Digital BW, The Print

> >...the message I am getting...is that the new K3 printers 
> > are capable of producing excellent B&W prints ...

I agree.  Once one has LLK and LK, the quality is potentially there.  A
"blended" B&W inkset (with the color pigments mixed in with carbon to avoid
high gamut dots) is a bit smoother (all else being equal, which it never
is), but even as one who has designed and used lots of them, I'm moving away
from that approach.  My fade tests also suggest blended inksets might have a
slight edge, but perhaps not enough to overcome the advantages of an inkset
approach that uses standard inks, thus allowing the use of the best pigment
for each position.  (I'll be fade testing 3 magentas -- and use the best).

> ... The 2400/K3/ABW, for my eyes, produces far better 
> prints than anything I was able to get previously,

One factor is that the LLK is lighter than the lightest ink in the UT2/7.
Also, even assuming one can get perfect ramps, the ability to control both
Lab a and b really matters.  It's not only a matter of getting just the
right tone, it's also the ability to correct for batch-to-batch ink
variations, which are also much more significant with blended B&W inksets
than they are with the standardized colors.

On the other hand, the K3 approach is not the ultimate in quality.  For
example, the 2200 with 4K+ (which also uses LLK), gets increased smoothness
by using a light cyan that is a 50% dilution of standard LC.  At 14" I can
detect the difference.  I'm not one who thinks examination with a loupe is
the way to select an inkset, but in terms of smoothness, the K3 approach is
limited, in part, due to the use of the high gamut color inks.  Even when
one pulls out the yellow, reducing also the amount of LC and LM that are
used for a particular tone, the LC dots will still limit smoothness.  How
much one compromises the smoothness for other factors is the issue.

> and with ease of use and lack of printer/workflow hassles.
> For me, K3 blew the doors off the barn and opened up a 
> whole new world that had been out of reach before.

I think this is the key.  The k3 has good enough quality, and the ABW mode
is much easier for most people.  Swap out the yellow for carbon, and the
quality/ease-of-use results are hard to beat.  So, in part, it's a question
of how comfortable one is with a rip or other workflow, how much control one
wants over the distribution of tones, whether one wants color printing from
the same printer, and, of course, price.  I, personally, like the control
and enjoy the technical challenges, but if I just wanted to push the button
and get good B&W, the k3 approach would have tremendous appeal.  

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com