Digital BW, The Print

Hello Andre,

>I visited Clayton's site and read (even printed) his BO printing 
>workflow. There is lots to be learned there, especially about 
>"back" and "front" end profiles. Things are now a lot clearer now.
>Thanks Clayton.

You're welcome.  Glad it was helpful.


>I've tried BO printing today with an Epson 1160 and UT Eboni blacks. 
>The first image used was a lakeshore. While I like the tones, the 
>dots were too apparent, for my taste, in the sky and water. 
>Probably with an Epson 1280 or an 2200 at 2880 dpi things might 
>different, but I can't say that I would recommend BO printing 
>with an Epson 1160.

Yep, those pesky dots <g>.  I've seen several 1160 BO prints, some
really excellent, some quite gritty (perhaps some setting makes a
difference?).  I think it has 4pl droplets, and my impression from
examining with a loupe is that the droplets aren't variable, but I'm
not certain.  The good ones I've seen closely resemble my 870 prints.
 

There is a significant improvement in smoothness with the 2200.  I
have a 6x9 print with a featureless nearly white sky, printed with
870/1440 and 2200/2880.  At a viewing distance of about 12" the dots
can be seen in the former.  In the latter if you really strain you can
barely make them out.  Also, the resolution of fine detail is much
better.  In a forest pic with lots of branches and twigs, tiny
branches that were mere suggestions at 1440 are clearly defined at
2880.   Midtone areas that looked gritty are now smooth.  Another nice
thing is the speed.  The 2200 at 2880 is about the same speed as the
870 at 1440.   It's a major improvement in every respect.  I'm very
happy with it.

It seems clear to me that BO printing got its bad reputation back in
the early days with low res printers, which lots of people still use,
but with the modern printers it's a whole new ball game.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm