What inkjet printer do you recommend for exclusively printing B/W?

[brubakerpa]

I teach photography, both silver-based and digital--and my digital students would like to print B/W prints on our inkjet printers.  I have an Epson 3800 and a 2200, and want to buy another printer.  What are people recommending these days for making B/W prints digitally?  (A few years ago someone was converting 2200s, right?  What are folks doing now?)

Thanks for your wisdom, advice!

Paul Brubaker

[neile]

Any of the current range of Epson, Canon, or HP printers with their newest formulation inks do a great job. I have a friend who swears by the Epson printer driver's B&W mode and claims it includes extra awesome in the prints, but I personally use a Canon ipf5100 and 8300 and am very pleased with the results.

If you are seriously hardcore about printing B&W, and the printer will be dedicated to B&W only, then you could look at an Epson printer with the custom inksets and a RIP. (http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.362672/sc.15/.f#)

Neil

[Damir]

Although I can not compare it with new geneartion of Canon, so far my Z3100 does best job in my opinion.

[Sven W]

The absolutely best B&W, you'll get from customizing a printer to the Piezography system.
But, as posts above mention, with todays top-printers and their new B&W drivers, you are very, very close to the Piezo quality.
And you can still print color!

Myself use the ImagePrint RIP on four Epson LFP, and that's even more sophisticated to print both B&W and color.

/Sven

[Anthony.Ralph]

The 3800 you already have can give very good results. Check out Eric Chan's site for good information and access to profiles...

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/index.html

Anthony.

[Roscolo]

 

For B&W, for me, it's the z3100 / z3200, hands down.

[Light Seeker]

I have an Epson 2200 loaded with Cone Piezography inks. I have a 3800 that I will be mixing a custom set of monochrome inks for. The Quadtone RIP is used to drive both of these. These two printers do not utilize dedicated colour inks but instead have multiple shades of gray ink (7 and 5 respectively in my case). This can provide smoother gradients, better detail, less colour shift under varying lighting and improved longevity. However, since this is niche technology there is a greater investment in learning, as well as the need for dedicated equipment.

I also have a Canon 8300 and I am very interested to see how prints made using True Black & White will look.

If you are interested in pursing the niche approach send me a PM and I'll suggest some sites and resources to look at.

Terry.

[Dward]

I have both the Z3100 and the Canon 8300, and though I love the Canon for many many reasons, I've kept the z3100 specifically for B&W.  I've seen nothing that matches the neutrality or the tonal range (not even the z3200).

David V. Ward, Ph. D.
www.dvward.com

[sbay]

I have both the Z3100 and the Canon 8300, and though I love the Canon for many many reasons, I've kept the z3100 specifically for B&W.  I've seen nothing that matches the neutrality or the tonal range (not even the z3200).

How does the Z3200 differ from its predecessor on BW printing?

[Dward]

The tonal scale of the 3200 seems not as long as that of the 3100.   A subtle difference, but not so subtle as to be invisible.

David V. Ward, Ph. D.
www.dvward.com

[Light Seeker]

I have both the Z3100 and the Canon 8300, and though I love the Canon for many many reasons, I've kept the z3100 specifically for B&W.  I've seen nothing that matches the neutrality or the tonal range (not even the z3200).

HP has done an exceptional job with their black / gray inks. They have neutralized them with colour pigment and managed to keep the fade rates proportional. They not only look nice but they do very well in longevity testing.

Terry.