[Leica] Replacement printer - off list

[dlr at dlridings.se (Daniel Ridings)]

Sorry David,

I've written 3 rather longish replies ... off list, but none of them are 
getting through. Your mailserver is timing out.

Daniel


David Rodgers wrote:
> Daniel,
> 
> I was glad to read your post. I've struggled to find a good a bw print
> solution for a while. But I just purchased a refurbished R800 from
> Epson. Like you, I'm going to buy a set of K7 inks and QTR. 
> 
> I gave serious thought to larger printers, like the 2200, 2400, 3800 and
> R1800. But cost and/or footprint were issues. I thought about the new
> HP, but I didn't want to be locked into their expensive inks.
> 
> I decided that a letter sized printer is the way to go. I considered the
> C86/C88 and MIS EZ, and several other printers. But I finally decided on
> the R800. It looks solid. 
> 
> I'm not real familiar with the K7 inks. I've only read good things about
> QTR and Harrington. The only reason I haven't ordered the inks is that I
> can't decide which tone. I think I'm going Neutral. I prefer slightly
> warm, but not overly warm prints. I understand you can change tone
> somewhat by changing papers. 
> 
> I'm one of the early Piezography users. I bought the software and inks
> from Cone early on. I had good luck with the inks and the Piezo driver.
> I used  an Epson 3000 that was also a refurb. That printer never had the
> slightest hickup. Not even a clog. It was a workhorse, and still is, but
> showing it's age. My only complaint about the 3000 is that it won't feed
> thicker papers. That was a known flaw. 
> 
> I went through growing pains with Piezography. It ended up costing more
> than I anticipated, and it was expensive to start with. I had photos
> turn greenish. Eventually I got inks that behaved. I printed many images
> with the original inks on Somerset Enhanced Velvet paper. I did custom
> printing for a portrait photographer, who is also a friend until it got
> to be too much work. I liked the fact that I could print forever without
> swapping carts. I was so spoiled that I bought an MIS CFS on an Epson
> 1200, which I used for color. That, OTOH, was a disaster.
> 
> People complained that the early Piezo inks were too warm. Yet that's
> why I liked them. When Cone switched to PiezoTone inks I stuck with the
> originals. They were sold by another vendor and renamed Sundance. 
> 
> I felt that Cone changed things too often and it always ended up costing
> his customers something. I sort of held that against Inkjetmall. OTOH, I
> think he's done a lot to pioneer bw inkjet printing. And his stuff is
> good.
> 
> Change -- such as when a printer breaks down and you need to replace it
> or you're forced to change inks or paper due to supply -- is
> frustrating. I don't mind spending time learning something new and doing
> some setup. But ultimately I want reliability and consistency when I
> push the print button. And I don't want to set things up over and over. 
> 
> I mention all this because I'll be anxious to hear about your experience
> with the K7 inks. Which tone did you buy? I'll let you know what I
> experience, as well. We just moved into a new house and I just set up my
> office last weekend. I hope to be printing quite a bit. I've got quite a
> backlog. Probably a couple of weeks before I can get everything set up,
> though. 
> 
> Thanks again for your post.
> 
> Dave
>    
>  
> 
> You wrote:
> 
> A follow-up.
> 
> Beside my Epson Stylus C86 I have an Epson Stylus Photo R800. The latter
> 
> one has been dedicated to color because when I bought it, there was no 
> way to get 5 decent b/w photographs out of it that could be hung side by
> 
> side and look like they had been printed according to the same 
> specifications. Color casts all over the playing field.
> 
> Since then Quadtone RIP has been implemented for the R800. So I 
> downloaded it. You can test it for free and pay $50 if you want to be 
> honest and want to keep using it. I haven't decided yet.
> 
> http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRoverview.html
> 
> Quadtone RIP has been implemented for two sets of inks: Epson's original
> 
>   Ultrachome and Piezography Neutral K7 Inks.
> 
> http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRpiezobw.html
> 
> I don't have the latter inks (yet, they are on the way), so I tested the
> 
> Epson Ultrachrome inks.
> 
> Long story short: if you set Quadtone RIP to "better" printing rather 
> than "faster" you can get prints that are very close in quality to the 
> MIS Associates Ultratone EZ for the C86. I would say the C86 still has 
> the edge, but you would only be able to say that in a side by side 
> comparison. There is a bit more snap to the MIS/C86 print.
> 
> On the other hand, you can print from cold to neutral and warm (sepia) 
> with Quadtone RIP. With the MIS/C86 setup, you have to chose your inks 
> (warm or neutral) and live with it.
> 
> I've ordered the K7 inks from http://www.inkjetmall.com
> 
> If you want to do that and live in Europe, definitely contact them 
> rather than just ordering through the web page. The web page will stick 
> you with $90 postage for 8 cartridges when they can be mailed for about 
> $12 with the standard airmail from the post office rather than the 
> outright rip off from UPS.
> 
> Daniel
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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