First 8x10 Color Printer Recommendations?

[Michael Heald]

Hello! I've been gaining experieince printing B&W 8x10 with Epson R220 and MIS inks. Using a R220 profile for Kirlland glossy paper has been a wonderful learning experience and I've been very pleased with the results.

In the future, I'd like to start some color printing. I know color management will be an entirely different field. I've read that many folks feel that only high end printers can handle both B&W and color. I'd like a basic printer that would give reasonable to good results (not excellent) from which I could learn color management while enjoying the 8x10 prints that I would get.

So, can the Epson R220 with MIS inks give good 8x10 color prints? I don't think I would like to swap ink sets, if that is what would be required.

Would a different printer devoted to 8x10 color prints be a better alternative? What would be some suggestions? Thank you and best regards.

Mike

[Brian Ellis]

So, can the Epson R220 with MIS inks give good 8x10 color prints? I don't think I would like to swap ink sets, if that is what would be required.
Mike

Does MIS make color inks? Their main claim to fame is their various monochrome inks for dedicated b&w printing. Maybe they make a color ink and I just never noticed because I've used their inks only for b&w.

Apart from that, the R220 is reputed to be an excellent color printer as long as you don't mind printing no larger than 8x10. However, I'm not sure it's possible to use the same inks for color and b&w with that printer. In general, simply using the same inks for color and b&w, without doing something more, produces poor b&w results.

Since you're just getting started and want to use the same inks for color and b&w you might consider using the Epson UltraChrome inks and a color managed workflow for color and then using Roy Harrington's Quadtone RIP (www.quadtonerip.com) for b&w. However, I don't think there's a version of QTR for the R220. If not then you're either looking at changing printers to one that's supported by QTR (you can see which ones are supported by going to the web site), using two printers, one dedicated to color and the other to b&w with the latter loaded with one of the third party inks such as MIS or Jon Cone's Piezography inks, or possibly finding a RIP other than QTR for the R220 if there is one. But the nice thing about QTR compared to most other RIPs is that it's free on a trial basis then if you want to keep it you pay only $50. The other RIPs that I know of start at about $500 and go up from there.

If you start reading in the QTR web site you may see a lot of stuff about using it to make your own profiles. Don't let all that scare you, being able to make your own profiles is a very nice feature of QTR but it isn't necessary to do that in order to use QTR, it works fine with canned profiles.

FWIW, I've been happy using Epson UltraChrome inks in an Espon 2200 printer (the 2400 wasn't on the market when I bought the 2200, if it had been I would have bought it instead), with a color managed workflow for color and QTR for b&w. So I don't know a whole lot about other alternatives, I'm sure there are others here who do and will be happy to explain them to you. But as I said above, I don't think QTR supports the R220. If I'm wrong then that might be a good solution for you.

I used MIS Variable Tone inks (no longer made) in an Epson 1160 and MIS UltraTone inks in an Epson 1280 (both printers obviously had to be dedicated to b&w with these inks) some years ago. If you were willing to use two different printers for color and b&w that's a good way to go I think. You can download curves for most of the MIS inks from Paul Roark's web site at no cost. Other people like Jon Cone's Piezography inks and I'm sure they're very good too, I've just never used them. Personally I'd avoid any of the third party quadtone inks other than MIS and Cone, I've read too many horror stories about Media Street and some others, especially when it comes to customer service. But that's just my opinion.

[Michael Heald]

Hello! I think I'd keep the R220 devoted to B&W with the MIS inks, unless the MIS inks can do color, but, as you noted, I've not read that that is a good alternative. I've been using Paul Roark's curves for the Kirkland glossy paper.
If I purchase another introductory printer devoted to color for 8x10, what would be some of the options? Best regards.

Mike

[Ralph Barker]

Michael - for your stated objectives, you might consider just getting something like an Epson 2200, and using the standard Epson inks with standard Epson "pro" papers. That way, you bypass all of the hassles and experimentation of third-party inks aimed at specialty third-party papers.

[false_Aesthetic]

Hey,

I ran a digital darkroom for the past 2 years. 13 G5s, Imacon, Epson 2200, 4000, and 9600.

Buy an epson and use the quadtone RIP. The new models 2400, 4800 and 9800s are hella dope too. And the metamerism is less . . . for serious.

My only issue was getting the right look with b/w prints (they looked kind've dead). I was more a fan of the 2200, 4000, and 9600 with the QTR for b/w.


Then, buy Epson paper and only Epson paper. Their stock ICC profiles are near spot on. (I found that I just had to add an adjustment layer and ad .05 to gamma).

If you wanna get hella precise, go buy en Eyeone and make your own ICCs . .. we did it, but i think for 95% of people out there, you can't tell the difference.

[Michael Heald]

Hello! Epson has refurbished R800s for $200.00 What are folks opinions about this printer for 8x10 glossy color prints? I know little about color printing, so I would be enterring a new world of calibration, profiles, etc. Would this printer give resonably good results and be a good intro printer to learn color on? Best regards.

Mike

[Michael Heald]

Hello! Since I don't want to keep switching inks in my Epson R220, an intermediate step would be to create a new color profile for my Epson R220 that I have been using with MIS inks for B&W. I'm not sure how to get a custom profile. Is this doable? What commercial vendors would be able to help? Best regards.

Mike