Digital BW, The Print

Louis,

I just tested out printing with the Epson driver.  Lo and behold, 
you're absolutely right.  Using various approaches, I am hitting a 
Dmax od only ~1.56 on EEM.  What gives?

Shilesh

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Louis Dina" 
<lbdina@c...> wrote:
> 
> 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