Ken:
On pizza, I take it from your question that you think my paper damage may have a different cause (head strike) than Eleanor's report. All my 3880 test prints were clean except for the identical thumb-print size on all the Type 5s until I raised the paper size setting. I've owned several Epson printers and have been fortunate never to have seen any paper damage before, so I don't know exactly how the pizza wheel marks would appear, but the Type 5 marks were just in one spot and definitely didn't look like they were made with a pizza wheel. I wonder if Eleanor has any evidence with OEM inks which would enable her to return her unit under warranty. One Epson printer I purchased didn't work smoothly out of the box and the Epson store replaced it without fuss. As soon as I get the refillable carts installed, I will know whether I will have Eleanor's problem printing the peizography inks.
On inksets, I started a few years ago with neutral on matte papers using an R1800. According to Epson, that printer, and the later 1900, had the smallest microdots of the Epson printers and it was ideal for K7. The neutral matte is very nice for portraits (very soft skin gradations) and for restoring old photographs, which I enjoyed. Neutral matte didn't give me the thrill I remember from the chemical darkroom, however, and until MPS came out I spent most of my printing time in color, getting a 7900 three years ago. Last year I read a review of a Jon Cone/Inkjetmall stand at one of the big photo shows -- I think it was in Atlanta -- and the reviewer had great praise for their display of prints using the new MPS. Since Inkjetmall is not far away in Vermont I asked the staff if I could come by and see the prints. The folks there are very friendly and professional (I took a workshop there when I first started piezography) and they brought out the set for me. I was just blown away seeing them up close. After studying the different mixes of inksets and papers among the Atlanta prints, I decided on inksets of selenium glossy and sel/warm neutral split tone and I began using Type 5 paper. I love the selenium on Exhibition Fiber for such subjects as snow scenes (we have plenty of those) and sea foam (out your way). The selenium/warm neutral split tone has great depth and tonal range on Type 5 for subjects I've printed recently such as spring ferns, stone walls, and baby pictures. It wasn't long before I wanted a second printer at the ready. The refillable cart sets for Epson desktop printers (2880 and below) are really affordable, so it's easy to change around and make your own mixes. Empty cart sets for mine are $29. I just bought a sample set filled with carbon inks for $120 and will try that tomorrow. Since I already have neutral inks, I have also made up a special edition set by buying bottles of just two additional shades. My plan is to select one or perhaps two for the 3800 and have the others available on the inexpensive 1900 depending on what seems appropriate for the type of image. I'll let you know how the carbon and special edition mixes work out.
On workflow, since LR4 came out I've been doing more of my processing there, including grayscale, and all of my printing to QuadTone RIP. Since I understood LR operates in ProPhoto RGB (gamma 1.8), and QTR has to be prepped in 2.2, I got confused among all of LR's VCs, softproofs, master copies, saved copies, Photoshop edits 1, 2, and 3, etc. so I sent my question to Jon Cone's blog and he posted a very helpful reply today: Lightroom 4 and Piezography | PiezoPress
On pizza, I take it from your question that you think my paper damage may have a different cause (head strike) than Eleanor's report. All my 3880 test prints were clean except for the identical thumb-print size on all the Type 5s until I raised the paper size setting. I've owned several Epson printers and have been fortunate never to have seen any paper damage before, so I don't know exactly how the pizza wheel marks would appear, but the Type 5 marks were just in one spot and definitely didn't look like they were made with a pizza wheel. I wonder if Eleanor has any evidence with OEM inks which would enable her to return her unit under warranty. One Epson printer I purchased didn't work smoothly out of the box and the Epson store replaced it without fuss. As soon as I get the refillable carts installed, I will know whether I will have Eleanor's problem printing the peizography inks.
On inksets, I started a few years ago with neutral on matte papers using an R1800. According to Epson, that printer, and the later 1900, had the smallest microdots of the Epson printers and it was ideal for K7. The neutral matte is very nice for portraits (very soft skin gradations) and for restoring old photographs, which I enjoyed. Neutral matte didn't give me the thrill I remember from the chemical darkroom, however, and until MPS came out I spent most of my printing time in color, getting a 7900 three years ago. Last year I read a review of a Jon Cone/Inkjetmall stand at one of the big photo shows -- I think it was in Atlanta -- and the reviewer had great praise for their display of prints using the new MPS. Since Inkjetmall is not far away in Vermont I asked the staff if I could come by and see the prints. The folks there are very friendly and professional (I took a workshop there when I first started piezography) and they brought out the set for me. I was just blown away seeing them up close. After studying the different mixes of inksets and papers among the Atlanta prints, I decided on inksets of selenium glossy and sel/warm neutral split tone and I began using Type 5 paper. I love the selenium on Exhibition Fiber for such subjects as snow scenes (we have plenty of those) and sea foam (out your way). The selenium/warm neutral split tone has great depth and tonal range on Type 5 for subjects I've printed recently such as spring ferns, stone walls, and baby pictures. It wasn't long before I wanted a second printer at the ready. The refillable cart sets for Epson desktop printers (2880 and below) are really affordable, so it's easy to change around and make your own mixes. Empty cart sets for mine are $29. I just bought a sample set filled with carbon inks for $120 and will try that tomorrow. Since I already have neutral inks, I have also made up a special edition set by buying bottles of just two additional shades. My plan is to select one or perhaps two for the 3800 and have the others available on the inexpensive 1900 depending on what seems appropriate for the type of image. I'll let you know how the carbon and special edition mixes work out.
On workflow, since LR4 came out I've been doing more of my processing there, including grayscale, and all of my printing to QuadTone RIP. Since I understood LR operates in ProPhoto RGB (gamma 1.8), and QTR has to be prepped in 2.2, I got confused among all of LR's VCs, softproofs, master copies, saved copies, Photoshop edits 1, 2, and 3, etc. so I sent my question to Jon Cone's blog and he posted a very helpful reply today: Lightroom 4 and Piezography | PiezoPress