Help needed for picking up a Printer..

[Andrew ren]

Yes, It's time for a Printer.

HP Designjet 130 or Epson 3800?
I did some research, I am about to print b/w only. the first batch will be 17 in x 17 in, and 14.5 in x 20 in. I have been using a light-jet machine in local Lab. But as the volume is going up, now I am think to buy myself a printer.

Which paper I should started? I print on matte normally. I want quality papers, but not those Hahnemuhles. as I don't think I waste them on my trail out. how about the "Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Flat Matte Bright White Inkjet Paper"? is it a good starter?

Do I need the QTR from scratch? or the Epson b/w driver will work just fine?

Thanks

Andrew

[Stephen Best]

HP Designjet 130 or Epson 3800?


Epson 3800. Paper choice is a personal matter and there are plenty to try. Learn to use ABW until you exhaust its possibilities. The following is a fabulous resource for anyone with a 3800:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/index.html

[Andrew ren]

Thanks Stephen.

for the QTR, almost all my photos been toned in ps to a warm/sepia alike. do I still need to use the QTR, and if I choice none of them, (curve 1/2/3), then there will be a warning says this will lead to unpredictable results? would it be easier pre-tuned in ps and just print via ABW driver built in the 3800?

it better printing in tiff or jpeg?

Thanks

andrew

[Brian Ellis]

If everything else is equal I don't think the printer cares whether the files are tiff or jpg. But of course there are many other considerations in deciding whether to edit and save files in tiff or jpg. FWIW (not much), I don't do anything in jpg.

I've been using Moab Entrada Natural and Moab Entrada Bright White matte papers for years (now sold under the Legion name since Legion acquired Moab but the papers are the same). They're very nice papers, relatively inexpensive (relative to Hahnemuhle for example). Apart from the paper quality, I like the fact that they can be printed on both sides, which is kind of nice if you're proofing.

I've also been using QTR since it first became available, initially with an Epson 2200, now with the 3800. I tried Advanced B&W with the 3800 twice, once it was fine, the other time I couldn't get the print to look like I wanted it to look. Probably just my lack of experience. But I think QTR is a fantastic product for $50, plus it gives you almost infinite toning possibilities. I'm not sure to what extent you can tone when using Advanced B&W, hopefully someone else can tell you.

I'd buy the Epson rather than the HP. Epson has been in the higher-end photography printer business for a long time, HP is a newcomer to that market. I've owned four Epson printers and all have been excellent, no clogs, no lines in the print, no problems. If you're inclined to buy the HP I'd first search the Yahoo digital b&w print forum and see what you can find about their customer service. Seems to me I've read a fair number of complaints there. Also, if you want to ask questions on line you're going to find probably 100 or more Epson users out there for every HP user. Just my uneducated opinion of course, I've never owned an HP for anything except office document stuff and it was fine for that.

[Andrew ren]

Thanks for these tips, Brian.

I will go for a 3800 for sure , actually I ordered one already, will pick it up after work this afternoon.

The one problem for me that confusing me, well, just for now, is, as I already got what I want in PS, I mean warm/sepia toned with filters built in cs3. do I still need to adjust those curves in QTR? or I don't need to tone them in cs3 at all, just adjust curves in QTR to get what I want?
I will try different papers to see.

Thanks

Andrew

[PenGun]

After looking hard at this I decided the HP Z3100 was the right choice. Several fairly trustworthy people do like it's output and I can have a 24" in Canada for $1500 or $2000 for the ps GP version. It may be a better B&W printer than the Epson but there is much uncertainty about that. It is 7" wider and 24x30 is possible.

The opinion seems to be that it's quite difficult to tell the HP print from the Epson print on these machines.

[Stephen Best]

for the QTR, almost all my photos been toned in ps to a warm/sepia alike. do I still need to use the QTR, and if I choice none of them, (curve 1/2/3), then there will be a warning says this will lead to unpredictable results? would it be easier pre-tuned in ps and just print via ABW driver built in the 3800?

If they're already toned to how you want, just print them in RGB mode. ABW however uses a desaturated mix for printing which can result in less metamerism and better shadow detail and Dmax. RGB mode and profiles are generally optimized for gamut.

In my experience, it's easier to get a linear progression in tone from paper white to neutral black with ABW than it is with QTR. QTR though has lots of knobs and if you've got a spectro you may be able to come up with settings that give you exactly the look you're after. Just take your time to learn what the printer can and can't do, what a particular paper is good for and how to get the best from it etc.

[Andrew ren]

Thanks guys.

got the 3800 on my bench now, and two boxes of 17x22 and 8.5x11 Ultra premium presentation matte paper. Need a steep learning curve ahead!

Andrew

[Donald Miller]

Thanks Stephen.

for the QTR, almost all my photos been toned in ps to a warm/sepia alike. do I still need to use the QTR, and if I choice none of them, (curve 1/2/3), then there will be a warning says this will lead to unpredictable results? would it be easier pre-tuned in ps and just print via ABW driver built in the 3800?

it better printing in tiff or jpeg?

Thanks

andrew

QTR will only work with Tiff

[Andrew ren]

Thanks Donald.

Andrew

[Andrew ren]

had couple test run during the weekend.

question: the actual print come out is a touch less dark detail, I use srgb mode print in color, as all my files been pre-toned. anyone tried print in adobe rgb mode? I think the srgb is more contrasty. will have another test later today.


Andrew