Digital BW, The Print

Richard,

That kind of tonal transition is seems to be a tough one for inkjet
printing. I have found the Epson driver is often a better choice in cases
like this. I am afraid I have more questions than answers.

Can you give us some info on the file size, 16 or 8 bit, ppi?

How does the histogram look?

What happens if you print the straight scan from 16-bit mode without any
adjustments?

Martin Wesley

http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html



----- Original Message -----
From: "rich8155" <richard@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2002 2:58 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Piezo vs. Randall example and results. Questions,....


> Hello all,
>
> I'm still a relative beginner at this but after 2 months I am
> getting some very satisfactory results.  Some background: I use an
> Epson 1160 with an MIS CFS loaded with MIS FS-N inks.  I have the
> Piezo driver and usually print with that as I have found in
> comparisons with the Epson driver (with Randall curve applied) the
> Piezo gives more dotless mid-tones and highlights.  Sometimes
> however some prints look better with the Randall curve (the Piezo
> tends to print darker).  So, with the less dots I have mostly used
> the Piezo driver and have been in awe of the smooth mid-tones in
> particular.
>
> But now I have printed an image that is showing me an amazing
> difference from the Piezo driver results to the Epson drive/randall
> curve results, and the Piezo is falling very flat in this instance.
> The image can be found here:
>
> <http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=956273&size=lg>
>
> as you can see we have some fairly fast and radical transition from
> severe highlights to almost pure black.  I printed the Piezo one
> first and as you can see there are obvious and very poor transition
> points to be seen around the highlights.  The result is awful and
> unacceptable output.  The Epson driver/Randall curve seems to have
> handled the transition in a much smoother and acceptable manner.
>
> I have printed out two 21stepNew.jpg wedges using each driver since
> then and I cannot really see any fault with either of them (again
> though the Piezo prints darker shadows). They both look very good to
> my untrained and less-experienced eye.  So I am puzzled.
>
> I am not showing this to try and put down the Piezo driver.  I am
> more asking if what I am finding here is typical or perhaps points
> to a problem with my method or process.  If I only printed with the
> Piezo I would think it has something to do with my printer, but from
> the Randall results we can see the printer has the ability to print
> just fine.  I have followed the set-up and workflow of both
> drivers/curves precisely.
>
> Any suggestions on why I'm getting these results?
>
> Thank you for any input and comment.
>
> Regards,
>
> Richard
>
>
>
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