Best Value Printer Primarily For Mono Printing

[sean_mulholland]

Hi,

 

I recently read the following in a thread back from 2004:

 

"Best inkjet printer for black and white ?

 

Gustavo Ariel Schurman , Jun 22, 2004; 01:56 p.m.

I'm planning to buy a printer that can print up to 13x19, I believe options are between epson 2200 or canon

i9900, I mostly print black and white in ilford gallerie pearl paper.

what are your recommendations, experiences ? thanks !

gustavo.

 

Answers

Bob Michaels [subscriber] , Jun 22, 2004; 05:28 p.m.

 

Epson 1280, without a question. The prints look the same as a 2200 (I have about 50 of each from others and a ton

of my own. Even experts have printed the same file on both printers and tell no difference), no need for RIP or

any special software, and about 60% the price. They use the same b&w pigment inks as a 2200. Same paper. And it

prints 13x19. Oh, the carts are easier to refill and CFS units are cheaper.

The only reason to buy a 2200 or 9900 would be if you must pay more money and suffer some inconveniences to feel

that you have the "latest" even if there is no difference in print quality.

None of them print b&w well with the manufacturers color inks. I swear by the MIS b&w inks www.inksupply.com

Save the money on the printer. Spend it on film, ink and paper. You'll have better prints.

Bob Michaels [subscriber] , Jun 22, 2004; 05:39 p.m."

 

My Question is this: Is there an equivalent current economic alternative such as the Epson 1280 using MIS B&W

inks or do I need to bite the bullet and shell out for the Epson 2400 to get quality monochrome prints?

 

Thanks Sean

[edelson1]

The 2400 is being replaced by the new 2880. The 2880 is a superb 13" B&W printer, and uses 3 "colors' of pigmented black ink (photo or matte black, light black, and light, light black). Now, as far as "best value" or economic alternative", the 2880 is expensive, but does deliver the goods. You can likely find a 2400 still in stock significantly marked down.

 

You can certainly look into something like an Epson 1400 printer (Claria dye based unit) and see who would carry a compatible B&W CIS to fit, which would give you an inexpensive solution still able to handle 13". I cannot, however give you any feedback on a replacement ink source as I never went down that path after kicking the idea around. I'm certain another member can give you some feedback on the conversion of a 1400 for dedicated B&W. The 1400, relying on its OEM dyes for B&W printing will give you pretty tepid results. The single black ink of a 6 ink system made it very hard, at least for me, although it could be done with some effort. The use of the popular QuadTone RIP shareware program can be very helpful if want to pursue that type of solution. Still, it's not the same as the Epson 2880's "9" ink (only holding 8 cartridges so you'll be swapping the matte and photo black cartridges if you frequently change paper surfaces) system in combination with Epson's advanced B&W driver. The quality is absolutely stunning on good paper. And it still provides excellent color output, with a somewhat wider gamut than the preceding 2400.

 

It comes down to your budget and what quality of print you intend to achieve. You may want to look at the Canon and HP solutions that are more affordable than the 2880, but for me, the Epson was worth the extra cost.

 

Henry

 

Henry

[roger_smith4]

To see the latest in third party monochrome inks from MIS go to paulroark.com. The 1280 and 2200 have long been surpassed. If you want to do it on the cheap read his writing about the versatile Epson 1400. For matte papers only the R1800 has a reasonable workflow.

 

To be able to do color and B&W stick to the Epson 2400, 2880, 3800, and up or HP or Canon equivalents.

[godfrey]

I print, largely B&W work, with an Epson R2400. I worked with prior Epson dye-ink printers, with and without quadtone inks,

with and without RIPs, etc etc. Nothing works as consistently, as conveniently, or as reliably for excellent B&W work as

this printer. I've made thousands of prints with it since October 2005.

 

My only regret is that the R3800 came out four months after I bought the R2400. That would have saved me a lot on ink

costs, and given me access to 17x22 inch cut sheet as well.

 

The best value printer for B&W printing? A refurbished R2400 printer from Epson, or a refurbished R3800 printer from Epson

depending on how much volume you intend and how big you want to print.

 

(My other printer, mostly for general office stuff, is an HP 7960. Fed HP's expensive Premium Glossy paper, and fitted

with the grayscale ink cartridge, it produce very nice B&W glossy prints up to 8.5x11 inch that look a lot like the old

Kodabromide F Glossy paper in grade 3 that I used to print on in the darkroom ... but I'm dating myself. ;-)

 

Godfrey

[jim_kauppila1]

Sean,

 

I recently purchased an Epson 1400 with the Eboni-6 cartridges by Paul Roark at MIS. I also bought 4 oz. bottles

of ink for refilling the cartridges. I'm very pleased with this setup and am enjoying black and white printing

again. I suggest you consider this setup as an affordable, yet high performance black and white option.

 

I'm using the Epson driver set to Color Controls and 2.2 gamma with very good results.

 

By the way, Paul Roark has been very responsive to my multitude of newcomer questions. Great customer service

from Paul.

[jimsimmons]

I use a refurbished Epson R2400 (bought from Epson; works flawlessly) and the MIS K4 inks for both colour and B&W. I use custom profiles made for me by a local supplier. My costs are low and the results are excellent. I've put prints made from this printer (on a variety of papers) in a window directly receiving full sunlight for months and the only change in the image is due to the slight yellowing of the papers with optical brighteners. The MIS inks have held their colour and density very well. It costs me less than a dollar to refill a cartridge. The paper profile also results in a neutral B&W image.