Time to upgrade my Hp Z3200 ps printer 24"

[kuau]

I have had my z3200 for almost 2 years now, I am moving more into B&W printing.
I have been using both Canson baryta 310gm photographique paper and just started using there Platine fibre rag. Is epsons latest offering going to give me a "quote" better b&w print?
I was looking at the new 4900 today,
I realize its only a 17" printer yet it looks pretty slick.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Steven

[MHMG]

I have had my z3200 for almost 2 years now, I am moving more into B&W printing.
I have been using both Canson baryta 310gm photographique paper and just started using there Platine fibre rag. Is epsons latest offering going to give me a "quote" better b&w print?
I was looking at the new 4900 today,
I realize its only a 17" printer yet it looks pretty slick.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Steven

I'm seeing great print quality coming from all the Big Three printer manufacturers (Epson, Canon, HP) based on samples submitted to the AaI&A digital print research program. My advice: concentrate on the printer you've got and just keep pushing its quality black & white output higher and higher. The various OEM printer offerings can all hit the high notes. You just have to select appropriate media and coax these printers to get there. Easier said than done, but definitely possible.

kind regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

[Ernst Dinkla]

Mark gives you a good advice, the Z's are good hardware for excellent B&W prints. Quality beyond that is more likely found in custom 6-7 ink B&W solutions on older Epsons. The new Epson wide format models do not allow a conversion like that.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

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

[Geoff Wittig]

Stick with what you have. The latest Epson generation is simply not as good as the HP's for black & white for several reasons. The HP "Z" printers let you use all four black/grey inks at the same time on some art papers, while Epson makes you pick gloss or matte black. The Vivera black/grey inks are absolutely dead-neutral on their own, while Epson's ABW mode has to mix in some colored ink to counteract their black/grey inks' warm color cast. The attainable D-max on gloss/baryta is similar between the two brands, but the Z printers yield a noticeably darker D-max on matte cotton rag papers. Finally, I think HP's black & white mode is simply more usable than Epson's ABW. It permits you to tone highlights and shadows independent of each other, and at least for me the results were more predictable and consistent.

There may be reasons to prefer the newest Epsons over HP's Z printers, but black & white output is not one of them.

[johnATshadesofpaper]

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