Nick De Marco Posted April 13, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Rather than attempt to turn my small flat into a dark room and start buying enlargers etc, I want to buy a digital printer to print B&W film. I already have a nice Canon printer I use for colur prints, but asyou know you need special printers/ink for proper black & white. I have heard Epson make a good one, but I wondered what you all use. I would like the ability to go up to A3, but B&W quality is the key. If you know of any second hand ones I can pick up then I will look on ebay. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 13, 2007 Posted April 13, 2007 Hi Nick De Marco, Take a look here Digital Printer for black & white film. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
abrewer Posted April 13, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 13, 2007 Rather than attempt to turn my small flat into a dark room and start buying enlargers etc, I want to buy a digital printer to print B&W film. I already have a nice Canon printer I use for colur prints, but asyou know you need special printers/ink for proper black & white. I have heard Epson make a good one, but I wondered what you all use. I would like the ability to go up to A3, but B&W quality is the key. If you know of any second hand ones I can pick up then I will look on ebay. Thanks The Epson R series are 'da bomb, using the Epson inks on Epson paper, and Image Print software. Epson R Image Print I was at a pro expo last week here in Indy and they demo'd both color and B&W with the R2400 (probably overkill for what you want to do, but you never know). The shadows held up incredibly well for an inkjet printer, unbelievably fine for such a reasonable price. The thing is a beast at color prints, too, so you can have your cake and eat it too. Thanks. Allan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted April 13, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 13, 2007 I have seen splendid prints made with the R1800, less costly then 2400, same format, just a little slower and less bulky; I have also red it can accept some specialty BW cartridges (not from Epson, can't remember the brand...) that are even best than originals. Personally, I am seriously thinking of it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted April 13, 2007 Share #4 Posted April 13, 2007 Epson 2200 or 2400 used with Quadtone RIP. Last year a friend and I made a comparison between Image Print and Quadtone. They were indistinguishable. Save your money - go Quadtone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
like_no_other Posted April 13, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 13, 2007 I'm still in the similar position to find the right printer. Some sources say that the new Epson 1400 with the claria inks gives better colours than the Epson 2400 for a budget price. But the 1400 doesn't have the additional grey inks so im not quite sure if It's competitive regarding B&W prints. For the smaller (A4) sized printers the Canon models Pixma5300/4300 (5 inks) and 6700D (6 inks) seem to be good. All of these are quite cheap and should be the choice if you occasionallly will use the printer for text printing. Best regards, Philip Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted April 13, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 13, 2007 I'm very happy with the 2200 Epson and so thankful to be able to print at home. The 2400 has even better ink technology for B&W. Below I compared one of my prints to some original Ansel Adams prints and I was very very pleased with what I saw! Cheers, Wilfredo Benitez-Rivera Photography Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/21371-digital-printer-for-black-white-film/?do=findComment&comment=227893'>More sharing options...
thpeters Posted April 13, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I think it is time that Epson is coming out with only a B&W printer. There is a very big market for that. And it would be cool for a lot of us. Theo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrewer Posted April 13, 2007 Share #8 Posted April 13, 2007 Epson 2200 or 2400 used with Quadtone RIP. Last year a friend and I made a comparison between Image Print and Quadtone. They were indistinguishable. Save your money - go Quadtone. Thanks John. Hadn't heard of that one, but if you're going to do black and white it looks fabulous and much, much less expensive. I agree with you: the IP software is hideously expensive, but it's awfully good, too. Quadtone RIP Thanks. Allan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTD Posted April 13, 2007 Share #9 Posted April 13, 2007 As you will know, companies such as Lyson do special black and white ink sets for a number of printers. I've recently been trying Harman's (Ilford) new baryta based inkjet papers and they give a very traditional photo paper result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidERuck Posted April 16, 2007 Share #10 Posted April 16, 2007 Wilfredo, gentlemen, some help, please... I have been using the Epson 2200 for color for years and find it terrific. Recently, I have asked it to do B&W on Enhanced Matte paper with the Epson profile and find it to be grey and grey, not black and white. DNGs in through C1 and then