Digital BW, The Print

Over the holiday I got around to trying the Epson 1290 driver on my 
1280, using Paul Roarke's 1290 curves and MIS VM inks. Up until now 
I'd been using Tyler's curves for the 1280.   

To review previous discussion:  Paul Roarke and others have noted a 
problem with the 1280 driver which causes some abrupt transitions, 
particularly in the dark end of the spectrum.  The 1290 driver does 
not have this problem.  Since the 1290 is supposedly an identical (or 
near-identical) printer with a different voltage power supply, we've 
speculated that the 1290 driver might give us the same functionality 
on the 1280 without the tonal bumps.

My initial results are very encouraging.  I printed a step-wedge 
using the neutral curve for both drivers.  They were identical to my 
eyes.  I also printed an available light picture in neutral and cold 
tones, and I did not notice any additional posterization in 
the "cold" print.  I'll try more combinations later.

What did NOT work was the ink monitor in the 1290 driver, at least 
not when the printer was connected via USB.  It remained blank.  I'm 
speculating that the driver queries the printer with a "Who are 
you?," and since the model doesn't match, it doesn't go further.  
It's possible that the ink monitor might work with the parallel port, 
which is not normally a multi-device port like USB.  My parallel port 
is spoken for--would someone else like to check this?

I could not "customize" the USB port for the 1290 driver, so I used 
the USB port as configured for the 1280.  So I do have both drivers 
sitting on my system.  If I want to check ink levels, I have to 
switch to the 1280 Properties sheet.

My feelings so far: If you print warm or cold-toned prints with a 
1280, the 1290 driver is decidedly worth a try.  If you like the 
neutral or medium-warm-toned curves and use USB, it may or may not be 
worth the effort.  If the ink monitor works on the parallel port 
connection, then it's probably worth it all around.

Hope this is helpful.  Comments, suggestions, and additional results 
welcome.  If anyone else tries this, please tell the group your 
results.

--Peter Klein
Seattle, WA