Digital BW, The Print

I just want to chime in here and second everything Paul wrote below 
and to add a couple of points.

The 1280 with the Epson driver set to 2880 dpi is sslllooooww. I used 
it to print all 31 prints for the exchange and it clocks in at 15 to 
20 minutes per 6" by 8" print.

Oddly enough, in actual prints I saw less improvement in prints from 
grain-less scans of 4x5 negatives than in a print from a high 
resolution scan of a grainy 35mm negative. Going to 2880 tightens up 
the grain in the print at least at this print size. To see the 
difference on the print from the 4X5 you have to get out the loupe 
and look very closely at the highlights. The 2880 is there if you 
need it but I would save it for the final prints not use it for the 
work prints.

Any of the 7000 owners, how is the print speed and quality at 2880 
vs. 1440?

Paul's observations confirm what I have been seeing. The 1280, with 
the Epson driver at 1440 and at 2880, is equal in quality to the 
Piezo driver. In all fairness I also have to point out that 1280 with 
the Epson driver at 1440 is slower than the 1200 running the Piezo 
driver.

Martin



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> I received samples 1280 output which used the MIS VM variable-tone 
inkset
> printed at 2880 resolution.  As one would expect, it is smooth -- 
smoother
> than anything I've measured so far, including my Piezo 1160 output.
> 
> The way I try to get an objective measure of visual smoothness is 
to use the
> Standard Deviation in the Photoshop Histogram tool/function.  I 
scan at 240
> dpi, which is about equal to the generally accepted 5 line pairs/mm
> resolution limit of human vision.  All test strips were printer on 
Archival
> Matte paper.
> 
> I measure the plain patches of the 21-step test file, so that all 
of what I
> measure is supposed to be the same density.  Ideally, there would 
be no
> deviations from the mean at all.  However, dots and microbanding are
> realities of the inkjet process, and I assume what I am mostly 
measuring is
> a combination of those two factors.
> 
> Here are the results at different density patches:
> 
> 5%  1160 Piezo SD = 1.08; 1160 VM = 1.96;  1280 VM @ 2880 = 1.06;
> 
> 20% 1160 Piezo SD = 1.32; 1160 VM = 1.94;  1280 VM @ 2880 = 1.51;
> 
> 50% 1160 Piezo SD = 2.22; 1160 VM = 1.94;  1280 VM @ 2880 = 1.60;
> 
> 75% 1160 Piezo SD = 3.90; 1160 VM = 3.03;  1280 VM @ 2880 = 2.91;
> 
> 95% 1160 Piezo SD = 4.16; 1160 VM = 3.64;  1280 VM @ 2880 = 2.82.
> 
> 
> These are just measures from one 1160 and 1280, so your mileage may 
differ.
> 
> Of course, the 1280 at 2880 is slow, and it is almost as good at 
1440.  At
> 1440, it is slightly less smooth than the Piezo at 5% and 20%, but 
closer to
> the 1280 @ 2880 at the other noted densities.  The MIS VM test 
strips
> measured above were printed with the "nc" (neutral-cool) curves.  
The 1280
> with the medium warm curve, is even slightly smoother, presumably 
because
> there is less color contrast from the toner.
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com