on luster, then run B&W on premium glossy or fiber, without having to switch the black.</p>

<p>my guest is you want the best result.. right?<br /> I would go for a dedicated B&W printer, if you can afford it<br /> a dedicated B&W printer is just for B&W, no color contamination...<br>

other than that... a darkroom<br>

good luck</p>

<p>theres no siwthcinh bw to color..you are talking about how much it cost to switch from matte black to photo black.</p>

<p>the answer is one side cost you 4ml, the other cost you 2ml (dont recall witch one is witch) so see how your black ink cost, you have a 80ml to divide that cost with, then you will know how much it cost (around .80$CAN per ml)</p>

<p>Oh, and Dan, this comment come from someone who dont have a lot of experience with epson BW printing i assume, because using the advanced BW mode no color is involve, and you get a perfect out of the box neutral BW. Dedicating a epson 2400 and up model is a non sense, dedicating a epson 1280 or a 2200 make more sense for sure.</p>

<p >Yippee,<br />Now I can try the advanced B&W. I was afraid of the ink loss, but my fears were dispelled.<br />Thanks,<br />GS</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Oh, and Dan, this comment come from someone who dont have a lot of experience with epson BW printing i assume, because using the advanced BW mode no color is involve, and you get a perfect out of the box neutral BW.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Actually, if you look at AWB prints under high magnification, you'll see that they really do use color inks in addition to the three dilutions of black. They just don't use as much color as they used to use with the older printers like the 2200.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Dedicating a epson 2400 and up model is a non sense</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Actually, it's an amazing way to get some incredible resolts. Smaller dot size than the 2200, one more ink position, the results from a 2400 dedicated to B&W are truly remarkable.</p>

<p>OK i stand corrected.. i rarely look at a print with a microscope ; )</p>