The question is in the title...
I may change my printer for bw art prints on matt paper...
Can you help me ? It may help also others... ;-)
Thank you all...

The HP B9180 I have with HP inks and HP paper prints out very nice black and white images. It has two dedicated black ink cartridges and this could help it.

JP

Thank you JP. HP cartridge seems to be a bit expensive...

Does someone use the Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II or the Epson 2880 ?

I have an Epson 3800 and really like it. B/w prints are wonderful with four different black incs. Can only recommend it and will give you opportunity to print up to A2+.

You might want to wait for the Epson 3880 (not sure if it is released yet) which will have an even wider color gamut using the new vivid magenta inc.

Thomas, i see with that printer here in Portugal i must spend almost 500 euros each time i change all ink cartridges
You have an idea how much A2 prints i can do before change all ink cartridges ?

They probably are Laurence but do last a long time after the first initial loading and set up.

A continuous ink system might be the way to go. it is a lot cheaper once the initial cost is absorbed.
Jon

Yes, it's a small fortune every time you need to change a cartridge. On the other hand, you don't need to do it as often as with small printers. And the ink is much cheaper (less expensive ;-)) the bigger cartridges you have. When I bought this a year ago, the ink price was about 2/3 of the ink price (per ml) for a Epson R2880.
I'm no big printer, have changed some of the cartridges during the year I've had the printer. Have had NO problem with clogging, even though I don't print on a weekly basis.

You can find some great information about the printer here: http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/faq.html

There are some calculations on ink consumption here: http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/faq.html#inkconsume

Epson 3800 here also, as for ink cartridges, it's much cheaper than the smaller printers.

Thanks, Thomas ! :-)

I have an Epson R2400 and have never managed to print a proper B%W (I bought it for it's B&W capabilities)
My stuff looks awful, and I thought (mistakenly) that it will be a simple plug-and-play.
I called Epson to see if they have workshops or suggestions, but alas - No.
I have downloaded all the profiles, trailed through endless forums suggesting this and that, and still my prints look seriously
unhealthy.
For me who loved and still love the darkroom, this is hugely 'not good enough'.
Before I had an el-cheepo Canon A4 printer that printed what I saw on the screen.
I am sure that the fault lies with me and not the printer. However, it is difficult enough to get your digital images to work, and this
extra burden of having to approach your printing stage armed with a text book is just one step too far for me.
So until I find an easier way my images can sleep in my external hard drive.
I shall be watching this forum with interest.

I have an Epson 2880. I bought is for B/W prints and I am very satisfied with the quality (calibrated workflow, based on PS). Being a pure amateur, A3+ is sufficient for me and also for the amount of prints I make the ink consumption is acceptable. Of course people with a high volume wil be better of with the A2 printer.
I am quite succesfully active with my B/W prints in the world of photoclubs/contests

I also have a Epson R2400 and I think th B/W prints are ok. Took some time with trial and error though, since I didn't find the default profiles very good. I've never tried printing on some fancy art paper though, but I think that would be even better. However, I wouldn't recommend it due to the extreme ink cost. I can't get many prints out those very tiny little cartridges. Cleaning the printheads really drain the cartridges as well.

Andre, I'm not a big mono processor as you know but the odd one I have done and printed have blown me away on the HP B9180, I recently printed out my Elgol mono shot 'Erosion of Time' and am so impressed with it that it warrants a place on my living room wall, a high accolade for my prints this!
All I did was plug it in, download the PS plug in and away I went, I do use genuine HP inks and HP papers and I find there is a difference between HP papers, for example I much prefer the Advanced matte and Gloss as opposed to the Premium papers even though they are of the supposed lesser quality but they appear a lot more deeper and richer.
I know this sounds a bit like a HP v Epson contest but as you say printing sound be easy, consistent and the results to match your expectations. I'm sure the Epson is capable of all these things and maybe you just need to go back to basics re the monitor calibration (particular attention to luminocity), software colour settings and spaces, printer/paper profiles for the media you use.
Just trying to suggest a few things as I believe your frustrations.
JP

Thanks John. I used the SpyderPro 3 (I think that is what it is called - stored with my printer (boxed up) in Normandy at present.
However, since I wrote my previous post, I have decided to go and fetch the damn thing, and start all over again.
Shall let you know when I have my Eureka moment.

You should definitely go for the ones with bigger cartridges. I can recommend Epson, but I guess HP and Canon prints well too.
The ink is a lot cheaper per ml. About 6 times more per cartridge, but it holds 15 times more ink (350ml) on my Epson..
I had the Epson 2100 (horribly slow A3+ printer), and recently upgraded to 7900 (A1+). Still not too big.. I will probably go for the 9900 soon.
I just got some bigger prints made by the Epson11880. One is 1x2m on Canvas. Looks fantastic! (the shot was rejected on 1x..but is one of my best selling prints)
The printing quality has improved a lot after the K3 inks came, and even more with the last ones they call HDR inks.
Make sure you look at printers using pigment ink, especially if you want to print on matte media. And forget any printer who can not document long life on the prints.

I recently printed some images at work, on a Canon 5000 something, A3+ on Ilford Gold Fiber paper. The shadow areas came out really poor. It seemed like the ink just dissolved into the paper, killing all contrast. The printer performs well on semigloss. But fading fast it seems. The ink is the "Chromalife".

Make sure you see some prints, preferably your own work, from the printer you choose. And make sure you give them a difficult one for test!
Give them lots of detail in the dark areas!

Thank you all !!! So many interesting answers...

Epson R2400 here too, and i must say it produces the best B&W i ever saw from a printer.

It took me some time to figure out how to print good pictures ( i mainly had color problems), but the solution was so simple its rediculous. Once i started using the printer software ( epson darkroom print) all my prints were spot on, with exactly the same color as seen on my monitor.
Second- dont forget to use the special matte black ink for B&W - this in combination with the epson archival matte paper gives stunning results.


greetings

Luc

I have the 4880 epson and use Crane Museo Silver Rag- It is so close to feel, look and quaitly of traditional fiber paper. It hard to tell the difference. The silver rag also takes varnish really well and is so beautiful.

Don't use INKJETS!

Go to the lab and have REAL wet prints done from exposed paper.

ILFORD labs also has a mail in and upload service and will print negs or digital files with a wet process to real silver halide paper.

Every print that I sold or gave as a gift I did this way. I have not used ILFORD yet - but plan to soon.

Yes, nice way to but you have no control over the print and someone else does the craft. To risky for me. I would drive the lab guys crazy. :)

You film fanatic!! :-))

The inkjets have become grown up now. But be aware of some of them. Test the prints, give them some sunlight! I used to place a print by the window, placed a book over half the print when I left home for a few weeks. Then checked the print when back.
From one printer, there was a very visible fading, with a very clear difference from where the book had covered the print.
Did the same with a print from my old Epson 2100, no visible difference in many months. And some of my prints have been hanging in a open style dive resort restaurant in the Philippines, very close to the sea. It still looked fresh after 5 years in bright light and high humidity. So I absolutely trust the later and very much improved Epson I have now.
And the prints are as good as any I've made in the darkroom!

From my experience I would definitely go for pigment ink based printers, and use original ink. For papers I would go for well known brands like Ilford, Harmann, Hahnemuehle or others in that quality range. For canvas, have a look at Breathing Color.

True - that is where the personal relationship comes in........ ;-)

What about http://www.ilfordlab.com/