Digital BW, The Print

>well mine is a silver one, but i swear it's got no banding at all
>with any paper using UT2 inks, just Black only mode. I believe that
>clayton jones refers to this as a dithering pattern....whatever you 
>call it, it looks like subltle lines or stripes in the dark midtones.

I call it dither banding (as opposed to "micro banding" which lots of
people use when they refer to the more distinct banding caused by
clogged nozzles).  I've seen lots of prints, from just about every
system/technique there is, and not having _any_ dither banding was the
exception, not the rule.  Most prints have at least some, from a
tiny bit visible only with a loupe to very bad, visible by eye.  And I
never got any sense that any one printer or ink/system was any better
or worse than any other.

I call it dither banding because it usually appears only in certain
(usually darker) zones (like Zone III) and not others.  This would
indicate that the driver's dither pattern for those zones is causing
it. 

On my 2200 I've found that head alignment can reduce it noticeably,
but not in a way you'd expect.  Normally the head alignment utility
wants one of the central vertical lines to produce the best alignment.
I experimented once, trying smaller and smaller numbers, and found it
got better (reduced DB) as I got lower.  I went all the way down to #2
and got the best results, and I have left it there.  It consistantly
makes excellent prints (all at 2880).  There is some DB, but it's
minimal and requires a loupe to see it.  And I've also found no
difference in hi/lo speed, so I keep Hi Speed checked all the time.

I'm currently experimenting with UT7/2200/2880/HiSpeed and am getting
only the tiniest amount of DB, around ZONES V and VI.

I'd love to find a way to totally eliminate it, but it seems to be an
elusive creature.  Nobody seems to know exactly what causes it, so
these are all just theories.  The only thing I know for certain is
that on my 2200, head alignment can make a difference.  That's my
experience, FWIW.

If you're getting no DB at all with 1280/UT2 then count your
blessings.


Regards,
Clayton


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