Digital BW, The Print

George,

>Would I use the "plain paper" setting for all papers? 
>I use primarily EEM.

On the C84 I probably would use the "Plain Paper" setting for all matte
papers. 

Here are the notes regarding the C84 I sent to MIS:

My testing of the C84 indicates it prints at a higher contrast than the C82.
The contrast slider can bring the shadows in line, but with matte papers the
highlights stay lighter than my targets.  With a "Contrast -15" setting,
however, a print on Epson Enhanced Matte closely matches some of the LCD
monitors that are used by most of the people in my house, although the
highlights are brighter than on my CRT.  So, Epson may have set up the C84
with the assumption most users today would have the affordable LCDs that my
family members prefer.

Interestingly, with the Plain Paper setting the C84 does not under-print the
black ink with color inks.  As such, it has as good a dmax as the more
expensive Epson printers.

So, with the C84 and matte papers I recommend using the following settings:
Best Photo, Color Controls, and "Plain Paper."  I would set the Contrast
slider back to -15 or until the amount of detail in the print shadows
matches the monitor being used.  Moving the Brightness slider to -5 also
helps, although on EEM deep shadow contrast is a bit low.

For archival paper, especially since the dmax is fine with the "Plain Paper"
setting on the C84, I recommend Epson Scrapbook paper (also known at Epson
UltraSmooth or PremierArt Fine Art Hot Press).  It prints very well with the
above settings.

With Epson Glossy Photo Paper, the C84 does a very good job with the "Glossy
Photo Paper" and "Best Photo" settings.  The print shadow detail can be
helped if the Contrast slider is set back to -10, or until the print shadow
detail matches the monitor being used.

It continues to amaze me that this little printer with the EZ B&W inks can
match the quality of systems that people pay over $1000 for.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com