3880 questions

[gevalia]

Guys,

After a long period of unemployemnt (now back to work), I'm going to treat myself next month to a decent printer. I've real a bunch of threads and I think the Epson 3880 fits my needs but I still have a few simple questions.

I print mostly using these papers now; Gold Silk, Photo Rag Baryta, and Museo (depending on image). I will only print B&W on the printer and it may site for a few weeks without use. While printing from rolls is interesting, I don't have a "need" for that for most of my work.

1. I thought I read there is a diff ink res for both matte and glossy? True? is there much ink wasted when switching? How much?
2. The 3880 will not take rolls but I can cut the paper and use it right? I've never been able to print panos and I was wondering if anyone knew the max size I could print (front tray?)?
3. There are a few RIPs out there. For a relative newbie (but quick learner), which would you suggest and why?

Feel free to throw anything else at me you want.

I did do a bunch of research on the 3880 and 4880 and some canons. If I've asked something that I could have found in a search, point me there!!!

Regards,
Ron

[Ed Richards]

If you are interested in rolls, there is a sale and $1000 rebate on the 4900. I just bought one for about what a 3880 would cost.

[Kerik Kouklis]

1. True. It doesn't seem to use a lot of ink to switch, but I rarely use the matte ink.

2. I believe 34" is the longest dimension. Using a RIP may overcome this, though.

3. Can't help much on this one. I use Quadtone RIP, but only for making digital negatives.

[Oren Grad]

1. I thought I read there is a diff ink res for both matte and glossy? True? is there much ink wasted when switching? How much?

See Eric Chan on the 3800, which should be similar in this respect:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan...tml#swap_pk_mk

3. There are a few RIPs out there. For a relative newbie (but quick learner), which would you suggest and why?

QTR is very cheap to buy and offers the potential for the best monochrome quality, but is obscurely documented, especially for Windows systems. Be prepared to untangle some really opaque material on profiles. I've not tried any other RIPs.

[Ed Richards]

I use Qimage for printing. It optimizes sharpening so I only need to sharpen the master file. Qimage then adds the necessary sharpening for printing to whatever is the final output size. It also sends the file to the printer at native rez so the printer does not resize the file. It will a lot of other tricks, such as color management and multiple print layout, which is nice if you want to print two prints on the same sheet or do those school picture layouts. It is also cheap.

I did use the Imageprint rip, but at least for what I mostly do - black and white - it does not do as good a job as the AWB mode. It was also really expensive. I purchased it when I used an HP printer years ago that really needed it. I just regret that I upgraded it for my then 3800.