Digital BW, The Print

In the last report on my experiences with ImagePrint 5 and the 7600, I 
dealt with color printing with Photo Black on Epson Premium Semi-Matte 
and stated that I was very happy with the results, concluding that I 
found the IP profiles slightly more accurate than Bill Atkinson's, 
particularly in the shadow detail. Since then, I recommended IP to 
several people.

Now, I have started trying to print B&W and have run into a brick wall 
when trying to print "legacy" files, that is, old files that I 
previously printed using PiezographyBW on the 1160: I have not been 
able to get decent prints with IP to match the old Piezo prints. The 
problem is that, when I place these legacy files in ImagePrint, the IP 
Preview is "washed out," with lower contrast and higher brightness than 
the view of the legacy file in Photoshop; and the new IP prints are 
also washed out and not at all like the Piezo prints.  I've seen some 
postings that other people are having the same problem.

The trouble is that whatever I try to do -- and I've tried all the 
combinations that I can think of, including saving the 
(Piezography-type) Custom Dot Gain as an ICC profile and opening the 
file in IP with this profile; converting the profile in PS from Custom 
Dot Gain to Gamma 1.8 or 2.2; assigning profiles, etc.  -- the Preview 
in IP, and the IP print, are still washed out, always having much less 
contrast and much more brightness than the Piezo print. Yet I suppose 
that there must be a way of getting the legacy file to print the same 
way they did with Piezography. Does anyone have a solution?

I've posed this question to Colorbyte last week but have not had a 
response and now, out of desperation, I also sent a message asking Jon 
Cone. Meanwhile, I'm stuck.

--Mitch/Bangkok