Best printer for B&W

[Jack]

I want to purchase an "affordable" printer strictly for B&W photo printing
and am not certain whether pigment-based printers such at Epson's C84 or
dye-based printers such as Canon's i860 would be best for that purpose. I
like the concept of pigment inks because of their stability, but have heard
they have terrible problems with metamerism. I usually print in tritones on
my HP P1000 which I have found to be less prone to metamerism than prints
made just from black ink. Has anyone had any experience with these printers
in B&W? Thanks, JackM

 

[Tony1that matters]

I ran some tests about 10 months ago using the Epson C80 (pigmented) an 895
(Dye) and the Canon S-820 for comparison. These were actually done to test
JetTec inks and paper and then with Epson inks and equivalent Gloss Epson
stock.
The C80 produced a definately better B/W true tone but as you've mentioned
the metamerism was there in colder tube lighting - not so much with
Tungsten. Viewed from the side the photo's gave a distinct Panda B/W
contrast effect. This was of course somewhat better on the Jettec Satin and
semigloss paper types.
Although good the 895 produced a B/W with overtones of usually blue to
purple. The Canon was the most inaccurate and a near disaster as all B/W
prints at several resolutions had a distinct purple blue tinge. Pigmented on
Satin got the closest to true B/W - but of course you may have to search for
the correct polymer balance of paper to ink ...
Doesn't help a lot I'm afraid - as I wouldn't have accepted the B/W if they
were for sale. A lovely oldie Worldie Sepia that was easy however. To our
tester's eyes' the Epson had the edge.
Tony

 

[Bob Headrick]

I want to purchase an "affordable" printer strictly for B&W photo printing
and am not certain whether pigment-based printers such at Epson's C84 or
dye-based printers such as Canon's i860 would be best for that purpose. I
like the concept of pigment inks because of their stability, but have heard
they have terrible problems with metamerism. I usually print in tritones on
my HP P1000 which I have found to be less prone to metamerism than prints
made just from black ink. Has anyone had any experience with these printers
in B&W?

You might take a look at the HP Photosmart 7760 (US$149) which has an
(optional) dye based grayscale cartridge and gives excellent B&W prints. See
the following for details:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ho/WF06b/18972-236251-64340-15100-f12-305363-305365-305366.html

Metamerism is generally less of an issue on matte paper, and more of an issue
on glossy paper, especially when printing with pigmented inks. The #59
cartridge used in the 7660 is dye based and provides excellent resistance to
metamerism. The following reviews are mostly related to the Photosmart 7960
(which is an 8 ink printer) but the comments related to the grayscale printing
would apply to the 7660 as well.

http://dp-now.com/archives/000236.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/hp7960_pg3.html
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/
http://reviews.cnet.com/4505-3167_7-30470950.html

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Jack]

Thanks Bob. I had not considered this particular family of printers, but
certainly will. Is the #59 ink available for the HP P1000 printer? Thanks,
JackM

 

[Jack]

Thanks, Tony. This is very usefull. JackM

I ran some tests about 10 months ago using the Epson C80 (pigmented) an 895
(Dye) and the Canon S-820 for comparison. These were actually done to test
JetTec inks and paper and then with Epson inks and equivalent Gloss Epson
stock.
The C80 produced a definately better B/W true tone but as you've mentioned
the metamerism was there in colder tube lighting - not so much with
Tungsten. Viewed from the side the photo's gave a distinct Panda B/W
contrast effect. This was of course somewhat better on the Jettec Satin and
semigloss paper types.
Although good the 895 produced a B/W with overtones of usually blue to
purple. The Canon was the most inaccurate and a near disaster as all B/W
prints at several resolutions had a distinct purple blue tinge. Pigmented on
Satin got the closest to true B/W - but of course you may have to search for
the correct polymer balance of paper to ink ...
Doesn't help a lot I'm afraid - as I wouldn't have accepted the B/W if they
were for sale. A lovely oldie Worldie Sepia that was easy however. To our
tester's eyes' the Epson had the edge.
Tony

--
Inkylink JetTec UK Quality - Wot others wanna-be
Epson 950 C70/80/82 Lighfast pigmented inks. Canon
BCI-3 i750 BCI-6 S-820 / S-900 series.
www.aah-haa.com
tritones

 

[Bob Headrick]

Thanks Bob. I had not considered this particular family of printers, but
certainly will. Is the #59 ink available for the HP P1000 printer? Thanks,

No, the #59 cartridge is the only one that uses this ink, and it is used only
in the Photosmart 7960, 7760, 7660 and 245 printers.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP