Digital BW, The Print

Ron,

Another thought:  Apparently the Piezo plug-in dumps a lot of ink on
the paper across the entire grayscale spectrum.  Perhaps it might be
better if highlights are printed with less ink.

Regards.

Shilesh


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "harrisimages"
<harris@s...> wrote:
> Hi Shilesh,
> 
> Thanks for your observations and for suggesting alternative methods 
> of printing PiezoTones on the 1280.  The old driver is very slow, as 
> you say, 16 minutes for a small print as compared to 6 minutes on 
> the 2200 with ImagePrint.
> 
> I am very happy with B&W prints made using ImagePrint on the 2200. 
> Fast and easy to use.  Many say the prints are neutral.  However, at 
> 50,50 tinting they seem slightly warm to me, but not as warm as 
> PiezoTone Selinium Tone.  I like both renditions. However, for more 
> tonal variation I look to PiezoTones.  I would imagine that the new 
> PiezoTone system will make them easier to use and give better 
> results, except, perhaps for customized approaches like yours.
> 
> Ron
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Shilesh Jani" 
> <shilesh.jani@s...> wrote:
> > Ron,
> > 
> > I agree with you!  This special luminous quality is restricted to 
> > some images and under specific light condition.  I see this also 
> in 
> > BO printing.  Use of pigmented grays in highlight areas impose the 
> > quality of inks, rather than allowing the paper to assert itself.  
> A 
> > long time ago - 1.5 years;-) I was using dye based inks for b/w 
> > printing.  And sure enough, the paper character was more readily 
> > apparent in the highlights.  Too bad about color crossover and 
> fade 
> > of color dyes.  I am looking forward to the day when we get a dye 
> > based grayscale inkset, even one which has a limited lightfastness 
> of 
> > 20 years.  But that is just me.
> > 
> > On the microbanding front:  It should be noted that the 
> Piezography 
> > plug-in is not the only way to go with the 1280.  One can use the 
> > Epson driver along with the MIS FS (and FS-N) inks 
> designated "E".  
> > Alternatively, you can use the regular FS (and FS-N) inks provided 
> > you switch the inks around as follows:  cyan=magenta=dark, 
> > lightcyan=lightmagenta=middle, yellow=light.  A moderate curves 
> > adjustment layer (call it profile) linearizes the response 
> nicely.  
> > No plug-in, no banding.  Also in fairness, I have seen a lot of 
> > prints made with the Piezo plug-in and PT inks with no evidence of 
> > banding.  I personally don't use the plug-in because I like the 
> > ability to custom mix my own inks, and the plug-in (mis)uses too 
> much 
> > ink, and it is slooooooooooooow!
> > 
> > Regards.
> > 
> > Shilesh