Really cheap b/w print

[grzybu]

Hi,

Last year I've bought cheap Epson R285 printer with 3rd party self resetting ink cartridges. I've filled black one with Lyson Photonic black ink and tried to print with black only.  In linux you can choose any print quality with b/w print and it uses only black ink then.
After few tries I've got good results with 2880x2880 resolution which is quite fast.
And I was quite happy with results.
But, yesterday I've tried 5760x2880 res on Epson Archival Matte paper and I'm really blown away by tonality and level of detail
At 2880x2880 I can see dots when I put print close and look carefully, especially in light areas. But with 5760x2880 there are no dots at all! (Well I can see them when I use magnifying glass)
There are much more small details on print. Also transitions from different gray levels are really smooth.
Why I didn't tried bigger resolution earlier? Probably, because it's much slower than 2880x2880, but till I do few prints a week it's not problem.
So looks like quite good b/w printing is possible with really cheap printer  
Of course, to get more archival prints I should use original Claria ink, but it's really expensive, and I don't sell prints.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Hi,


But, yesterday I've tried 5760x2880 res on Epson Archival Matte paper and I'm really blown away by tonality and level of detail
At 2880x2880 I can see dots when I put print close and look carefully, especially in light areas. But with 5760x2880 there are no dots at all! (Well I can see them when I use magnifying glass)
There are much more small details on print. Also transitions from different gray levels are really smooth.
Why I didn't tried bigger resolution earlier? Probably, because it's much slower than 2880x2880, but till I do few prints a week it's not problem.
So looks like quite good b/w printing is possible with really cheap printer  
Of course, to get more archival prints I should use original Claria ink, but it's really expensive, and I don't sell prints.

What you noticed is an increase of the smallest droplet size used in the high resolution print. That 1.5 picoliter droplet does a lot to image quality. There are methods to get the same small droplet on lower resolutions too but in that case you have to use more customised inksets on the printer. Check the Paul Roark's site, the Digital B&W list and the Quadtone RIP list to get that information. R1400 as the reference but the R800-R1800-R1900 have the same smallest droplet size. The Quadtone RIP will help even if you intend to use Black Only printing with the existing inkset. The risk of using just one head and black only is more banding. Dividing the black only printing over two or three heads will make the banding risk very low and forces the droplet size used to the smallest available, even with lower resolutions. The Lyson Fotonic is an old dye ink that even in the past had a bad reputation on fade resistance, don't rely on the info of Lyson on that subject. There are good black pigment ink sources including the content of OEM wide format carts that have been independently tested but are sold at a 1/3-1/4 of the price per ML of Claria inks You have to refill the R285 carts then as well.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/