Digital BW, The Print

A note on my personal experience with older printers, QTR and K6 inks.

I got on the K7 bandwagon early on with a 2200 and was very, very pleased with the 
results. I located a used 7000 a little bit later and bought it to use with QTR and the K6 
set. After changing out the heads and doing a full alignment I set to printing and was 
surprised by the fact that I could see dots quite clearly on my test image in certain parts of 
the greyscale. I've used another 7000 for years with StudioPrint so I was surprised that the 
quality of the print with the K6 inks was not as fine as that which I have been getting from 
Piezotones with only 4 positions. I was using the curves supplied with QTR, the ones made 
by Jon's studio, so the it shouldn't have been my incompetence in making curves that 
caused the problems.

As a control I downloaded a test version of StudioPrint to try out with the K6 inks and sure 
enough the results were much, much better. I've bought a v12 StudioPrint and am happily 
printing with that now. Not a cheap solution by any means, but the quality is worth the 
cost.

My test image includes a gradient so it's very easy to see dots when they show up in some 
section of the grey ramp. I may have been more picky than most, but I just wasn't happy 
with the results of the 7000 with QTR. I've subsequently tried out QTR with my other 7000 
(running Piezotones) and the noticeable dots are there as well. I've even tried QTR with an 
ancient Epson 3000 and get similarly disappointing results, but with Cone's old plug-in 
module I can get very smooth prints from even this old machine. Maybe it's me, perhaps I 
just don't get QTR somehow, but with the older printers I haven't found the results to 
measure up to the standard set by StudioPrint. The results with the 2200 and QTR are 
quite stunning and just as fine, or finer, than the 7000 with the more expensive rip. How 
this translates into 7600-9600-10000 Epsons I can't say since I have no experience there.

Hope this helps someone.

Mark Stracke

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Joost Horsten" <j.h.j.h@...> > 
>Another, perhaps related, question: isn't there a big difference 
> between the variable size dot 7600 and the older fixed size dot 
> models? 



> > > you can get a used 7000, 7600, or 4000 for very reasonable 
> prices, QTR
> > > for 50$, the inkset and be up and going with extraordinary high
> > > quality and good print size for far less money and no hassle...
> > > This of course, after deciding you want that kind of setup.
> > > I had the chance to get a used 7600 for $500 and passed it up, 
> stupid...
> > > Tyler.
> >
>