Digital BW, The Print

John,

>...  epson 1160 ... using MIS Variable tone inks
>(marketed here in the UK as Permajet VariTone Blax). ...
>... blocking up of darker tones.

>1) How critical is color space setting in the print driver?

It affects the mapping of the grayscale to RGB image.  The sRGB setting
compresses the shadow tones relative to the AdobeRGB(1998).

It is very important that there be no color left in an image that was
originally or scanned as an RGB image.  That is, if at each level you don't
have R=G=B after conversion to RGB, the curves will be thrown off.

>2) What color space do other users print to?

The first set of curves I made used sRGB (the Photoshop 5 default).  The new
Ultra Tone curves use AdobeRGB(1998) (with all other "color settings" left
at the PS5 defaults).

What computer do you use?  The original 1160 curves are for the PC.

>3) Do I have to accept less 'punchy' prints with these inks?

If you were using dye inks, you may be noticing the lower pigment dmax.

>4) Just how much individual tweaking do other users find necessary to
>apply in addition to Paul Roark's curves?

Each printer is different.  That is why professional color printers mostly
use custom profiles, not "canned" ones.  So, for perfection, learn to tweak
the curves.  That said, typically the serious problems relate to the
settings.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com