Digital BW, The Print

Hi Mark,

Yes well I was just trying to report an "out of the box" experience. 
I understand that using custom profiles may improve b/w output, but 
this could be said about any sort of output from any sort of printer. 
Its just that Epson is trying to market the monochrome capabilities 
of this printer and yet does not back this up with satisfactory 
software (i got a Canada shipped version). The manual doesnt even 
mention the Pk_semigloss.icm driver ! Considering the premium cost of 
this printer, why should users be expected to buy additional 
profiles, especially as this printer is aimed at advanced amateurs as 
much as anybody else ?
However I am gratified to hear that it is physically possible to 
produce true b/w prints in your experience with a 9600, however I 
hope someone else will confirm this with a 2200 as although the inks 
are the same I presume there is a physical difference in their print 
engine, the 9600 is considered a "pro" printer, correct?

--A.



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "marktuckerdotcom" 
<mtucker508@y...> wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "ambrotype" 
> <ambrotype@y...> wrote:
> > The only way I was able to produce what appeared to me as a 
> true 
> > monochrome print was by turning off the colour in the driver, 
> forcing 
> > the machine to use only two inks.
> 
> 
> Were you working on your own 2200, and had you custom 
> profiled it, and had the Linearization process been completed?
> 
> If not, I'd say those are premature words. It's widely known that 
> producing a neutral gray is the toughest thing for color inks to 
do. 
> Therefore, they must be first linearized, and then a custom ICC 
> profile completed before you could EVER expect them to produce 
> a grey stepwedge that was neutral from one end to the other.
> 
> I've done it on my 9600, and it uses the same Ultrachromes, so I 
> know for sure that it's possible. Out of the box, the 2200 is 
> probably a pretty nice printer, especially for the money, but to 
get 
> that last five or ten percent out of it, you've just gotta profile 
it.
> 
> Try that, and then report back with more accurate information.
> 
> Mark Tucker
> http://marktucker.com/