Canon iPF6100 for B&W

[nemophoto]

I think I'm just about to replace my aging Epson 7000 loaded with K6 Piezography inks with a great deal on an iPF6100. I'm sure the color printing is superb and will be a great addition to my Epson 4000 for color and proofing. I have two questions though:

1) Anyone doing accurate CMYK proofing on the 6100 without a RIP (though I do own the RGB, non-PS version of StudioPrint)? (I do have Colorburst working with my 4000 to produce accurate CMYK proofs.)

2) How good is the B&W printing on both matte and glossy papers? Are just three black inks really going to be equal to the B&W output I get with StudioPrint and my Epson 7000 and six gray/black inks?

Thanks.

Nemo

[One Horse Studio]

I started printing B&W with the iPF500 and now am using the 5100. The new inks in the 5100/6100 are really good. I have profiled for B&W and have used the "auto" function in the print driver. All I can say is that I really like what I am getting.
I have printed on Hahnemulhe FAPR, William Turner and now Illford Galerie Fibre Gold. I get great results with all three. Just depends on the look you want.
I was going to set up my old Epson 4000 with the piezography inks.....don't need to now.
Bow Haus is in the process of releasing a RIP for this series of Canon printer. I did beta testing on this and got good results. Don't know when this will be released.
Hope this helps.

Greg....

[colinm]

2) How good is the B&W printing on both matte and glossy papers? Are just three black inks really going to be equal to the B&W output I get with StudioPrint and my Epson 7000 and six gray/black inks?
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In my opinion, Piezography's ship has sailed. Back in the UltraChrome days, it was worth the cost and effort. Once UltraChrome K3 came out, though, B&W printing improved immeasurably. And Canon and HP have followed right along Epson's path.

You really can't go wrong with any of the current printers from the big three. They'll all make gorgeous B&Ws with very little effort on your part.

[abiggs]

Nemo, I have both an iPF5100 and an iPF8100 and the quality of black and white output is superb. In my opinion, you are going to have a difficult time nitpicking the quality of output between all of the big printers on the market. Most of the differences are going to be with usability and other unique requirements you might have, such as onboard profiling (HP), gloss enhancer (HP), no switching of black inks (Canon or HP or new 7900/9900 Epsons), etc etc.

On my Canon printers, I have nice custom profiles created, and I just send my toned black and white images straight to the printer as a color RGB file. No 'advanced black and white mode' or anything like that. These B&W modes are nice, as they can help create rich blacks, but it is black magic and isn't ICC compliant. A black box that you have to fiddle with to get the results you desire. This isn't a big deal if you are just using one paper, but if you print on many different surfaces (like me), you will see huge density shifts that are difficult to predict.

QuadTone RIP is a great option on Epson printers, as well.

[markbarone]

I went through this exact same process.

After running some serious B&W files through both the Canon and Epson,  Epson blew the Canon away.  Not only does the Epson Stylus Pro 7880 print amazing B&W through a normal ICC profile, Epson has this dedicated advanced black and white print setting within their driver.

The B&W print quality from this mode is amazing.  In my opinion, professional black and white printing is here.  You will be amazed.

Just my two cents.

[abiggs]

I went through this exact same process.

After running some serious B&W files through both the Canon and Epson,  Epson blew the Canon away.
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Wow, that is completely unlike my own experiences. In my experience, the differences between these printers is pretty minimal. I have significant experience with both Epson and Canon printers, and I can tell you that when it comes to black and white, they are much more similar than when you are printing color images. With color images, the differences are more apparent, but not better. Reds are excellent on Epsons, blues are excellent on Canons, etc etc.

I have created custom profiles using the same exact profiling methods, using the Canon 5100 and 8100 models, compared to Epson 3800, 7880 and 11880 models. All of these printers are excellent when it comes to output quality.

If you are seeing huge shifts in quality between a Canon and an Epson when it comes to black and white, I suspect your profiles were made differently or you are not printing with the same type features (advanced b&W mode and similar mode on Canon).

[nemophoto]

Hmm. Weird. I added a reply a few days ago, and now it's not here.

Thanks a lot guys for all the input and experiences. I ended up ordering the 6100 -- got an amazing deal with about $1500! I'm a little nervous switching brands, since I've only used Epson inkjets for the past 9 or 10 years (since the 3000). Part of it is getting use to the new drivers and settings, after being so Epson-centric for years. The new 7900 introduced is tempting, but in reality, won't be available till sometime this fall -- if you can get one. (Seems all the other Epsons introduced invariably had long wait times initially.) So, with the Canon I went.

It arrived yesterday. What a bear! Good thing I have a farm, because I used the bucket on my tractor to unload the thing. Then, with a friend unboxed it and set it. Still unused/setup in the office till I get some free time to play. I'm looking forward to properly implimented networking. My Epson 4000 NEVER properly networked with the built-in card. I have it wired, via USB, to a wireless print server.

Anyway, thanks again for the insights. I'm looking forward to printing some B&W, checking out the CMYK-non-RIPPED accuracy, and profiling a few of my favorite papers.