Epson 1400 and Black Only print option

[elek_ludvigh]

Hi All,

 

I have done a search and have not been able to find out if the Epson 1400 can

be used in a black only mode. My 1280 has just died and I am looking for an

affordable replacement. All the reviews of the 1400 report that while it is

excellent with color, the results for B&W prints are not very good. My 1280

had a similar problem when I used all the inks, but produced excellent prints,

even better than I could get in my wet darkroom, when used in the black only

mode. More than half of what I print digitaly is B&W so very good performance

is needed in this area.

So, my questions are does the software that comes with the printer allow black

only printing, and if so are the results as good as with the 1280 in the black

only mode? I print almost exclusively on glossy paper.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Jay L.

[wildwoodgallery]

I've been happy with the b&w prints with my r1800. Try printing some b&w prints leaving your b&w pictures as RGB Color instead of Grayscale.

 

Rick

[danielleetaylor]

You don't say if you already own the 1400, or if you are planning on buying it.

 

I've been very happy with the R800 using QuadTone Rip and the standard Epson ink set on Heavyweight Matte paper. (QTR uses just the black ink.) However, I do not care for the results on glossy papers because there is no built in profile to use the glossy black and the gloss optimizer.

 

QTR does support numerous printers. I don't see the 1400 on the list, but perhaps you could pick a dye based printer that it does support. That should give you good results on glossy papers.

 

The other option is to start researching custom ink sets, used with or without QTR.

[delros]

i use the 1400, my self,and while it great for colour work,on b/w it is not so hot,however a close friend has been using the Epsom R with some real good b/w photo,having the two black inks,makes a really big deferents.

[robert watcher]

QUOTE "More than half of what I print digitaly is B&W so very good performance is needed in this area."

 

If that is the case, then the only printer that will not disappoint you is the Espon 2400. It makes stunning black and whites as a result of its 3 black inks. The 1800 and 1400 make adequate black and whites using black ink only, and slightly better B&W prints using the full color set. I use both the 2400 and 1400 interchangably for their strengths. It may also be that you don't mind the B&W prints from the 1400 - the only time they didn't look as good to me was when I was comparing ones I made using black ink only to B&W prints from my 2400 - and so I continue to use the 2400 for B&W prints. However for my wedding book page layouts where there are combinations of colour and black and white images on the same page, I am quite satisfied with the look as a result of having to use the full colour set for these prints.