Epson 1280, Quadtone RIP and MIS UT-2 ink - A Winner!

[johnastovall]

I've got my 1280 up and running now with the Quadtone RIP and the MIS UT-2 Carbon inks and I'm impressed. This combination produces truly wonderful B&W prints on Matte papers. Gone are the little flecks of color and blacks and grays which aren't quite black and gray.

The only down side I'm seeing now is having to order more photo rag paper and the eboni black ink.

The ability of the Quadtone RIP to give you two ink curves and then blend them allows for some very subtle tones and the Sepia is a true Sepia. A real antique Sepia can be produced with this system. I'm wondering about some forced paper age in an oven what that will do.

If you want to do B&W and are willing to setup a dedicated printer system this is from what I've seen is the way to go.

A big thanks to anorcross for his report on this which tipped me to go with it.

P.S. My C86 B&W system is still on the B&S.

[anorcross]

Hi John,
I'm glad you like it. I know what you mean about ordering more ink and paper! Have you considered getting refillable cartridges? If they work well, they would certainly save a lot of money.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by anorcross

Hi John,
I'm glad you like it. I know what you mean about ordering more ink and paper! Have you considered getting refillable cartridges? If they work well, they would certainly save a lot of money.

I've got to check out refillable cartridges. I think MIS has them. I know they have the bulk ink.

To me the really key is to use the Quadtone RIP. The two curves with the blend function reminds me of working with polycontrast filters.

I'm looking at using a fixative on the prints. Have you tried anything? I'm looking at Golden's Archival Matte varnish but trying out on photo.net and www.misforums.com to see what others have used.

I brought on in to work and showed it a one of the guys who used to do a lot film and he thought I had done it in a darkroom.