New printer

<p>For the last three or four years I have been using an Epson 1200 to print black and white. I use black ink only to print as I found it impossible to obtain neutral shades using the colour inks.<br />I have been very happy with the results, my prints show rich blacks and a good range of tones. I have experimented with scans of bromide prints that I produced in the 70s and the prints that I have produced have compared favourably with the originals.<br />But, and a huge but, is that I find bands of "disruption" (I cannot think of a better term) in the texture of the print. I have realigned the heads, cleaned them, in fact done everything that my limited computer knowledge allows but cannot cure the problem.<br />It is probably a fault with the printer, it is very old. I was given it free some years ago so it owes me nothing.<br />What printer could I buy that will give me exhibition quality black and white prints?<br />I will have to buy it by mail order as I live in the Falkland Islands which is very remote and it is impossible for me to travel to look for myself.<br />I could spend up to £1000 but it would have to produce bloody fantistic results to justify that kind of expenditure. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.</p>

<p>Hi Norman-check out Epson's 2880-it may well be just what you want (I have one and really like its black and white results!). Happy printing. cb :-)</p>

<p>Ditto Mr. Becker's comments.</p>

<p>You might see if there is an Epson service adjustment utility available for your printer. I got one for my R1800 and was able to get rid of microbanding using it. Another possibility is to run two or three black channels and use QTR to drive your printer. This can hide faults in one channel (one note, the prints are likely to be on the warm side of neutral). I've done this with my R1800 as well and it worked okay (I don't like the roughness of black-only). A related option is to switch to a third party inkset available for your printer and run it until the printer dies. This is the cheapest approach by far. Read more about your choices at paulroark.com.</p>

<p>If you're willing to pay for a new printer and inks, and don't want the hassle of the above, I think an Epson 2880 or 3880 would suit your needs.</p>

<p>Roger, most of what you suggest is unintellible to me, I did say that I have limited computer knowledge. When you mention third party inkset do you mean inks other than Epson? That is what I now use, with identical results to the Epson inks, except I have no idea of the longevity. I will investigate the printers that you and Charles and Brad suggest;<br>

Thank you.</p>

<p>The two Epson printers mentioned above will give excellent B&W results. Besides price, one (2880) is 13" and uses pretty small cartridges, the while the other (3880)is 17" and uses substantially larger cartridges. The 3880 also mounts both Matte Black and Gloss Black making ink switching less costly. If you Goggle around, you should be able to find a few posts that talk about the economies of buying the 3800 (the one before the 3880) versus the smaller 2800 (pre 2880) because of the amount of ink that you are getting. The conclusion was that the larger, more expensive printer was actually cheaper in the long run, but a higher up front investment; this logic should hold for the two current models.</p>

<p>I just picked up a 3880 last week. Without getting into all of the same details you can read in a jillion reviews, let me just say: wowsa. It's wonderful.</p>

<p>There are some great deals (under $800USD) on refurbs of the 3800.. they come with a huge amount of ink. 3800 with OEM delivers superb, non-bronzed, air-dried-B&W gloss results with baryta papers ... readily equals/beats dedicated ink on matte (I've visually..no measurements...compared the OEM with the Epson driver to the work of a dozen different dedicated ink B&W photographer/printers). The 3800 is far better than earlier printers in hassle-free reliability. 3800 has no performance drawback unless you need to use roll paper (no roll paper accessory) or make very few prints (the large, pressurized carts may need to be replaced if not used within a couple of years.. speculation).</p>

 

<p>Thank you all for your suggestions, I think that the 2880 is the most suitable model for me bearing in mind my print volumes and not having a requirement for anything larger than A3.<br>

Norman</p>

<p>Well I've done it! I contacted the only computer dealer here to find the price of him bringing in a 2880 having noted the UK prices and to my surprise he had one in stock (2 actually) at a price lower than UK. So I bought it! I hope it's as good as you all say.<br>

Thank you all again for your input.</p>

<p>congratulations! I have no doubt that you will be very happy with it. regards, cb :-)</p>