Digital BW, The Print

Alessandro wrote:

>... is the difference between the
>Piezo and the Epson print you compared due to the drivers or to the inks?

I think both ink and driver are elements.  The Piezo prints at 2160 whereas
the 1160 Epson driver prints at 1440x720.  Also, the Piezo lightest gray is
lighter.  So, both these give an advantage to Piezo.  On the other side, of
course, is the Epson Error Diffusion.  So, especially outside the
highlights, there is also some advantage to that system.

> In a previous thread you wrote that smooth B&W prints
>can be obtained with 3 inks only,...

I originally read this in a couple of posts by Jon Cone.  So, I tried it
with Piezo ink and the Epson driver.  I just cut out the lightest gray
ink -- the yellow -- and printed a test strip and some test photos.  I
didn't see any visual difference.

Actually, for the print exchange I'm going to distribute a print made on the
3000 with the MIS variable-tone inkset.  I'm interested in how others see
the quality of that combination.  While I'd never recommend the 3000 for
small prints, at the 16x20 level, I find it amazingly better than I would
have thought.

For my prints or style, I think the emphasis on highlight dots is misplaced.
I don't even see dots in the highlights of Epson 3000 test strips.  The 5%
patch Standard Deviation for the 3000, for example, is 2.16, compared to
1.96 for the 1160 variable-tone and 1.08 for the 1160 with Piezo driver/ink.

The problems and differences that I become more aware of are down in the
midtones and darker tones.  There we are dealing with Standard Deviations of
3 & 4 for the 1160 with the Epson and Piezo driver, respectively, and
slightly over 5 for the 3000.  To me, that is where the action is, not the
highlights.

>... maybe there is a *small* advantage in using 4 inks.

Certainly in theory you're right.  I've also said that I see a small
advantage in 6-ink printers over the 4-inkers even for quads.  From what
I've seen, the 1280 beats the 1160 and all Piezo software on any machine.
(Piezo only uses 4 ink shades even on 6-ink machines, as far as I can
tell -- look at the nozzle checks of a Piezo 7000 system.)

>If this is the case, given that I do not dislike the
>warm tone of the original MIS quads, I'd probably
>be better off with the new Full spectrum quads.

To me color/tone is the big issue.  If any inkset hits what you like right
on and for all purposes, then there is not much reason not to go for it.
The variable-tone gives you the control and flexibility to do more and get
more what you really like best as opposed to what the inkset happens to be.
I like cool landscapes and warm old-photo reproductions.  To me, there is
also no visual disadvantage on modern Epson printers.  Others may be
sensitive to differences in highlights that are just not visible to me in my
normal printing.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com