Digital BW, The Print

Shilesh,

I also own a 4000.  I agree that with QTR, you can achieve a great 
Dmax, and mine also hits Dmax at about 65-70% on EEM.  No problem 
there.

Using the Epson driver however, there is a problem getting good Dmax 
out of the 4000 for color or B&W on matte papers.  At least on my 
4000, the Epson driver seems to impose premature ink limits, 
regardless of which matte paper setting I use.  I tried them all, and 
I find that blacks are a bit weak compared to using the Epson driver 
with my 2200.  All targets were read with a spectrophotometer.  I 
think the reference to weak blacks was when using the Epson driver 
with MIS quad inksets and matte papers.  I'd have to agree based on 
my tests thus far.  

On glossy papers, though, I find the Epson driver on the 4000 
delivers great Dmax, (B&W and Color), which is even better than my 
2200, which was very good.  I'm sure this has to do with the ink 
limiting built into the various Epson driver settings.  I wish I 
could figure out how to get the Epson driver to pump out a little 
more ink with the various matte paper settings.

So, unless I can find a way around this driver/matte paper setting 
limitation, I believe I will need a B&W or Color RIP solution to get 
the most from matte papers using the 4000.

Maybe others find this doesn't agree with their experience.  If so, I 
would love to know what you may be doing differently.  

Regards,

Lou

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Shilesh Jani" 
<shilesh.jani@s...> wrote:
> 
> Yesterday I read a message on this forum (I forget in what context, 
> or by whom) that suggested the 4000 was weaker in black density 
than 
> the 7600 class printers.  It just so happened that I was helping a 
> friend write QTR profiles on various papers for his 7600 loaded 
with 
> OEM UC inks.  I own a 4000 also loaded with OEM inks.
> 
> The bottom line:  The 4000 and 7600 (presumambly 9600 also) are for 
> all intents identical in the DMax achieved with OEM Matte Black 
inks.
> 
> The test was conducted with good ol' EEM paper.  I used a Heiland 
> Electronics PM-Densitomemter in reflective mode.  On EEM both 
> printers were hitting ~1.67 DMax.
> 
> One important difference between my 4000 and my friend's 7600 is 
the 
> ink limit at which the maximum DMax was achieved.  The 4000 maxed 
out 
> at ~70% black density, while the 7600 maxed out at ~50% black 
> density.  It takes a RIP to properly characterize the appropriate 
ink 
> limit for each color.  I used QTR for my test.
> 
> There are valid reasons for choosing a 7600 (9600) over a 4000, but 
> DMax is NOT one of them.
> 
> Happy printing.
> 
> Shilesh