erick.boileau
Member
What is the best pro Printer A2 or A1 actually for Black and White and transparent (digital negatives) ? HP or Epson ?
thank you
thank you
The GetDPI Photography Forum
Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!
HP or Epson for b&w and transparents
- Thread starter erick.boileau
- Start date
Godfrey
Well-known member
depends on the particular printer. i prefer the Epsons using their K3 ink set to anything else for B&W. i've printed transparencies and vellums with the R2400 and K3 inks too, they look great.
for making digital negatives, hmm ... Haven't done that in a long time, but when i did the Epson 1270's dye inkset did a good job.
for making digital negatives, hmm ... Haven't done that in a long time, but when i did the Epson 1270's dye inkset did a good job.
erick.boileau
Member
but did you try B&W transparent yourself ?
I have heard that HP is better for that kind of work
thank you
I have a HP B9180 and an Epson 3880. I know these are not A1 printers, but the inks are the same or at least similar to what is in the bigger printers.
To my eyes, the HP does much better on matte paper than the Epson, especially for B&W. The blackest black you can get on matte paper is noticeably darker with the HP. With some images, I find this can really make a difference. The HP also seems to work well with any matte paper I ever tried, I find the Epson more picky about which paper I use, at least if you want really good blacks. I like it with the Epson Hot press papers but find it kind of bland with other papers I've tried.
With gloss paper, the situation reverses. The HP ink just isn't compatible with many of the fine art gloss papers available. The ink pools up and doesn't spread out on the paper correctly. These are really tiny "pools" of ink, but makes the prints look grainy. The HP ink does work well with the Harmon Gloss paper and maybe other papers I never tried, but I tried a bunch of gloss baryta papers and none of them worked without the pooling problem other than the Harmon. The B9180 doesn't have the gloss optimizer of the larger printers so I don't know if that makes a difference. The Epson just seems to work with pretty much every gloss paper I tried. I like what I get on Canson and Ilford papers better than anything I go with gloss paper on the HP. I do think the HP did a bit better on the Harmon gloss than the Epson does on the same paper.
To my eyes, the HP does much better on matte paper than the Epson, especially for B&W. The blackest black you can get on matte paper is noticeably darker with the HP. With some images, I find this can really make a difference. The HP also seems to work well with any matte paper I ever tried, I find the Epson more picky about which paper I use, at least if you want really good blacks. I like it with the Epson Hot press papers but find it kind of bland with other papers I've tried.
With gloss paper, the situation reverses. The HP ink just isn't compatible with many of the fine art gloss papers available. The ink pools up and doesn't spread out on the paper correctly. These are really tiny "pools" of ink, but makes the prints look grainy. The HP ink does work well with the Harmon Gloss paper and maybe other papers I never tried, but I tried a bunch of gloss baryta papers and none of them worked without the pooling problem other than the Harmon. The B9180 doesn't have the gloss optimizer of the larger printers so I don't know if that makes a difference. The Epson just seems to work with pretty much every gloss paper I tried. I like what I get on Canson and Ilford papers better than anything I go with gloss paper on the HP. I do think the HP did a bit better on the Harmon gloss than the Epson does on the same paper.