I am planning on buying an Epson 9800 wide-jet printer and was hoping I could get a little advice from the esteemed members of this forum. I am a color photographer (www.benmarcinphotos.com) and use a 4x5" Ikeda field camera, as well as a Hasselblad, to take my photos. In the past, I did my own cibachrome (now Ilfochrome) printing using a Jobo processor. However, for a number of reasons, I've decided to go the digital route for printing. These include extreme difficulty in finding the Ilfochrome chemistry these days and a desire to print beyond 20x24". I would also need to purchase a new enlarger that can handle 4x5" negatives. I have had some of my Ektachromes printed on an Epson 9600 with superb results - except for the bronzing in the black areas which, if I understand correctly, has been somewhat corrected in the 9800 series.
Here are a couple of questions regarding the 9800.
1. I imagine the 9800 works best when operated regularly throughout the day. Unfortunately, I have a regular day job and, although I consider myself a serious photographer, I would probably go through some periods of inactivity between printing sessions. Can anyone tell me if they've had any problems with their 7800/9800s if they've gone unused for 2-3 weeks at a time?
2. I've seen some sites on the web that advertise a pro bundle for $5995 that includes an unspecified postscript RIP. Is this worth the extra thousand or would I be better off with the ColorByte rip I keep hearing about? Is a rip even necessary if I stay with one type of paper (Epson premium glossy)? I am intrigued by some photographs I've seen printed on Epson enhanced matte paper and I've read - on this forum - that the ColorByte rip allows for the changing of the black cartridges without having to dump $60 worth of ink on each change.
Thanks very much in advance for any help and/or guidance!
Ben Marcin
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