Ultratone printing info please

[defektive]

Hi All,
I am just starting off printing my black and white images that have been scanned from negatives onto my computer and need a bit of help as I have never printed images before. I would like to start on the cheap until I see if I will continue doing my own printing long term and have found an Epson 1290 printer that should work well with the Ultratone (Quadtone replacement) inks.
My system is an iMac running Mac OSX Lion and I use Photoshop Elements 9 for any editing. I am a bit confused about the process and need a bit of clarification on how to go about things. I have read about curves adjustments, epson drivers and Quadtone RIP and am now thoroughly confused.
What of the above do I need to get for my system, how are they used and what control will I have over what I am printing?
What is the workflow for taking an image from elements to the printing stage?
I think the 1290 is compatible with both UT and UT2 inks, any opinions on which one to use?

Cheers,
Sam

 

[dasuess]

I cannot speak for the 1290, but I had good luck with the EZ inkset and a cheap Epson C88+. Don't need QTR unless you would be using that to do the printing or generating your own profiles. There is a B&W page on the InkSupply site with useful links and you should be able to get profiles for your 1290 (I think).

 

[Bob Michaels]

Sam, I have been printing b&w on Epsons for 10+ years. I started with the Epson 1280 (US equivalent for 1290) using many variations of MIS inks. I made some great prints while wearing out 5 1280s. But it was a steep learning curve, took a lot of effort, and I spent a lot of money on inksets. The printers themselves are cheap, where you spend your money is on inks.

I am now using a 2400 (my 2nd one) which has been replaced by the 2800, then 2880, then 3000. B&W is no longer a technical challenge, the printer part is automatic. Of course, the prep of the file for printing is a never ending artistic process just like in the wet darkroom.

I really recommend spending a little bit of extra money on the printer to buy at 2880 or 3000. You can use the Epson inkset, also print great color, and most importantly save yourself a lot of hassle and learning curve. It will be money well spent.

 

[KEH]

I can second what Bob just said. I spent a lot of time and effort getting good prints (after a lot of learning) on my Epson 1400 with MIS inks. But cheap printers die young, and have clogging problems along the way. I have an Epson 3880 that just works - turn it on and print. The Advanced BW mode works very well with many papers, but I can get that little bit more by producing BW icc profiles (grayscale, not RGB) using the tools that come with Quadtone RIP and Imageprint hardware/software.

Kirk

 

[defektive]

Thanks for your replies guys. As I only paid $10 for the 1290 I don't think the other models mentioned are in my budget at this stage. If I find myself doing a lot of printing I will certainly look at upgrading in the future.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Thanks for your replies guys. As I only paid $10 for the 1290 I don't think the other models mentioned are in my budget at this stage. If I find myself doing a lot of printing I will certainly look at upgrading in the future.

OK, it will only cost you $57 plus shipping from the US to find out if you $10 printer has a terminal nozzle clog or not. They seem to last about 12-18 months using pigment ink which was the reason I had 5 of them.

 

[dasuess]

I really recommend spending a little bit of extra money on the printer to buy at 2880 or 3000. You can use the Epson inkset, also print great color, and most importantly save yourself a lot of hassle and learning curve. It will be money well spent.

I second Bob on the Epson R3000 recommendation. Love it and it does B&W much better than my C88+ with EZ inkset. I have been using the InkSupply K4 inkset with refillable carts on it for several weeks now with no issues.

 

[defektive]

The R3000 sure does look nice but the retail price on them is $1500 over here which would mean sacrificing a lens which ain't going to happen.

 

[Bob Michaels]

The R3000 sure does look nice but the retail price on them is $1500 over here which would mean sacrificing a lens which ain't going to happen.

You can buy a new 2880 in a damaged carton for $799, direct from Epson Australia per their website.

I understand everyone has their own priorities. I consider a printer more important than a 2nd lens. But I am one of those old school types who still thinks a photograph is something tangible you hold in your hand. And, a camera is just something necessary to make photographs.