Digital BW, The Print

> Paul and Clayton both suggest the 1280 is out-of-date and difficult to
> use.  You each suggest a different one   - Paul the R220, $100 from
> Epson and Clayton the 2400, $849.99 ...

The R220 can often be found for under $70.  Some even sell the OEM inks on
Ebay to reduce the price further.
 
> My first reaction is that the 1280 produced great prints before, I see
> no reason this one won't...

The 1280 can produce excellent results.  However, the newer printers are
more consistent in their production.  So, the chance of getting a 1280 that
is marginal is higher than with a more modern printer.  I also think the
carts for the 1280 are not as good as the individual modern carts.  

When marginal printer performance is combined with partitioning curves, the
results can be a grayscale ramp that is not smooth.  A flat spot on the ramp
could be what is causing the "muddy" look in your prints.

Workflows that use all the inks (as Epson intended) or just the black ink
are more likely to hide the problems of a printer that is a bit off.

> From Paul: Test files to trouble shoot the system.  Paul thanks. I
> will, of course try the alternative purge pattern (I run a standard
> nozzle check before each new file run) as well as see if I can run the
> 21-step file correctly.   I look forward to trying your more
> sophisticated approach and reporting back.  I'm betting on "operator
> error" as the root cause.

Most of the problems are settings.  So, pay close attention to the settings
in my 1280 UT2 notes at http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/UT2-Readme.htm .

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com