Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones"
<cj@c...> wrote:
> Just use the Epson driver to get a feel for it and how it
> responds, and don't use any profiles, just use the simple
> approach described in the article.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.  I did as you suggested, although
printing from PSCS is as foreign to me as Qimage is to you.

The story gets stranger.  I created a flatten grayscale image - not
just monochrome.  I followed your instructions to the letter.

The resulting image was darker, but still considerably too light -
somewhere between a print using QTR and my first attempt at BO.

To try and work out what it had printed, I went into PSCS, converted
the grayscale image to CYMK, and sure 'nuff, again it had printed just
the black plate.  In the grayscale version, the black plate is a
greater proportion of the separation.

So I had sent a grayscale image with a 20% dot gain profile to the
Epson driver, using print with preview, with print space profile "same
as source" to the Epson driver, with the black option selected rather
than colo[u]r.  

The Epson driver appears to have done a CMKY conversion and printed
just the black plate.

I am using an Epson 2100, not 2200.  These physically the same
printers, but I do seem to recall that they use different drivers. 
Can it really be that the 2100 driver won't let you print a grayscale
image using just the black cart?  Is this because we have the
GrayBalancer (huh!), and therefore don't need this functionality?

There is a clue that this might be the case.  In your instructions,
you specify "Black Ink Only is Checked".  Well, in the 2100 driver,
the wording is just "Black" or Colo[u]r.  

Is the Epson driver at fault, or am I doing something silly?
If it's the driver, is there a workaround, or would I have to get hold
of the 2200 drivers and install them?

I am using XP, not a Mac.  My driver version is 5.30.  I note that the
UK web site has driver version 5.30a, and the US site has v5.4aA.

Puzzled.

F_P