greyscaled and tweaked in LR giving a wonderful looking exposure on screen but printing 1/2 stop light (btw, I find that color work usually prints 1/2 stop darker than a properly calibrated screen in PS and/or LR). As I am brand new to trying to print B&W digitally, and all all suggestions will be appreciated - papers, profiles, workflow, anything. Thanks in advance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidERuck Posted April 16, 2007 Share #11 Posted April 16, 2007 Sorry, I see I've gone off thread here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted April 16, 2007 Share #12 Posted April 16, 2007 Nick, I have the aforementioned R2400 It is a great printer for B&W. I had a little trouble in finding the right paper as I prefer off white or cream base rather than bright white but the grayscale is very good and certainly no dominant colours can be seen even when just printing through PS. Its worth pushing the boat out for IMHO PS thanks for leaving a comment on my pbase gallery. Regards Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest flatfour Posted April 19, 2007 Share #13 Posted April 19, 2007 Epson were the best but there are some competitors that are just as good from Canon and HP (B9180) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
festgriff Posted April 19, 2007 Share #14 Posted April 19, 2007 Hi Have been using the Epson 3800 with quadtone RIP (since it became available) - before that the Mac driver for the printer - for about 3 months and have been very happy with the black and white results. Have printed up to A2 on Hahnemulhle Rag and Monochrom Rochester. Very "photo-like" results. Since I started using the Quadtone RIP I am also seeing (if the printer driver is not lying to me ) no use of the colour inks (or so marginal I cant see it). If you do want to be able to also print colour I have found it to be a good choice, especially now with the RIP software. Lee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted April 19, 2007 Share #15 Posted April 19, 2007 I think it is time that Epson is coming out with only a B&W printer.There is a very big market for that. Agreed. I know about the various third party solutions but they are not always very convenient. A B&W version of one of the better A3+ printers (with a set of 6 or so greyscale cartridges) would be very appealing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom.leininger Posted May 6, 2007 Share #16 Posted May 6, 2007 I have been using a R2400 since January of this year. I bought it specifically to print black and white. I use it on a mac without rip software and the results are amazing. I have been using the Ilford Smooth Gallery Pearl Paper, but I find that I like the Red River Ultra Pro Satin better and will be switching to that. I have a fried who prints with Museo Silver Rag and the results are even better. The big difference between the R1800 and R2400 is the ink. The 2400 is a pigment based ink, and the 1800 is a dye ink. The 2400, 3800 and 7800 all use the same ink set. If you want to print black and white, I would get one of these printers. I am an MFA student in photography and just about everyone one of my fellow grad students has one of these printers. One of my classmates has an 1800 and she uses the piezography ink set. She can only print black and white in her printer. I can seemlessly go from black and white to color. The 2400 also allows for the matte black ink or photo black. If you want to print on matte paper this makes all the difference in the world. If you are solely a black and white printer, I suggest the Museo paper, it is not cheap, but well worth it. Tom Leininger Tom Leininger's Pictures Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted May 7, 2007 Share #17 Posted May 7, 2007 Nick, since someone brought up paper I'll tell you what I use: Hahnemuhle. Fine Art Pearl for photo black and William Turner for matte. I tried the Crane Museo but the Hahnemuhle was better for me and my tastes in bw. Yes, the Hahnemuhle is more expensive but if you're dedicated to fine art photography you shouldn't use anything but the best. You can get a sample pack and try them out. I use Atlantic Exchange in Florida for all my paper and ink needs. They also sell the Epson 3800 at a small discount. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_peter_m Posted May 7, 2007 Share #18 Posted May 7, 2007 The big difference between the R1800 and R2400 is the ink. The 2400 is a pigment based ink, and the 1800 is a dye ink. The 2400, 3800 and 7800 all use the same ink set. If you want to print black and white, I would get one of these printers. Tom, The 1800 uses pigment ink as well, the difference is it also uses the gloss optimizer on photo paper. EPSON Canada, Limited - Product Information - Epson Stylus Photo R1800 Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted May 7, 2007 Share #19 Posted May 7, 2007 Digital B&W printing, if ithe weather gets too warm a magenta cast appears. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
George61d Posted May 8, 2007 Share #20 Posted May 8, 2007 Digital B&W printing, if ithe weather gets too warm a magenta cast appears. I have not seen this happen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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