Best Epson desktop printer for B&W these days...?

[Frank Petronio]

Well my venerable Epson 2200 using the Harrington QuadTone RIP is nearing the end of its life cycle and I don't really need or want to invest in a 3880 "even though the ink is so much cheaper...." because I really only print a couple hundred prints per year plus general home office plain paper printing. Also I print in spurts, sometimes a month or two between runs of photos so I hate to have hundreds of dollars of unused color ink sitting in the printer clogging up.

I like to print neutral B&W images on Baryta papers but also crank out decent color prints too. Most of these go into old-fashioned portfolios. I've been happy with the 2200 results using the straight Epson inks and drivers for color and the Harrington RIP for B&W.

What is the state of the art for 13x19 Epsons these days? Has their (Mac OS) driver improved enough that I can get a neutral B&W using the native driver?

I see the R1900, 1400, and 2880 printers listed... if the consensus is that the 2880 is the way to go then hmmm I might have to revisit my statement about not considering the 3880 and do some ink price calculations.....

Thanks. And thanks for allowing me to ignore this topic for the past five years while I happily printed away with my obsolete printer.

[bdkphoto]

Well my venerable Epson 2200 using the Harrington QuadTone RIP is nearing the end of its life cycle and I don't really need or want to invest in a 3880 "even though the ink is so much cheaper...." because I really only print a couple hundred prints per year plus general home office plain paper printing. Also I print in spurts, sometimes a month or two between runs of photos so I hate to have hundreds of dollars of unused color ink sitting in the printer clogging up.

I like to print neutral B&W images on Baryta papers but also crank out decent color prints too. Most of these go into old-fashioned portfolios. I've been happy with the 2200 results using the straight Epson inks and drivers for color and the Harrington RIP for B&W.

What is the state of the art for 13x19 Epsons these days? Has their (Mac OS) driver improved enough that I can get a neutral B&W using the native driver?

I see the R1900, 1400, and 2880 printers listed... if the consensus is that the 2880 is the way to go then hmmm I might have to revisit my statement about not considering the 3880 and do some ink price calculations.....

Thanks. And thanks for allowing me to ignore this topic for the past five years while I happily printed away with my obsolete printer.

I've been using the 2200 QuadRip combo for years, but printed my last few projects on the x880 series printers and wont go back to the 2200. The basic profiles work great straight out of the box. The printers I use are at ICP (I teach there) so they are the basic profiles and drivers. I was shocked at how good the results were.

[D. Bryant]

I see the R1900, 1400, and 2880 printers listed... if the consensus is that the 2880 is the way to go then hmmm I might have to revisit my statement about not considering the 3880 and do some ink price calculations.....

Frank,

My Epson 2200 served me well but I purchased a 3800 before the 2200 was close to the end of it's service life. The 3800 has been a marvelous printer and I probably have similar printing patterns as you and have not had any clogging problems.

So knowing what I know now, I think it is foolish to purchase a desktop printer like the 2880 even though the 3880 is more expensive. Cone color inks are now available for the 3800 and I think the 3880 as well so ink costs have been reduced even further.

My 2 cents,

Don Bryant

[Roger Hein]

FWIW I had a 4800 - fabulous printer - but found I was printing less than 100 prints a year, probably closer to 60 and most of those are inkjet negs for platinum printing. I was spending more money on head cleanings than on prints. The Epson Maintenance Tank should be renamed the Waste Tank instead. ;-)

Anyways I sold the 4800 and replaced it with the 2880. Output is excellent. Platinum prints from inkjet negs made on the 2880 print very smooth. In the end the 2880 is perfect for the amount and type of printing I do.

Roger...

[Michael Gordon]

Hi Frank: the 2880 and 3880 offer Epson Advanced Black & White printing, which is far superior to printing from the standard RGB driver (especially for grayscale neutral, which is spot-on with virtually no color crossovers or metamerism). Further, K3 inks are much better than the original Ultrachrome set. No matter how you slice it, your inkjet printing should improve with one of these printers.

[drew.saunders]

I've been using the 2880 for a few months now on a Mac and with the "Advanced B&W" print option you can tweak the neutral/warm/cold just the way you like it. I've found a setting with Harman FB Al that's just a teeny pinch warm that, to my eye, matches what I used to get with regular Ilford MG FB paper. I also only print about 6-8 sheets at a time, but often leave it off for several weeks, and it doesn't seem to mind being powered off. I haven't gotten any clogs or streaks on the first print after a reboot. Just power it off from the power button so it goes through its shut-down mode.

Color is also quite nice, and it doesn't seem to waste ink like my HP B9180 used to.

[Ron Marshall]

Frank, considering the value of the additional ink that comes with the 3880 it is not much more than the 2880.

I print infrequently on my 3800 and have had no problems with clogs; however I did with the 2200.

[Darin Boville]

Hi Frank: the 2880 and 3880 offer Epson Advanced Black & White printing, which is far superior to printing from the standard RGB driver (especially for grayscale neutral, which is spot-on with virtually no color crossovers or metamerism). Further, K3 inks are much better than the original Ultrachrome set. No matter how you slice it, your inkjet printing should improve with one of these printers.

Also, I think the 3880 is less plagued by clogs than other printers. I've had mine for a year or two and don't think I've ever had a clog. I hear similar reports elsewhere eon the web. I use the printer is bursts...it may sit idle for a month then print fifty 16x20s the week after...

--Darin

[Tyler Boley]

Frank, I'll take the contrary view here. You already know the advantages of QTR from personal experience, you've also expressed interest in a 13' printer specifically. QTR still outperforms ABW on the printers which it supports, and you will give up your ability to fine tune your B&W hue in three separate parts of the scale without QTR.
I'd advise a 2400 or 2880, first looking at the QTR site to verify good 2880 support.
The 1800/1900 series will not give you the B&W quality with which you are accustomed despite the gloss optimizer, because of the absence of light black inks. The 2400 and 2880 will take you a step forward from your 2200 due to the additional light light black, and have improved bronzing and gloss differential as well.
Tyler
http://www.custom-digital.com/

[sanking]

Frank, I'll take the contrary view here. You already know the advantages of QTR from personal experience, you've also expressed interest in a 13' printer specifically. QTR still outperforms ABW on the printers which it supports, and you will give up your ability to fine tune your B&W hue in three separate parts of the scale without QTR.

I agree with Tyler about QTR. I don't do a lot of inkjet printing but when I do I find split toning, which is fairly easy to do with QTR, a tremendous help in getting the exact look I want for shadows, mid-tones and highlights. About this time last year I printed a small exhibition of inkjet prints using split toning and was delighted with the result. And thanks to Tyler for the advice offered during that project.

Second, I have owned an Epson 3800 for about three years and have never had a head clog, or for that matter have never even had to run the nozzle cleaning routine. And since I use my printer primarily for making digital negatives it sometimes goes for a few weeks or even a few months at a time at rest.

Given the cost and power QTR is about the best value out there for an Epson printer.

Sandy King