Hello all, I'm currently in the market for a new printer. All of my work is in black and white and am looking for a printer that will print black and white in a neutral tone. Any suggestions on what to get and look for?
Hello all, I'm currently in the market for a new printer. All of my work is in black and white and am looking for a printer that will print black and white in a neutral tone. Any suggestions on what to get and look for?
Hi,
What size prints would you like to make? Do you want to be able to print on roll paper? Do you prefer matte, glossy, or both kinds of prints? Will you stick with OEM inks, or are you interested in using a 3rd party bw inkset, such as one from John Cone (www.inkjetmall.com) or one of Paul Roark's inksets? (Paul's inksets are DIY. He doesn't sell ink.) How often do you print?
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
If 17" wide is the maximum size print you want to make, you'd have a hard time topping the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer for price, quality, and economical operation.
I make 16"x20" prints on mine, mostly B&W. My 3080 worked beautifully right out of the box, and continues to do an amazing job with B&W prints.
The 3880 is capable of producing Neutral, cool, or warm tone(as well as sepia) prints that rival those made with an enlarger.
I'm not looking to make any big enlargements, just work prints up to 11 inches wide or 14. Not worried about inks, I'll get whatever works best.
Noah, what about glossy versus matte?
Basically, there the following-sized printers, all in inches:
8.5x11,
13x19,
17x22,
24
.
.
.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Since you don't need a !7" printer, take a look at the 13" Epson 2880.
I have never printed on a 2880, but if it performs anything like the 3880, it should be an excellent printer for your needs.
BTW, the Epson K-3 inks are outstanding.
I'll probably use fiber paper for my prints, or a luster based paper. As far as width goes, nothing too large. It looks like the 2880 would be my best bet, although I would like to use a smaller format machine.
Noah,
For photo quality prints, in both color and B&W, Epson K-3 ink and Epson Exhibition Fiber paper is an excellent combination.
I have not seen an Epson printer smaller than 13" that takes the K-3 ink carts.
Eugene has hit the nail on the head: Like it or not, use it or not, if you want most of the bells & whistles, you have to go at least to a 13" printer. Those are the facts of life in inkjet printers.
However, Epson isn't the only brand. Canon makes very good printers and very good inks. Lots of people sell very good paper.
Be advised: There can be ink loss when switching between matte and slick (glossy, semi-gloss, luster) papers & the associated ink.
Epson has a new line of printers out, R2000 & R3000. I have no experience with them except to notice that the ink cartridges are larger than usual for consumer printers. Therefore, ink cost may be reduced.
YMMV.
Good luck.
Wayne
Deep in the darkest heart of the North Carolina rainforest.
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