OK... I have been working with my new Epson 2200 for about a month now. I
have seen some "Epson 2200" posts, and thought I should pass on what I have
found out. I know there are some list members who are way more
knowledgable, but maybe I can get someone headed in the right direction.
For color prints, I can't imagine a better printer than the 2200. I use
Epson's Premium Glossy Photo Paper, which is inexpensive and good for
everyday work. There are some fine arts papers available, but I haven't
tried them. Printing is straight forward, and the color prints are just
beautiful.
I have never had a clogging problem with the 2200. Nor have I had any
banding problems.
BW printing (my main interest) is a real challenge. I am using Epson's
Enhanced Matte Paper, and am very satisfied with it. Photo Rag is a fine
arts paper that (conveniently) works with the same settings. Glossy paper
doesn't work at all. To do BW printing with the 2200, you have to remove
the Photo Black cartridge from the 6-cartridge set and replace it with a
Matte Black cartridge. That takes about 2 minutes, and almost no ink is
wasted.
I don't think expensive RIP (Raster Image Processing) software is absolutely
necessary for someone starting out with BW digital printing. The best RIP
seems to be ImagePrint ($500), but it reportedly is difficult to install,
poorly documented, and hard to learn. Some people some swear by it and some
swear at it. RIPs are used for FI (full ink set) printing, where you use
all 6 inks to create a BW image. If you decide to go the FI route, you
might need a RIP to get good results, but there are some promising "non-RIP"
options looming on the horizon.
The other option is BO (black only) printing. You use only one ink from the
6-cartridge set - Matte Black. BO printing is less expensive than FI,
because you don't need a RIP and you use less ink. I think 2880 dpi BO
prints can be stunning, but they do have a different look than FI prints.
BO makes the most sense for me, since I don't want to spend a great deal of
time getting a handle on the more complex (and transient) FI methodology. I
get good results with BO printing, so I can spend my time taking pictures,
and trying to learn Photoshop. I'll use BO printing until something better
shows up. The entire procedure for making BO prints is outlined in detail
by Clayton Jones at www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm. There also is a forum
for BW digital printing,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/. I'm not trying
to sell anyone on BO, but want to point out that it is an option.
If anyone would like to see a sample print, I hope to have some 4x6
postcards printed with a BO image (matte black on photo rag). I'll have
about 10-15 of them - first come, first serve. If you email your mailing
address (OFFLINE), I'll try to send one out in about 2-3 weeks. I'll be out
of town until then.
Dick Smith
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